The Richmond City Council last night scheduled a July 27 vote on final changes to the downtown master plan, including ones to guide decisions on development and public access along the eastern riverfront.
The master plan has been in the works for two years, but officials have been grappling with changes since October.
Last night, residents urged the council to preserve aspects of the plan that promote access to the river and to resist being wooed by developers.
"The river belongs to the people of the city and should be accessible along the entire route," said Camden Whitehead, who lives in Woodland Heights.
"We need to get to a point when we stop compromising the compromise," said Leighton Powell, executive director of Scenic Virginia.
Last night's 8-0 vote came with fireworks. Councilman E. Martin Jewell was unable to get support for an amendment to give the council greater flexibility in considering Echo Harbour, a condominium, hotel and office development that's proposed for the eastern riverfront.
The project has met strong community opposition over its potential impact on river views from Libby Hill Park.
Jewell said the "council gives its rights away" by having the eastern riverfront area designated by the plan as an "urban center area," which suggests that the property may be used for mixed-use development with building limited to four to six stories.
The developers of Echo Harbour, which is proposed with building heights ranging from six stories to about 10 to 12 stories, have been asking for relief from the designation.
Jewell suggested a change to underscore that development projects could be judged on a case-by-case basis. However, Councilman Charles R. Samuels successfully urged colleagues to reject the change.
"We have the possibility to lose not one viewshed but all viewsheds," he said.
Jewell's motion to have proposals considered without the urban-center guidelines failed on a 4-4 vote. Later, the council voted 8-0 to schedule the remaining amendments for a final up-or-down vote in two weeks.
Those incorporated several amendments outlined earlier by Councilman Bruce W. Tyler, including one dealing with maps that show possible future uses of the site for Echo Harbour. The change would put a development scenario sequentially ahead of a "public open space" scenario for the Echo Harbour site -- an order preference previously endorsed by council.
Tyler is a principal with the architectural firm for Echo Harbour, but he has been advised by the city attorney that he may participate in master-plan issues relating to the property.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.
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