Breeze Point Landing will remain a greenspace in downtown Warren.

That was the motion that Warren City Council approved on Monday to effectively thwart a proposal for a riverfront hotel.

While the motion didn’t forbid expressly the prospect of a hotel, it won’t be happening in such a way as to consume Breeze Point. That leaves the project on the rocks as the developer had previously not expressed interest in any location but the riverfront; and Breeze Point Landing was needed to make a parcel of sufficient size along the river.

Councilman Phil Gilbert cited a recent Times Observer opinion editorial in making his motion.

That editorial suggested that “putting an end to the hotel project may not be the best course of action.

A community that stays stagnant will not grow — and taking the hotel off the table entirely may not be the best action despite the community’s opposition. We’re not saying build or not build. Instead, we’re saying the community should keep its options open.”

“I want it to be known I’m not against the hotel,” Gilbert said. “I’m against the location.”

He raised concern about the impact on business in the area and said he received 47 emails and “all were against the development.”

He said that “as much as I want to see development in the city” the Breeze Point location is not the “best way to go.”

The motion he then made was to “maintain Breeze Point Landing in its current form and into the future.”

“This is not a proposal that I feel could just be dismissed without serious consideration,” Councilman John Wortman said.

“Warren city’s economic situation is very dire,” he added, and appears to “be getting worse by the day.”

He said many councilman “lose sleep” over how to provide services to city residents; but he said he came to two “understandings” in the past few weeks about the project as currently proposed. First, he said there are “too many unanswered questions” to consider the proposal and said that the “constituents I am elected to represent do not support this endeavor.”

“I will support the motion put forward tonight,” he said, but called on all those interested to come together to find solutions for the city’s tax base and to increase foot traffic.

“Unfortunately if we fail this time around, we may never have another chance,” he said, emphasizing that everyone involved wants what is best for the community. “Tonight, I hope this can be the beginning of discovering that answer together.”

Mayor Maurice Cashman said the goal of the motion was to find something that wouldn’t prohibit minor future development.

“We think this is the best solution in a motion but does not preclude updates into that landing area.”

The motion passed 6-1 with Councilman Gregory Fraser voting in opposition.