The Providence City Council has delayed an override vote of a veto on a zoning change for the Fane tower proposal until Thursday.
A fever sidetracked Ward 8 Councilor Wilbur Jennings from attending a meeting Tuesday, and Ward 1 Councilor Seth Yurdin was absent. That led to a motion, approved 9-to-4, to delay the override vote for two days.
Supporters of the delay said it was fair to wait a few days to decide the override.
“We’ve come this far now,” said Ward 7 Councilor John Igliozzi. “Another two days and allowing a council person to receive the medical treatment they need is only appropriate.”
But opponents objected, saying that New York developer Jason Fane’s controversial 46-tower proposal has already been widely discussed. Ward 13 Councilor Bryan Principe argued for the override vote to proceed without the absent councilors, saying that that process had already been set in motion by eight councilors.
Some prominent labor officials, including George Nee of the RI AFL-CIO and Michael Sabitoni of the Laborers’ union, were among those attending the meeting.
Ten votes are needed to approve an override.
The council approved a zoning change for the project. But Mayor Jorge Elorza vetoed the zoning change, pointing in particular to concerns that the city’s design recommendations would be discarded.
