COEUR d'ALENE - Hagadone Hospitality Co. is one step closer to building a tower of guest rooms adjoining The Coeur d'Alene Resort.

At a public hearing Tuesday night, the Coeur d'Alene City Council voted to vacate a portion of Front Avenue right-of-way between Second and Third streets, and a portion of the Second Street right-of-way south of Sherman Avenue. The council decision sets the stage for Hagadone Hospitality to begin designing a new tower with an additional 200 rooms, which John Barlow, a consultant for the company, said is essential to attract large conferences.

"They love Coeur d'Alene. They want to come to Coeur d'Alene," Barlow told the council. "But we're not large enough."

Adding the 200 rooms gets The Resort above what Barlow called the "500 room magic number" essential to booking large conferences and events. The new tower was conceived around 2006, he added, but the recession hit and caused Hagadone Hospitality to wait until the economy began improving.

During his presentation, Barlow stressed that vacating the requested portions of public road would not harm or change the public's walking and biking access, or the utility lines that run through the area.

A representative from Moscow-based EMSI, a firm that conducted an economic impact study of the new tower, was also on hand at the meeting. The study shows that, in the first two years of operation, the new tower would create 60,000 additional guest nights, and the number would jump to 90,000 in the following years.

Prior to the floor being opened for public testimony, Barlow made a point to mention the new Grand Davenport Hotel in Spokane, a direct competitor of The Resort. Barlow said the city of Spokane fully funded the $61 million convention center across the street from the hotel and gave it $3.3 million to build a bridge connecting the two buildings.

"There are examples like this throughout the country," Barlow said. "We have never, and are not tonight, asking for any assistance from the city or any taxpayers. We are only seeking the ability to build this hotel over Front Street so we can connect the hotel as part of The Resort."

Barlow added that connecting the two buildings was critical, and that the planned tower would not be built if the vacation wasn't granted.

Close to 20 people chose to provide the council with public testimony, many of whom were local business owners like Tom Addis. Addis told the council that he disagreed with comments that the public was not receiving anything in exchange for the vacation.

"I'll guarantee you there are crumbs for everybody in this community from what the Hagadone Resort has done," Addis said. "It's my belief that, either as an individual or a community, you can't stand still - you either go forward, or you go backwards. And I think it's hard to argue with the track record of these people. This will help all of us."

However others, like Mary Lou Reed, said she didn't see anything wrong with the plan to build a second tower, but was concerned the city was being asked to vacate the streets without knowing everything it needed to know. She said economic benefits are only a portion of "the public good" and asked council members if they were prepared to tell their constituents what the entire benefit is to the community.

"You do not need to be stampeded until you have all the answers," she said.

After public testimony was heard, council members had the opportunity to make a statement before the matter went to vote. Councilmembers Ron Edinger and Steve Adams both mentioned that the city essentially vacated the streets over a year ago when it decided to close them to vehicle traffic. A guarantee from Barlow on behalf of Hagadone that pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the street also guaranteed they would approve the vacation.

"I really don't see any change at all in usage," Adams said.

Ultimately, the council voted 5-1 to approve of vacating the property, with Councilwoman Amy Evans casting the only vote in opposition. Evans was the only member of the council, including Mayor Steve Widmyer, that did not disclose a past or present, personal or familial, business relationship with the Hagadone Corporation.