Gene Singleton of the Summit Hospitality Group met considerable resistance from council members during his presentation of hotel building plans at the meeting.
Eventually, the council agreed that further consideration of the proposal would be postponed until January.
The hotel project entered the meeting with a rejection recommendation from Town Manager Cal Horton and the Planning Board because it did not seem to fit Chapel Hill's Comprehensive Plan, which lays out basic principles for building and land use.
The proposed hotel was planned by Summit Hospitality to be built on the northwest corner of the intersection of U.S. 15-501 and Erwin Road. The plan was for an 80-unit hotel affiliated with the Marriott chain and a 3,000-square-foot office building.
Singleton said the proposed Residence Inn would cater to Chapel Hill visitors who have been forced to rent hotel rooms out of town during their visits.
But Mayor Kevin Foy interrupted Singleton's presentation with serious reservations, pointing out that the developer's building plans are in conflict with what was entailed under the original application.
The application was for 54,312 square feet, while the presentation called for 79, 700 square feet. Council member Mark Kleinschmidt compared the discrepancy to a game Summit Hospitality was trying to play with the council.
Singleton said the group would have asked the council to change the plan immediately if the building permit was granted.
"I think the process is being exploited and a game of checkers is being played in front of the council," council member Bill Strom said.
