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A Pearl District group on Thursday continued to fight plans for a 23-story hotel and residential building that would dwarf others nearby. Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design pleaded its case to the Portland City Council in a three-hour hearing.

Plans for the 197,118-square-foot Hyatt Place and Allison Residences have elicited substantial opposition. The building, residents say, would interfere with motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, provide no on-site parking and ruin the character of the South Pearl, where low-slung warehouses mix with modern condo buildings.

The proposal, approved by the Portland Design Commission earlier this year, calls for a structure that would be the tallest in the Pearl since implementation of the Central City 2035 plan. The zoning reform raised allowable building heights around the city in a bid to accommodate more housing and growth. But the bigger buildings have sparked backlash from residents who say their neighborhoods’ character is being threatened.

PNID’s appeal was presented by Bateman Seidel land-use attorney Carrie Richter. She said the project 鈥渢urns its back鈥� on the Flanders Greenway 鈥� a future bicyclist- and pedestrian-friendly route planned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation 鈥� and introduces a 鈥減inch point鈥� on Northwest 12th Avenue where neighborhood traffic would encounter a loading zone for the proposed building.

The project is planned for 350 N.W. 12th Ave., on the southeast corner of 12th Avenue and Flanders Street. The property currently holds a surface parking lot.

PNID also presented a slickly produced video illustrating the evolution of the Pearl from an 鈥渋ndustrial wasteland鈥� into a desirable modern neighborhood. The project is 鈥渁n example of extracting all of the potential development rights while sacrificing all of the adjacent area,鈥� PNID President Patricia Cliff said in recorded testimony.

The Central City 2035 plan raised allowable building height on the site, with bonuses, from 175 feet to 250 feet.

The project is planned by a joint venture of Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier聽The Sunray Companies聽of Madison, Mississippi. A lawyer for the developers, Renee France, said the project conforms to design guidelines, making other objections irrelevant.

鈥淢ost of the arguments made by the appellants attempt to either ignore that criterion or impermissibly expand or mischaracterize the applicable guidelines,鈥� she said.

France added: 鈥淭his building, and this project, is exactly what Central City 2035 intended.鈥�

Cliff, in her video narration, invoked historical racial displacement in the neighborhood and tied PNID’s appeal to the Black Lives Matter movement. That brought a sharp response from David Dysert, who serves as co-chairman of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association‘s Planning and Transportation Committee (Dysert said he was speaking as an individual).

鈥淲e can have honest disagreements about development and design, context and code, but it is disingenuous and cynical to use the argument of racial displacement for personal concerns over height, density or use,鈥� Dysert said. 鈥淩equiring all future buildings remain below one’s own 15th-story penthouse view has nothing to do with racial equity or honoring a people’s history.鈥�

The appeal was filed by PNID, a 501(c)(3) group that is not affiliated with the city-sanctioned Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

City commissioners did not deliberate Thursday, and chose to hold their opinions on the appeal for another day.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz grilled Gary Larson, a consulting architect with Otak, about how the building would complement the context of existing buildings 鈥� a design guideline. Larson responded that nearby buildings have materials similar to ones planned for the tower, including concrete bases.

The Design Commission unanimously approved Otak’s design in January after a series of design advice meetings.

The City Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the appeal on Sept. 16. The record will remain open for new submissions until 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The council could uphold, deny or remand the appeal to the Design Commission. Either side could then appeal the council’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.