Louth County Council's decision to adopt a development plan for Dunleer which had been proposed in a submission by five of its own members could be open to challenge in the High Court.
By rezoning over 100 acres east of the Dublin-Belfast railway line, the councillors' plan could have the effect of quadrupling the village's current population of 1,000, with new housing largely occupied by commuters working in Dublin.
The county manager, Mr John Quinlivan, warned councillors in advance of the decision - made on the casting vote of the chairman, Mr Tommy Reilly (FF) - that they were leaving themselves open to an action on the grounds of bias.
Mr Reilly was one of five mid-Louth councillors who commissioned a planning consultant to make a submission on the draft local area plan for Dunleer, which was drawn up by Dublin architects Murray O'Laoire in consultation with the community.
The draft plan already provided for a significant expansion of the village, but in an orderly, coherent way, according to the county council's senior planner, Mr Gerry Duffy. It also treated the railway line as a boundary for development.
He said the five councillors had initially proposed drawing a red line around Dunleer, rezoning land to accommodate up to 50,000 people. "Under no circumstances could I have endorsed this as a plan", he told The Irish Times yesterday.
What the councillors eventually presented, using Stephen Ward and Associates as their planning consultants, was a scaled-down version of this proposal. But when added to the Murray O'Laoire plan, it would result in a population of 10,000.
The plan was tabled by two of the councillors who commissioned it, Mr Jim Lennon (FG) and Mr Finnan McCoy (FG).
Another one of the five, Mr Nicky McCabe (FF), said he had received letters about it "so they [the public] must be aware of what's in it".
The other six who voted for it were: Cllr Peter Savage (FF); Cllr Jacqui McConville (FF); Cllr Oliver Tully (FF); Cllr Terry Brennan (FG); Cllr Frank Godfrey (Ind); and Cllr Tommy Reilly (FF), whose casting vote as chairman ensured its adoption.
The nine who opposed it were: Cllr Martin Bellew (Ind); Cllr Declan Breathneach (FF); Cllr Thomas Clare (FF); Cllr Sean Collins (FF); Cllr Jim D'Arcy (FG); Cllr Mary Grehan (Ind); Cllr Donal Lynch (FF); Cllr Jimmy Mulroy (FF); and Cllr Michael O'Dowd (FG).
