SPRINGFIELD — Insa Inc., the Easthampton-based marijuana retailer turned down for a special permit to open on West Columbus Avenue, has sued the City Council, citing an accidentally recorded “hot mic” conversation among councilors during a recess.

Insa wants to open at the former Luxe Burger Bar at 1200 West Columbus Ave., but the City Council didn’t approve a permit. Citing a recorded conversation, Insa lawyers say a least one councilor had second thoughts about the vote.

During the recess, City Hall microphones recorded an unidentified councilor saying, “I felt like kind of an a--hole.”

A councilor alleged in the lawsuit to be Council President Justin Hurst responded, “That’s exactly what you were supposed to do, and I can’t imagine, you know, INSA owns the building.”

Staffers are supposed to turn off both the audio and video from council chambers during recesses. In this case, the picture was turned off but the audio remained on.

The Sept. 24 vote was 8-3 in favor of the Insa permit, but nine votes — two-thirds of the 13-member council — were needed for passage.

Councilors voting against the Insa permit were Orlando Ramos, Adam Gomez and Hurst. Councilors E. Henry Twiggs and Michael Fenton were absent. Fenton has said he would abstain from any marijuana vote because of a potential conflict of interest. His law firm does business with a marijuana company.

The lawsuit paints a picture of council members groping for reasons to vote against Insa.

Hurst and Ramos speculated that approving Insa could create a monopoly within the city’s legal marijuana market.

Daniel J. Finnegan, one of the lawyers representing Insa, said Friday that council members are only supposed to consider evidence presented at the hearing and nothing else. He said there was no opposition to Insa’s plans.

Hurst is quoted in the lawsuit as saying at the meeting that if Insa opened at the Luxe site, customers would only stop there and not visit other locations in the city.

Hurst is also quoted as saying the West Columbus site is “Great” and “excellent location for INSA” and “Probably the best location, not in the city, but in the state and probably the country.”

Workers tend to marijuana plants in a grow room at the INSA marijuana dispensary in Easthampton. (Don Treeger / The Republican)

But Insa says in its lawsuit that the perception that it wouldn’t help other businesses is not a good enough reason to turn it down and uses the words of other councilors to back it up.

Insa seeks to have the vote annulled and the special permit granted.

Councilor Timothy Ryan is quoted in the lawsuit as responding “this whole thing about ‘this is a great location, but we’re going to deny it because we’re angry at INSA — that’s not a valid reason with all due respect to deny a special permit.”

According to the lawsuit, Gomez asked during deliberations why there was no letter from any neighborhood council either in support or opposition to Insa.

Council members were told that the South End Citizens Council intended to leave the permit application up to the City Council’s discretion. The South End Citizens Council is the only neighborhood group representing the spot Insa chose.

The suit also quotes City Solicitor Edward Pikula as telling the council that there is no statutory requirement that a marijuana applicant have the backing of a neighborhood council.

The suit also says Hurst objected to the business operating on city property.

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority sold the property in 2012. The building is now owned by NE Enterprises LLC, a company that is, according to the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office, managed by attorney and former City Councilor Raipher D. Pellegrino. The land itself is owned by the Springfield Riverfront Development Corp.

Luxe closed earlier this year, having opened in June 2012 in what had been the city’s visitor center. Insa has a lease for the building.

Insa is tripling its growing capacity in Easthampton from 30,000 to 90,000 square feet to meet growing demand for its products. Its Easthampton farm, factory and medical marijuana dispensary at 122 Pleasant St. in located at the site of the former West Boylston Co. mill.

The company is owned by partners and investors Patrick Gottschlicht and Peter Gallagher, with CEO Mark Zatyrkaas a minority partner.

Insa has 150 employees but had plans to top 200 Massachusetts workers by the start of 2020. It’s also developing a medical marijuana facility in Pennsylvania.

Springfield initially had 27 applications from companies seeking to open marijuana businesses. The city narrowed the list to four initial finalists. The other three were approved.

They are:

Holistic Industries, at 1300 Boston Road, within a shopping plaza next to Moe’s Southwest Grill

6 Brick’s LLC, at the Gasoline Alley business site, 250 Albany St., in McKnight

311 Page Blvd LLC, at that address in East Springfield, formerly the Crossfit Journey Gym

But the process is not stopping. Regaultions passed earlier this year by the City Coucil allow for as many as 15 recreational — or “adult use” in the parlance of the industry — marijuana shops.