SAN JOSE — Planning commissioners Wednesday could deny an “ultralounge” at the old Bella Mia restaurant building that was first proposed more than a year ago.

And that has the proprietor crying foul, arguing planners at the very same meeting are set to allow a similar project just 150 feet away and accusing a politically connected law firm next door of tanking their proposal.

“I think this project has been treated very unfairly,” said George Mull, an attorney representing “1st Street SJ Enterprise” and shareholder Jenny Wolfes, who proposed the Vanity SJ ultralounge inside the old Bella Mia on South 1st Street. “It’s clear to everyone that there is inappropriate political pressure being put on San Jose’s staff.”

While city officials deny succumbing to political pressure, it’s clear Wolfes was given a slew of mixed signals. Planning staff recommended approving two previous versions of the Vanity SJ project with a larger occupancy. Now they recommend denial.

The Planning Commission also recommended approving the Vanity SJ lounge in May 2015 and then flipped its position five months later after the City Council overruled the decision, even though Wolfes reduced occupancy by 120 people in response to concerns about it turning into a “megaclub.”

While the ultralounge meets the site’s zoning requirements and is consistent with the city’s general plan, Assistant Planning Director Rosalynn Hughey says it doesn’t meet the “intent” of a council policy that says no more than 30 percent of businesses on one side of a street can have nighttime uses to avoid leaving the block dark during the day.

Wolfes added a restaurant to serve lunch to add daytime use and said she’d separate the two floors, closing the top level at midnight and using it as a banquet for private events. No more than 500 people could occupy both floors, down from 669 total in her original proposal.

But adding a restaurant to serve lunch doesn’t solve the problem, Hughey said, because there’s no guarantee Wolfes will keep it open.

Three rounds of changes also didn’t appease Mayor Sam Liccardo and downtown Councilman Raul Peralez, whose concerns echo those of attorneys from Hopkins & Carley, the project’s neighbor. The attorneys said noise, litter and odors will destroy their downtown business. Hopkins & Carley employs former Mayor Chuck Reed, though he hasn’t commented on the project.

“This will result in unsafe situations for our attorneys, staff, clients, and people with whom we do business,” shareholder Jeffrey Essner wrote in a letter last year.

But the law office is surrounded by other venues that play music and serve alcohol — Paper Plane, Gravity House, 55 South and Temple — and one nearby restaurant is asking for a permit to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. and allow live entertainment.

That application is from M Asian Fusion Restaurant, and city planning staff recommended the Planning Commission approve it Wednesday.

The M restaurant’s maximum capacity is 216, so Vanity SJ would be slightly bigger. Hughey said the difference between the two projects is that one is a restaurant and neighbors haven’t complained about its proposed late-night use.

The landlord of the M Lounge property, Barry Swenson Builder, has opposed Wolfes’ project. Peralez says 10 other neighbors don’t want Vanity SJ to open, either.

Mull, Wolfes’ attorney, says 20 downtown businesses support Vanity SJ, including KG Real Estate, Inc., Walgreens and Subway.

The project is now coming up on a year-and-half with three separate applications.

Mull said Wolfes has spent nearly $100,000 in planning fees and project renderings. She’s also paying rent on the century-old building which has become a target for blight and graffiti.

Regardless of what happens at Wednesday’s meeting, both sides will likely appeal to the City Council. A few council members, including Johnny Khamis and Don Rocha, favor the project and say its denial paints San Jose as an unfriendly place to do business.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at 408-920-5705. Follow her at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis.