A proposal for a signature waterfront tower in an area limited to 5-story buildings came a step closer to reality Wednesday. After four hours and 45 minutes of discussion, the Downtown Action Committee unanimously approved the Okeechobee Business District rezoning as compatible with city growth needs, over the objection of many of its neighbors.

Creating that zoning district, if it gets final approval next month by the city commission, would allow Related Urban Development to build a 25-story, top-tier office tower, dubbed One Flagler, 400 feet from the Lake Worth Lagoon, beside the First Church of Christ, Scientist.

The district, prompted by the Related proposal, would stretch down Okeechobee Boulevard and Lakeview Avenue from Rosemary Avenue on the west to the Flagler Drive waterfront on the east.

Opponents derided the plan as spot zoning and said it would hurt surrounding property values by blocking views and aggravating traffic, weaken enforcement of height restrictions elsewhere downtown and damage the element of zoning predictability that potential real estate investors and developers require.

But an analysis by city staff said jobs and other economic benefits of adding top-tier offices would outweigh the loss of condo and office views. The district would include enlarged building set-back requirements that create open public spaces, while preserving the historic church, Development Services Director Rick Greene said.

The DAC approval followed the unanimous approval of the city Planning Board on July 26. Such groups as the Downtown Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, Business Development Board and Northwest Community Consortium also backed the plan, for its economic benefits and Related’s promise to preserve the 89-year-old church, designed by Julian Abele, an African American architect who contributed to the design of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and buildings at Harvard and Duke universities.

The One Flagler project would create jobs "for the entire downtown," said Teresa Johnson, executive director of the consortium, which represents the economically depressed, mainly African-American, Historic Northwest Neighborhood. "As the city prospers, it is important to those communities that are challenged with employment that they are given opportunities to improve their quality of life," she said.

Others, including commercial real estate brokers and the chamber’s executive director, spoke of a dire need for new Class A office space to attract from the Northeast and abroad and even to fill the need of homegrown companies that have nowhere to expand.

DAC members were unswayed by the fact that a 1996 voters’ referendum capped the area east of Olive Avenue at five stories. That was more than 20 years ago, times have changed and the city needs to grow and change, they said.

"While I understand that additional development may come with some impact, it’s about whether that development is in an appropriate location," said DAC member Stephen Graham. "I’m fairly comfortable that that is the right location, along this corridor."