The results of the vote, known as an advisory referendum, would gauge the opinion of city residents while still giving the council authority to approve or reject the proposal regardless of the outcome.

***

Wednesday’s special meeting offered the first chance for residents to weigh in on the proposal since its release earlier this week.

Its introduction came after 17 months of negotiations between Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration and NH District Corp., the private group led by Dominion Energy CEO Thomas F. Farrell II.

The group’s plans call for a 17,500-seat arena, the largest in the state; a high-rise hotel with at least 525 rooms; 2,500 apartments, with 480 reserved for people earning less than the region’s median income; 1 million square feet of commercial and office space; 260,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; renovation of the historic Blues Armory; a new transfer plaza for GRTC Transit System bus riders; and infrastructure improvements to make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to navigate the area.

About three dozen people addressed the council during an hourlong public hearing on the proposed referendum.