JERSEY CITY -- In a surprising move, the City Council voted decisively tonight against repealing the city's two-year old restrictions on where chain stores can open Downtown.

In a 1-8 vote, the council opted to keep the restrictions in place, rejecting the administration's request to repeal them and possibly setting up the city for a legal battle with CVS. The pharmacy giant wants to open up a location inside the zone where large chain stores are mostly barred.

Tonight's move was an unusual one for the council, which is dominated by allies of Mayor Steve Fulop and rarely votes against measures his administration backs. Ward A Councilman Frank Gajewski was the lone vote in favor of repeal.

Ward E Councilwoman Candice Osborne, who represents the areas where chain stores are restricted from opening, said she was under the impression the law was written two years ago in a way that protects the city from legal challenges. Other, similar laws around the country have been upheld, Osborne said.

Council President Rolando Lavarro echoed her thoughts, saying "let the courts decide" whether the restrictions are constitutional.

Even Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano, who voted against the restrictions when the council approved them in 2015, voted against repealing them tonight.

"I believe in mom-and-pop stores and I believe they should stay," Boggiano said.

Fulop first proposed the restrictions on chain stores two years ago, saying they would protect the character of Downtown neighborhoods. His administration proposed repealing them in May, three weeks after the city said it would block a CVS from opening a 20,000-square-foot location on Hudson Street.

The restrictions ban chain stores from taking up more than 30 percent of ground-floor commercial space in any one lot in a swath of Downtown. Some areas, including the waterfront north of Exchange Place, are exempt.

Two Downtown pharmacy owners spoke out in favor of the restrictions tonight and were elated after the council voted.

"I'm over the moon," said Ariel Zaurov, co-owner of Downtown Pharmacy.

Zaurov argued that chain stores are "monopolies" that don't play fair with local businesses.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.