A zoning plan that would guide the redevelopment of the Port of Port Royal was given initial approval by a divided Town Council on Wednesday, despite most officials' agreement that the plan's acceptance should not be rushed.

Town officials are in the midst of negotiating with the S.C. State Ports Authority to map out plans for the 50.88 waterfront acres that will open up when the Ports Authority sells them to developers. The sale carries a Dec. 31 deadline set by a 2004 state law mandating the port's closure.

Councilman Vernon DeLoach offered a list of concerns, including that the density and building heights would be at too large a scale for the town. He suggested that the vote on the zoning plan be delayed until the council is satisfied with the development agreement that enforces the zoning map. The development agreement originally had been scheduled to also go to a vote Wednesday, but the council instead decided to discuss it further with lawyers and did so in an executive session after the meeting.

Officials have said they're worried the development agreement may give too much flexibility to developers and not enough power to town officials to ensure what is allowed to be built is within the vision set by town residents. Councilman Joe Lee reiterated the concern before joining DeLoach in voting against the zoning plan. Mayor Sam Murray and council members Mary Beth Heyward and Henry Robinson supported it.

DeLoach said the town has been fighting construction of three-story buildings, and he worries the heights and densities the plan allows -- 58 feet and 13.8 units per acre, respectively, in the densest parts -- aren't right for the town. He recommended the plan ban attached townhouses and heights over two stories.

"We should look at how it will affect the quality of life of the people who live here, not the people who are coming here," DeLoach said. "Why don't we just move to New York and be done with it? Let's keep Port Royal Port Royal."

Mark Baker, a planner with Wood and Partners of Hilton Head Island, which helped create the plan, said the densities and heights are reflective of what residents said they hoped to see when they gave input in planning sessions in 2004.

Before the vote, Heyward emphasized that passing the first reading was only preliminary. Hearings are planned for Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 and the second reading will not come earlier than Nov. 8.

"There are things we will be continuing on until Nov. 8, and we might not even be ready then," she said.

Lee recognized pressure to help the S.C. State Ports Authority meet a Dec. 31 deadline to sell the property mandated by a 2004 state law.

"I don't know that I'm excited about a first reading, but the governor is going to send nasty letters to us if we don't," he said.

Susan Graber, a member of the town's Redevelopment Commission, which considered the plans Tuesday night and will meet again Tuesday for further discussion, suggested at the beginning of the meeting that the council delay the first reading.

"We still have a lot of concerns and there are a lot more things we want to talk about," she said. "I'm concerned you guys might be a little ahead of us."

While protocol dictates that the Beaufort-Port Royal Joint Municipal Planning Commission approve ordinances before they go to the Town Council, the Redevelopment Commission is just an advisory panel. But the council is not bound to follow the recommendations of either board. The Planning Commission approved the plans with some hesitation at its Oct. 4 meeting.

Several residents took advantage of Wednesday's discussion to comment on the plans, mostly expressing concerns about building heights and density.

"I don't find any 58-foot buildings in the neighborhoods," resident David Kell said. "What I read does not reflect what we have today; not even close."

Residents also expressed a desire to ensure the town's seafood industry infrastructure would stay, and officials agreed and will discuss with lawyers how to codify it.