Councilman Carlton Christensen, however, was one of four council members who were unwilling to waive the requirements, and he openly wondered if the City Council would make such exceptions for a nonprofit that wasn't run by Corroon.

"If the seller had been somebody different, would we be making these accommodations?" he said Friday.

Moreover, Christensen said nobody could answer his questions as to why UCRC wanted the conditions waived.

Mayor Rocky Anderson, joined by council members Dale Lambert, Jill Remington Love and Jergensen, said it was no big deal to waive the minor requirements and any lender would want the requirement waived.

"There was not a concern that there was a financial risk to the agency, and I want the project to be successful," Love said.

Asked if she factored Corroon's involvement into her decision, she said, "Not that he was the new county mayor, but it crossed my mind that they had been good to work with and they had wanted to make this project work."

But council members Van Turner, Dave Buhler, Christensen and Nancy Saxton argued it would set a bad precedent to make concessions to the contract's provisions, and they weren't happy that Green Street was selling the property so soon, especially because they weren't informed Green Street was going to get out of the complex.

Anderson tried to lobby the holdouts, noting that Corroon, who Anderson supported in the 2004 election, and others had worked hard for the project.

"It might be helpful to the folks who have put this deal together to make this happen," he said.

In the end, a majority of council members weren't convinced.

Jergensen said it was "very likely" the sale might come back for another vote if the parties give the council more information about the deal.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com