Despite opposition from some of downtown Columbia’s hotels, City Council on Tuesday tentatively granted permission to build a Hyatt Place in the Vista that is one story taller than its competitors.

Yet the fight for the 130-room, six-story Hyatt on the 800 block of Gervais Street isn’t over.

Council wants to see evidence to support a contention by the Hampton Inn and the Hilton in the Vista that city officials discouraged owners of the Hampton from building it more than 50 feet tall. The Hyatt, directly across from the Hampton, is to be 67 feet high.

An attorney for the Hampton and Hilton said the city’s Planning Commission improperly voted to allow the Hyatt. Columbia’s lawyer and its planning and development department disagree.

Council is likely to cast its final vote at its Aug. 7 meeting.

-- Clif LeBlanc