INGLEWOOD — A group of seniors packed a public hearing at the City Council meeting Tuesday night to protest go-ahead development plans for construction of a long-awaited senior citizens center.

The hearing was called to consider an appeal to a special use permit (SP-976) sought by the city’s Planning Commission for a Preliminary Planned Assembly Development (PAD) to allow construction of a seven-story, senior citizen complex and 58 senior housing units at 111 North Locust Street.

The senior center/senior housing facility will consist of a 33,357 square-foot senior center and 58 senior housing units in a 60,634 square-foot area built over a three-level, 93,364 square-foot subterranean garage.

The housing units will be located on floors three through seven and made up of 19 two-bedroom units and 39 one-bedroom units.

Current estimated cost of the project is $47 million.

Councilman Danny Tabor made a motion to postpone the vote on the appeal for 28 days and it will now be heard on Dec. 12. Councilwoman Judy Dunlap voted against the postponement and Mayor Roosevelt Dorn abstained.

In allowing the project to go forward, the Planning Commission is seeking modifications to the approved design that would not adhere to current zoning codes.

These include the use of shared laundry facilities for all 59 senior citizen apartments, where the code requires individual washer and dryer hook ups to be located within units that contain two or more bedrooms.

In addition, the PAD advocates one 28-foot wide double driveway in lieu of two 22-foot wide double driveways required by the IMC.

About 30 speakers took to the podium in the public comment section of the hearing, almost all voicing their opposition to the plans.

“A housing complex did not come to mind when the project was being planned,” said Blanche Brown, a senior, who lives at the Inglewood Meadows. “We need a separate senior center. You can build housing, but it should be somewhere else, not on top of it.”

Another speaker, Reba Miller, was more forthright. “We’ve been hoodwinked,” she said. Why is the mayor and the council building a center with housing? What do we need the housing for? We need [things like] an on-site medical center.”

Senior Mary Joe White just repeated the mantra: “Build to code, build to code, build to code.”

George Dotson, chairman of the Planning Commission, was one of three speakers in favor of the special use permit. “I have a construction background and a construction license,” he said. “This building is the best I’ve seen around. It has all the amenities we thought you deserved. You can only put so much on that land. You can listen to all this rhetoric, but the clock’s ticking.”

Tuesday night’s protest came after weeks of public dissent on the matter by Councilwoman Judy Dunlap, who has continually criticized the design, cost and funding for the project.

At the last council meeting, Dunlap called for a complete financial audit of the project — which was first proposed in 1998 — and accountability for the estimated $5 million that has already been spent.

“This is all about asking them to build this [facility] to code,” said Dunlap. “I find it unconscionable that we’re postponing the vote. Nothing will change in 28 days. You’ve already made up your minds. It’s just that these people won’t be here to see you vote for this boondoggle.”