In the wake of a public hearing Wednesday where speakers in favor of allowing Fair Street Extension to be partially closed as part of the Kingstonian proposal heavily outnumbered those against it, the Common Council will likely vote on the matter next month.

At the three-hour hearing in the auditorium of George Washington Elementary School, opinions expressed ran heavily in favor of both the street closure and the Kingstonian in general. Eight of nine Common Council members were present for the meeting along with Council President Andrea Shaut, who served as presiding officer. By her count, she said, there were 70 speakers at the hearing — 56 in favor of the plan and 14 opposed.

Written comments submitted through the City Clerk’s Office showed a similar breakdown: 44 comments supporting the street closure and 12 opposed. But, Shaut noted, that the public hearing will remain open for written comments until Friday at 4 p.m.

The proposal calls for Fair Street Extension, which connects Schwenk Drive with North Front and Fair streets, to serve as the entrance to a 420-space garage that, according to Kingstonian developers’ updated plans, will set aside 203 public parking spaces to be operated and maintained by developers. The upper portion of the street will be replaced by a public plaza, also built and maintained by developers. The proposed project also includes a 143-unit apartment building on the site of what is now a city parking lot adjacent to Fair Street Extension, a 32-room boutique hotel, retail and restaurant space and a walkway connecting the site to Kingston Plaza.

Wednesday’s public hearing was the second for the proposed street closure. After a Dec. 2 forum was marred by technical glitches that left its online audience unable to see or hear portions of the proceedings, Kingstonian foes filed a legal action to invalidate the hearing and a subsequent vote by the council to approve the street closure. Later that month, the city agreed to rescind the vote and schedule another public hearing.

Shaut said Thursday she’s waiting to consult with the city attorney before deciding whether to schedule a special meeting of the council to re-vote the plan this month or wait for the Common Council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 1. In light of a flurry of lawsuits brought by companies controlled by Kingstonian opponent and Uptown real estate investor Neil Bender, including one that led to the hearing being re-held, Shaut said she was inclined to hold off a final vote until February.

“Because of the pending litigation, we want to be careful that we don’t move any faster on this than we should,” Shaut said.