It was abundantly clear last Thursday night that the members of the Bristol Planning Board dislike the idea of a proposed Comfort Inn on Gooding Avenue as much as the crowd that filled the seats at the Colt School Auditorium. But the decision at this stage was never really theirs to make.

The hotel is proposed for land that is in a GB (general business) zone, like all of Gooding Avenue. No zoning relief was required. By law, the proposed hotel is permissible in a general business zone.

Once the Department of Environmental Management signed off on the plan, Bristol’s hands were tied, at least as far as the master plan approval is concerned.

It’s not as though the board didn’t try. When 10 p.m. came and went, acting chairman Steve Katz seemed poised to continue the matter into April, but solicitor Amy Goins suggested that it was time for a vote. They asked if there was any way to reject the master plan, and there was — but it would likely lead to a costly lawsuit that the town would almost certainly lose, which would grant approval without conditions.

Approval at this stage would allow for the board’s conditions — including peer reviews of the traffic impact study, fiscal impact statement, and stormwater management report — to be met prior to preliminary review. Board member Richard Ruggiero voted to deny regardless, reflecting the emotions of virtually everyone in the room. But the majority was right to not sacrifice the opportunity to make this approval conditional, and to spare the town the time and expense of litigation.

A confluence of circumstances came together to get us to this stage. Gooding Avenue is appropriately zoned for commerce. DEM’s decision to allow development on the wetland area is regrettable, and yet another unfortunate example of the state usurping local authority. Suggesting that the members of the planning board acted in any way against the best interest of the town is unwarranted.

Assuming the developer meets the planning board’s conditions, the process will move on to preliminary, where the board will have many more options to influence the appearance and impact of the proposed hotel — and the public will once again have an opportunity to speak.

Stay engaged, Bristol. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.