A proposed 46-story condominium and hotel complex on the beach in Port Hueneme died this week when the City Council rejected a developer's request to reopen negotiations.

The council could have launched studies on potential environmental effects of a skyscraper on a 1.4-acre, city-owned parking lot at the end of Surfside Drive. Instead, it voted 3-0 Wednesday night against the idea, bowing to overwhelming public opposition and arguing the proposed Pacific Pointe tower didn't fit a beach neighborhood of two- and three-story condos.

"Is this the right project, the right time, the right location?" Councilman Murray Rosenbluth told the crowd of more than 300 people at the Orvene S. Carpenter Community Center. "I conclude it's not."

Council members Jon Sharkey and Toni Young recused themselves because of potential conflicts of interest. Both have real estate interests near the project site.

Developers Harvey Champlin and Ray Mulokas with Ventura-based CPH Tower LLC first approached the city in June 2005 with a 20-story proposal. City officials approved a negotiating agreement, which expired a year later. Meanwhile, Champlin and Mulokas continued to review designs with other architects.

They unveiled the 46-story version last year at a housing conference in Westlake Village, calling it a model of smart growth that favored high-density development over sprawl.

The proposal featured a four-sided hotel base with 250 rooms, topped by a three-sided tower with 200 condominiums. Approval would have made it the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Champlin and Mulokas cast the project as an antidote to the city's chronic $1.2 million budget deficit. The tower would generate annual revenues to the city of $2.2 million, more than half from hotel taxes, they said.

Although few in number, supporters during the three-hour public hearing said the tower would provide jobs and boost tourism. Several said the city had nothing to lose by reopening negotiations.

But among the nearly 60 speakers, opponents outnumbered supporters by more than 4-1.

Critics, wearing red buttons, raised concerns about traffic, parking, noise and pollution and argued that the tower would transform the area into Miami Beach.Opponent Marjorie Cole, with the group Hueneme People No Towers, said Thursday she was relieved by the decision. Had the council voted otherwise, "We would have fought it through every phase," Cole said.