The city's Zoning Board has voted 5 to 1 to allow North American Breweries to tear down the old brew house at 13 Cataract Street. The vote came at the end of a marathon meeting in which more than 20 people had signed up to speak.

NAB wants to transform the 110-year-old, two-story warehouse at 25 Cataract into a brewery visitors' center, museum, and restaurant with outdoor seating. There would be a microbrewery on the first floor, and an ale house with a bar on the second. The second story would also have a deck overlooking Upper Falls, and there would be a rooftop garden.

But the project prompted controversy because NAB wanted to tear down a four story, abandoned brew house at 13 Cataract to create parking for the project. The building is on the city's list of "Designated Buildings of Historic Value," and the Landmark Society, Rochester Regional Design Center, and others urged the city to save the building.

Critics seemed to score a victory last week when the city's Environmental Commission said tearing down the building would have an environmental impact. The nonbinding decision could have triggered a full environmental review - which would have delayed and, according to NAB representatives, possibly killed the project. But late Thursday night, Marcia Barry, the city's director of planning and zoning, determined, officially, that no review is necessary.

"The project's impacts to historic resources have been adequately mitigated," her decision reads. It also says that the project site does not contain sensitive natural features, and there would be no significant impact on water or air quality, noise levels, traffic patterns, or other factors.

Zoning Board member Roseanne Khaleel lashed out early in the meeting, saying the dilapidated state of 13 Cataract represented a lack of accountability toward the building. NAB bought the building aware that it had historical significance, she said, and never made any effort to maintain it. Now they're complaining, she said, that fixing up the building would be cost-prohibitive.

"This is a self-created problem," Khaleel said. "I see a building that has never had a day of maintenance in 30 years."

NAB CEO Rich Lozyniak admitted that the building has been neglected, but said it's unfair to blame his company, which only bought the property in 2009.

It would take approximately $8 million to fully rehabilitate the building, Lozyniak said.