ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Voters in St. Petersburg will not be able to vote on whether to tear down the city's pier and build a new one.
    
City Councilors on Thursday voted 6-2 against giving voters a say, despite a local group's efforts in collecting 20,000 signatures asking to put the item to a ballot.
    
The vote came after more than two hours of comments from citizens. Many are worried about the environmental impact and cost of the new structure.
    
In January, the city announced that it chose a design called "The Lens," an oval with looping bridges, protected dock and a canopy to be St. Petersburg's new waterfront icon.
    
This new, $50 million project will replace the present inverted-pyramid structure on Tampa Bay downtown. It was built in 1973.

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