Swieqi residents gathered in protest against a planning application that would see a terraced house in a row of similar houses demolished to make way for a block of flats.
The Planning Authority is set to decide on the application for the house in in Triq il-Ħemel on Friday.
In a statement, Swieqi Mayor Noel Muscat said that the council is opposing the application as it will see a street of good urban quality, made up of 17 two-storey terraced houses, destroyed forever if approved.
He said that the case officer's recommendation to approve the application is "unacceptable" and goes against the PA's own purpose for existing.
Muscat cited the landmark pencil development judgement which also took the PA to task for approving applications that go against policy.
The judgment has found that sparse and scattered developments did not constitute a commitment for higher buildings.
"This confirms that the commitment argument cannot be applied in this case. Thus, the case officer’s rash decision to recommend approval in this case, should be a non-starter and should be ignored by the board," Muscat said.
"The Authority should instead go back to real planning principles in determining particularly sensitive applications and not jump into loopholes, just to encourage more development."
The council said that it is also supporting residents' claims that the project would be in breach of an agreement made with the Archbishop’s Curia.
In their objections, the residents noted that the terraced house in question was built on a plot of land known as Art Tal-Kbira originally granted by the Archbishop’s Curia to engaged couples to construct terraced houses. This was a contractual obligation which remained when Church properties were transferred to the Joint Office, they argued.
"Their contract clearly forbade them from exploiting the property commercially, which would be the case were their houses to be developed into apartments - possibly more rentals and B&Bs - which would undoubtedly disturb the harmony of the area and the well-being of the residents," Muscat said.
"We once more appeal to the Planning Authority to seriously take note of the above and live up to its name and “act on behalf of the community” in refusing this application."