AURORA -- After more than 30 minutes of public comment on the issue, aldermen voted Tuesday night to grant Planned Parenthood 11 more parking spaces at its New York Street facility.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois had asked for 27 additional spaces, citing security concerns. In statements to the Plan Commission, Planned Parenthood representatives said protesters had been harassing staff members at the clinic, and without adequate parking those staffers would have to park in adjacent lots and walk past protesters to get to work.

Aldermen on the Planning and Development Committee only approved 11 of those spaces, however, and that's the judgment council members upheld Tuesday. The vote was 7-3, with Aldermen Richard Irvin, at-large; Rick Lawrence, 4th Ward; and John "Whitey" Peters, 5th Ward voting against. Aldermen Juany Garza, 2nd Ward, and Scheketa Hart-Burns, 7th Ward, were absent, as was Mayor Tom Weisner.

Lawrence had appealed the matter to the council, hoping to ask Zoning Administrator Ed Sieben whether Planned Parenthood needed a special-use permit to operate a non-profit medical clinic in that location. That question is at the heart of the protesters' lawsuit against the city, and a DuPage County judge is expected to rule on a motion to dismiss in that case on Nov. 6.

Sieben was not allowed to attend or speak at Tuesday's meeting because, according to city attorney Alayne Weingartz, he may be called as a witness in that case.

Lawrence also suggested that the council hold off on deciding the parking issue until after the judge's ruling, but that motion failed.

Alderman Leroy Keith, 9th Ward, questioned whether opponents' concerns were about zoning at all.

"If this was a doctor's office or a dentist's office asking (for the same thing), it would not even be at this level," Keith said. "We are only taking this vote tonight because of what this facility does."

Thirteen speakers took their three minutes each to encourage aldermen to reject Planned Parenthood's proposal. Many of them are frequent abortion protesters at the building and said the parking lot is never full. Many also said they have never seen Planned Parenthood employees walking through adjacent lots to get to the clinic.

Most questioned Planned Parenthood's need for additional security, saying the protests there have been peaceful. In fact, many said they had been on the receiving end of threats from those entering and leaving the clinic.

"We are not violent criminals, and we pose no threat to Planned Parenthood or its staff," said Matt Yonke, of Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood.