It took just nine minutes Friday night for Coatesville council to undo a sales agreement with developer Carl Chetty for the sale of 8.5 acres of the Flats when it voted unanimously that a Dec. 23 special meeting called by the previous council was illegal.

The new council voted 6 to 0 with Council Member Karen Jorgenson absent that the previous council violated the state's Sunshine Law and the City Charter when it met Dec. 23 and voted on the Chetty sales agreement.

"You shouldn't read anything else into the actions taken tonight," said Council President Ed Simpson. The Chetty contract was not mentioned during the meeting. However, the resolution adopted reads that all actions taken at the Dec. 23 meeting are now void.

According to the resolution, the previous council did not advertise the Dec. 23 meeting as called for by the the Sunshine Law. It also says the meeting was illegal because it wasn't called for by the council president, Marty Eggleston. The meeting was called for by City Manager Harry Walker.

Walker was placed on paid administrative leave immediately following the swearing in of the new council members. Then, on Friday, Jan. 8, the FBI and county detectives raided Walker's office at City Hall, seizing documents and electronic files.

The agreement with Chetty was worked out with and approved by the city Redevelopment Authority (RDA). However, before the sale can take place it must be approved by council. The RDA owns the Flats.

Under the RDA agreement, there would be no upfront payment made, but rather the RDA would receive 25 percent of the profits from the sale of 84 townhouses Chetty plans to build. Chetty estimated the RDA would earn $1.6 million.

The proposed 84 townhouses are all to be built north of the railroad bridge that bisects the Flats. The site is located south of East Glencrest Road and just west of the Brandywine Creek.