A last-ditch attempt to halt development of the Optima, Inc., condominium tower at 1800 Sherman Ave. failed Tuesday night at a meeting of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Doraine Anderson, a resident of the nearby Sherman Gardens apartment complex, filed an appeal last month that claimed Optima’s planned 16-story tower actually would occupy two zoning lots instead of the one lot the company claims.

Anderson and some other neighborhood residents also have complained that the new tower would ruin their view and bring unnecessary traffic problems to the area.

Optima originally sought to build a 36-story building, but revised the plans after an outcry from residents.

Richard Stillerman, Anderson’s attorney, argued the tower would have too many apartments for either lot if the two were counted separately.

The board unanimously denied that appeal, agreeing with Optima attorney Jerry Callaghan that the space Optima hopes to develop is one lot.

Much of the disagreement over the lots stemmed from the fact that an office building owned by Prentiss Properties Trust already exists on the space. Under a contract between the two companies, Optima would buy part of the Prentiss property. The tower would provide new parking for the existing office building. The two buildings would also share some utilities costs, a small park and other infrastructure.

Callaghan said given the many services the buildings shared, they ought to be considered under the control of a single agent.

“Each parcel is to be connected to the other and relies on the other,” he said.

Treated as a single agent, Prentiss and Optima would have the right to determine the boundaries of their zoning units, Callaghan said. To deny that right, he said, would be to judge the companies by a different standard from all other Evanston property owners.

Stillerman argued that Prentiss and Optima only entered an agreement because the existing office building would need parking and the real issue behind the zoning argument was property density.

Since no residences would be located in the office building, Stillerman said, it did not make sense to include that space when measuring how many condominium units Optima could build.

“It seems to me that this runs counter to the intention of the city council to control the density of future development,” he said.

Stillerman said he was not yet sure whether his client would appeal the case further.