NORTHAMPTON - The City Council approved, on first reading, several Community Preservation Act projects totaling about $818,300 Thursday night, although two proposals that would take up more than half of the total generated dissension among some councilors.

The biggest share includes $485,000 for proposals put forth by the Valley Community Development Corp., two of which would fund development of eight new single-room occupancy units at 98 King St. downtown and renovation of a building at 16 N. Maple St. in Florence to preserve 11 existing single-room units.

The council voted 8-1 to support the King Street project and 6-2 in favor of the Maple Street proposal in Florence. Both proposals, as well as the others approved by the council, are up for a second vote when the council next convenes in mid-January.

The $250,000 for the N. Maple Street project would pay for part of a $2 million upgrade. The project calls for rebuilding the interior so that residents can have a more independent living space.

As he has in the past, Ward 5 City Councilor David A. Murphy voted against this measure. He was joined by Ward 3 City Council Robert C. Reckman, while At Large City Councilor James M. Dostal abstained.

Murphy cast the lone dissenting vote on the King Street project, which calls for $225,000 to pay for a portion of a $2 million development.

While he agrees that something must be done to address homelessness, Murphy said, this type of project is too costly to seriously tackle the problem.

"If this is really what it's going to cost, we are going to fail miserably," he said. "We're housing 19 people for $4 million."

Supporters of the project said they understood Murphy's position, but pointed out that the cost estimates are not out of the ordinary. They noted that developing these types of units comes with so many strings attached that private developers aren't willing to tackle the work.

Additionally, the Housing Partnership has prioritized single-room occupancy units as a needed housing resource in the city. Earlier this year, the city lost 22 units when a rooming house on Bridge Street, called Augie's, caught fire.

Mayor Clare Higgins acknowledged that a proposal that provides housing for low-income individuals is controversial, but encouraged the council to support it. She said the state has adopted a Housing First policy that calls for rapidly rehousing people when they become homeless. Having an adequate supply of single-room occupancy units is the first step in this process.

Other CPA projects up for discussion at Thursday's meeting included $150,000 to buy a house on Nonotuck Street in Florence for a museum and education center; $118,600 for a permanent conservation restriction on 168 acres of undeveloped open space in the Marble Brook Watershed off Chesterfield and Kennedy roads; $40,000 to pay for a feasibility study for playing fields; $12,000 to control and eliminate certain invasive plant species from the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area; $10,000 to allow the city to acquire open space quickly through its Conservation Commission Conservation Fund; and $2,761 to install custom interior storm windows at the Betty Allen Chapter House of the Daughters of the American Revolution at 148 South St.