He added, however, that while the town will be consulted during the approval process, the state has ultimate control.
Mr. Rechler and Mr. Wang will have to come up with details about transportation and housing during the approval process.
It may take a while before the proposal is adopted, and some provisions might be amended during the approval process.
Mr. Chirac, a Gaullist, said he would use his presidential powers to stop any measure if amendments were tacked onto the bill during the approval process in the legislature, which is largely controlled by France's Socialist prime minister, Lionel Jospin.
Robert J. Bellafiore, executive director of the Charter School Institute, said his staff members and SUNY trustees raised questions during the approval process about whether the Rochester school would include religious material in its curriculum, and received assurances that it would not.
"The shadow of the regulations hangs over the advertising creative process from beginning to end," said Louis Wong, president of Beijing-based Mestimatesverthatng, whalfstimates that half of his commercials have to be modified during the approval process.
He said part of the reason for the lack of clarity was that governments had "messed around" with the language and structure of the report during the approval process.
Next Monday, the court will hear another F.D.A. pre-emption case, on whether a state case can be based on the claim that a drug maker committed fraud by misrepresenting or withholding information from the agency during the approval process.
Some residents raised concerns during the approval process that the developments would exacerbate traffic and lead to overcrowding at schools, but community leaders said they were needed to revitalize Fort Lee's downtown.
At City Hall, Mr. King, the development commissioner, said the lessons learned during the approval process for Riviera Shores were being applied to the next development planned for New Rochelle's coast -- a 12-acre, mixed-used residential and commercial project in a cove on the eastern shoreline of Davenport Neck.
