All councillors except Crs Jim Rinaldi and Grant Tillett approved the 27-apartment Nightingale project in Davey Street.

It is now even more likely to be the first of its kind in regional Victoria despite several impassioned pleas from locals against its approval.

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Councillors took the decision after hearing from City of Ballarat planners, the architectural firm driving the project, residents and would-be occupants.

The most heartfelt appearance came from a woman whose 87-year-old mother has lived on Davey Street for the past 63 years.

Appearing on her mother's behalf, she talked about the impact from the reduced sunlight on the garden, as well as the disruption of the construction work involved in building the four-storey block.

Describing its proposed site as "an incredibly small and narrow street", she said the development was "inappropriate" for Davey Street.

"Please consider the impact of the development on my quality of life," she concluded after pausing her statement due to tears.

Another Davey Street resident said the prospect of the building work left her "absolutely shaking".

"There has been a lot of talk about community. The community that was forgotten about was the community that already existed on Davey St and Lyons St," she said.

Other residents opposed to the development cited traffic and parking concerns, the potential for noise and antisocial behaviour from the proposed licensed cafe on the ground floor.

At least two would-be owners of the apartments in the new block also spoke. "Sustainability is an important thing for us, which it has in spades," one woman who described herself as an "empty nester" said.

Another said she had gone to see a completed Nightingale building project in Brunswick.

"The quality of the work in that building was so impressive," she told those present.

Jeremy McLeod of Breathe Architects, who design the Nightingale buildings, made a presentation in person. He emphasised the project's sustainability and social credentials, particularly its allocation of 20 per cent of apartments as affordable housing.

He said also talked about how bills - and the environmental footprint - were minimised by bulk purchase of renewable energy and supply of internet.

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"We are not just interested in affordability at the time of purchase, we're interested in affordability across the life of somebody's mortgage," he said.

Speaking in favour of the development, the deputy mayor Belinda Coates described the decision as "a dilemma."

"On the one hand, I do really empathise with the residents," she said. "But we can only apply the planning guidelines to our decision making." She added that the project met guidelines and with its emphasis on sustainability and community it went "over and above" normal planning requirements.

Cr Rinaldi was the only councillor who spoke against, saying the site and aesthetics of the proposed building were wrong.

"I agree on the product, totally disagree with the location," he said.

There were claps from the gallery in the council's Trench Room when the councillors' approval became clear.

Also on the agenda earlier on in the evening was the City of Ballarat officer recommendation to apply for a planning amendment to allow a heritage overlay over a section of the old Latrobe St Saleyards.

The overlay would cover the site's 1909 administration building, the bluestone-paved sale-yards and ramps facing Latrobe St as well as the 1963 selling pavilion.

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Councillor Daniel Moloney described the site as "one of the most important strategic sites in the city", while Cr Samantha McIntosh said the overlay would only affect a relatively small area, and should not limit its potential.

"It is about giving some purpose and authenticity to what the site was before. It does give the site a backbone," she said.

Crs Des Hudson and Mark Harris spoke against the recommendation, both saying they did not want to see anything imposed that could restrict the land's potential.

"There are other ways the stories of the saleyards could be told," Cr Hudson said.

He was in the minority and the officer recommendation was approved.