Gov. Martin O?Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot voted Wednesday to reject a wetlands permit that will stop one of the largest developments planned in decades on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay ? the 562-acre, 1,350-unit Four Seasons project near the Bay Bridge on Kent Island.

The project took years to gain approval of zoning and permits, survived several lawsuits, and helped seal the election defeat of the Queen Anne?s County commissioners who first approved it. The wetlands permit covering less than an acre was needed to allow construction of a pier and a bridge.