On a quiet stretch of Soldiers Point Road, a vote over eight proposed units has become something larger — a contest between the letter of planning law and the spirit of a community's vision for itself. Port Stephens Council will decide Tuesday whether a $4.7 million development by Cerretti Holdings qualifies as permissible multi-dwelling housing or a prohibited apartment block, a distinction hinging on the meaning of a staircase. Whatever the council resolves, the decision will ripple forward, shaping not only this site but the character of the neighbourhood that surrounds it.