Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is seeking a consultant to develop a plan for the redevelopment of Dún Laoghaire baths.
The decision comes over a year after councillors voted to reject a €140 million scheme developed by council officials that included an eight-storey building with apartments, retail and an indoor swimming and leisure complex.
The new study will examine the feasibility of designing an environmental and amenity improvement scheme from the East Pier in Dún Laoghaire to Sandycove, and will include costed preliminary designs for the project.
The design will incorporate the Sutton to Sandycove promenade and cycleway as well as the Dún Laoghaire baths site. It is also required to be consistent with the design guidelines recommended by a committee of six Dún Laoghaire ward councillors which was formed after the rejection of the last plan.
The committee recommended that the design should have no high-rise or residential element, and that it would complement the coastline and offer a modern local tourist attraction.
Its height and development should be no greater than that which is there at present, and it should provide a public swimming pool, restaurant, tearooms, civic space, marine-related activities and possibly alternative therapies.
Progressive Democrats councillor Mary Mitchell O'Connor said she was pleased the brief incorporated the committee's recommendations.
The Save Our Seafront organisation gave a cautious welcome to the news. However, it said the council had been slow in moving the project forward.
