Two Warrenton aldermen have apologized for a comment made on Facebook.

The comment was made in response to residents of Sunnyside Road who are opposed to a proposed residential development there. On Aug. 25, residents published a paid advertisement on the Warren County Record Facebook page, urging Warrenton aldermen to vote against a request to rezone 12 acres of land from agricultural use to medium-density residential property.

In the ad, residents said they “strongly oppose” the application to develop an “urban density” subdivision.

A reply from Ward 1 Alderman Cheryl Dyer caused outrage with a two-word comment: “Too bad.”

Adding to the frustration was a thumbs-up showing that Ward 2 Alderman Scott Schulze had “liked” the comment.

The Facebook comment was such a concern that when the zoning issue made it to a delayed public hearing Sept. 15, most of the opponents who spoke against the issue also called on Dyer and Schulze to recuse themselves from a vote.

David Avis, one of the leading opponents, accused Dyer and Schulze of improperly showing bias in their decision before residents had a chance to speak at the public hearing.

“What you did was uncalled for as public, elected aldermen,” Avis said.

Dyer and Schulze told the residents that neither of them meant to imply they weren’t taking public input seriously.

“The last time I uttered two words that caused this much distress is when I said ‘I do,’ ” commented Dyer. “I can assure you my comment was not a ‘flip’ comment. To tell you the truth, I don’t remember making the comment.”

Dyer said she should have provided a much longer comment about how it was too bad that the rezoning issue had developed into “nastiness, name calling, rumors and false information.”

Dyer added that eligible citizens unhappy with city leadership should run for office next year and replace her, announcing that she does not plan to run for reelection.

Alderman Schulze said he had paid close attention to comments that opponents provided about the rezoning proposal. He said he didn’t mean anything significant by liking Dyer’s comment.

“It was more or less a quick click of the mouse,” said Schulze.

“I value your concerns and I value you as community members,” Schulze told residents of Sunnyside Sept. 15. “It wasn’t my choice to be flippant. I didn’t mean to harm anybody in that aspect.”