A firm that’s helped revitalize downtown Portsmouth with a clutch of new hotels in recent years has accused members of the city’s Planning Board of acting in “bad faith.”

The three board members, Jim Hewitt, Jane Begala and Greg Mahanna, were appointed by former Mayor Rick Becksted shortly before he was voted out of office last year.

At the heart of the controversy is a hotel and residential project XSS Hotels, which filed the suit, along the city’s North Mill Pond. The project is still under review by the city’s Historic District Commission, as well.

The three officials acted in “bad faith,” a lawyer for the developer told the Portsmouth Herald, by voting to grant a rehearing on the project in January after the same board had OK’d it, in violation of “well-established New Hampshire Law,” XSS’ lawyer said.

XSS is seeking attorney’s fees.