“Their view was that it ought to stay Mahoney’s in perpetuity or else become a park,” Russell said. “To me, that didn’t make a lot of sense.”

Russell called Riverside’s recommended zoning “punitive.”

“It says ‘we don’t trust you,’” Russell said.

In their July hearing, the planning board discussed creating a 45’ height limit on the site, while giving Harvard the option of obtaining special permission for taller buildings, Russell said.

Russell added that he hopes to work with Harvard on making a smoother transition, with less fencing, between Mather, Peabody Terrace and the surrounding community.

Meanwhile, neighborhood activists are still hoping for a park on the Mahoney’s site—and for the city to take the land by eminent domain.

“We would love it, everyone’s for it,” Carlson said. “But we’ve gotten the cold shoulder from the City Council and the city manager.”

Faced with the prospect of deciding between two rezoning petitions for the controversial site, city councillor David P. Maher, a veteran of previous rezoning projects, said the City Council would likely compromise between the two.

As for the idea that the city should take the property by eminent domain— which allows the city to take a property from a private owner, while requiring the city to pay “market value”—several councillors were skeptical last night.

“I think the council in general has shied away from eminent domain in the past,” Maher said. “I think you have to be prepared for the legal ramifications of that.”

According to Russell, eminent domain cases often wind up in court—and require the municipality involved to pay “the most [a property] could possibly ever be worth,” which could amount to tens of millions of dollars, he said.

Meanwhile, Harvard’s Director of Community Relations Mary H. Power said the University would be unlikely to support either of the petitions which will go before the City Council. Both options promise to restrict Harvard’s ability to build housing.

“It’s likely that Harvard will have concerns regarding both,” Power said.

—Staff writer Lauren R. Dorgan can be reached at dorgan@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Christopher M. Loomis can be reached at cloomis@fas.harvard.edu.