The University dropped plans to build a modern art museum there last summer after an outcry from the neighborhood and is now proposing to build graduate student housing on the site.

Existing zoning regulations allow for building heights of up to 120 feet. The Carlson petition would cap heights at 24 feet, with the possibility of allowing special permits for taller buildings. The proposal from the Planning Board sets a limit of 45 feet.

According to Power, the University opposes both of the proposed re-zoning plans.

The reductions in building height under the Carlson and Planning Board petitions are “so severe that they make development infeasible,” Power said.

She added that Harvard’s plan for graduate student housing would benefit the community because it would relieve pressure in the crowded real estate market and include some affordable housing units for city residents.

But at the public hearing, residents made it clear that they do not want to see large-scale University development on the site.

“It’s just logically inconsistent to put the tallest buildings in the neighborhood along the river, the neighborhood’s most precious resource,” said Phyllis Baumann.

One resident took out an accordion and protested University development in song—a takeoff on “Fair Harvard”—while another resident said the song “Fight Fiercely, Harvard” should be changed to “Fight Harvard Fiercely.”

Cob Carlson, the first signer of the petition that is now named for him, said the plan had the support of “over 95 percent of the neighborhood.”

“It’s time for Harvard to compromise and stop their predatory ways and arrogant manipulation of city officials,” he said.

State Representative Alice K. Wolf, D-Cambridge, told the Ordinance Committee she hoped they would support the Carlson petition and limit development in the neighborhood in a way they had not done in the past.

“You are being given something we are not often given, and that is a second chance,” Wolf said.

She added that she was “disappointed that Harvard didn’t make a symbolic gesture” such as donating the land to the public.

While University officials did not make a presentation at the meeting, Power said during the public comment period that Harvard has “continued interest in reaching a mutually agreeable resolution.”

City councillors David P. Maher and Brian Murphy, co-chairs of the Ordinance Committee, have been meeting with Harvard officials, city councillors and neighborhood residents to discuss possible compromises.