The Roanoke City Council is moving forward with plans to place a conservation easement on iconic Mill Mountain, but it left unanswered the biggest question surrounding the process: Will the easement preclude commercial development of roughly 6 acres on the mountain's summit?

That key piece of land has been the focus of an intensive and divisive debate since 2007, when Valley Forward, a group of young professionals, proposed developing the site into the Rockledge Community Center, which would include a restaurant, community room and cafe.

The proposal has been stalled since mid-2008.

Inclusion of the land in the conservation easement could rule out Rockledge or a similar project.

A split council hedged Monday on the question of whether to include the land -- considered prime for development because of its gentle slopes and comparative lack of trees -- opting instead to include two options in a proposal that will go to a public hearing scheduled for June 21.

The Rockledge project, named for the historic Rockledge Inn that burned in 1976, won praise from those who viewed it as an economic development tool to draw visitors off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Opponents, however, argued it would ruin views of the mountain and potentially disrupt its recreational uses.

Council members were split Monday along lines that mirrored the divisions over Valley Forward's proposal.

Mayor David Bowers said he would prefer an easement that would include the site in question, helping to restrict development. Bowers ran his 2008 mayoral campaign on a platform that included opposition to the Rockledge proposal.

Councilman Rupert Cutler, who was a vocal proponent of the project three years ago, supported leaving that land out of the easement. Cutler said that any future proposal would receive a thorough hearing by the council and two other bodies before being approved anyway.

Councilman Court Rosen also wanted the land left out of the easement. That route would both allow the rest of the easement to be written more restrictively, he said, but also leave that portion of land available for future development.

"I don't want people to construe this as, 'Let's build this thing today,' " Rosen said, adding that he wants to leave the option open for future councils.

The council did not take a vote on a specific easement boundary, but instead opted to include both potential boundaries subject to the public hearing.

The council did agree on other portions of the proposed easement boundary, including a southern line that would allow Mill Mountain Zoo to expand and a northern boundary that would edge right up to the walkway that runs between the mountain's two overlooks.