The Roanoke City Council voted 6-1 Monday to place additional environmental protections on Mill Mountain's slopes, while leaving out acreage near the summit that has previously been targeted for commercial enterprise.

The vote places nearly 540 of the mountain's 568 acres under a conservation easement that restricts the city's ability to subdivide or develop the property. The largely developed summit -- which includes Mill Mountain Zoo, Discovery Center and the Mill Mountain Star -- was left out of the easement, as were the 2 acres that have been the subject of heated debate in recent years.

Council members Sherman Lea, Rupert Cutler, Gwen Mason, Anita Price, Court Rosen and David Trinkle all voted for the version of the easement that excluded those 2 acres. Mayor David Bowers provided the dissenting vote.

That portion of land was the subject of a 2007 proposal by Valley Forward -- a group of young professionals -- to build the Rockledge Community Center, which would include a restaurant, community room and cafe.

Although the issue largely faded because of lack of political support and the national economic downturn, it has flared again with discussion of the easement, as evidenced by a capacity crowd who crammed into the council chambers to watch the proceedings.

More than half of the 15 speakers in the public hearing supported the larger, more restrictive version of the conservation easement.

Gail Burruss, who fought three years ago against the Valley Forward proposal, mentioned the mountain's abysmal record of commercial development. Most projects pitched over the past century never got off the drawing board, and most of those that did failed miserably, she said.

"Commercial presence can be anywhere," Burruss said. "A mountain summit cannot be re-created."

Ben Haley, a recent graduate of Patrick Henry High School, said he grew up hiking, biking and running the mountain. He said that he, too, is worried about the prospect that the summit might be developed further if not included in the easement.

"A park won't go out of business during a recession," Haley said. "A park won't lose its style. A park will always just be a park -- someplace nice to take your kid, take your grandkid, take your grandparents."

Steve Higgs, chairman of the Mill Mountain Advisory Commission, informed the council that the commission had voted 6-2 to support an easement and 5-3 to support the more restrictive version. But Higgs said that he personally worried the easement's language only left the door open for more debate in the future.

"It offers no protection at all for the summit, which is constantly and will continue to be a magnet for the latest and greatest idea," Higgs said. "The easement, therefore, will do nothing to stop future controversy surrounding development on the mountain. Instead, it will add simply another layer of arguments."

Cutler, attending the final meeting of his term, made the motion to approve the smaller, less restrictive easement that leaves out the embattled 2 acres.

Cutler said that leaving the land out of the easement doesn't necessarily guarantee development. Any project still would have to receive council approval and be shepherded through a likely legal test stemming from restrictions on the land's deed.

Inclusion of the land, meanwhile, wouldn't necessarily preserve the land for good, Cutler said.

Trinkle said he felt the smaller version of the easement struck a good balance.

"I think this conservation easement, especially the alternative option ... leaves some flexibility for future generations while clearly protecting one of our greatest assets," Trinkle said.

In his dissent, Bowers -- who included opposition to the Valley Forward project as a major campaign plank in his 2008 mayoral campaign -- appeared confused and frustrated by his colleagues' views and votes.

"I thought that was why we started this whole process anyway, because we were concerned about development on top of the mountain," Bowers said.

In other business:

n The council voted 5-2 to pass an ordinance that will allow street vendors to set up on city land and rights-of-way outside downtown.

Bowers and Lea provided the "no" votes, citing concerns about the bad economy.

Prospective street vendors must submit an application to the city planning department for each site they use. They must be at least 100 feet from an established restaurant and they cannot locate in downtown Roanoke. "Downtown" is roughly defined by the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center on the north, Sixth Street Southwest on the west, Elm Avenue on the south and Interstate 581 on the east.

Roanoke Planning Administrator Chris Chittum said he already has received inquiries from five vendors interested mostly in locations along the Roanoke River Greenway and near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

n The council voted unanimously to sell Southeast Roanoke's Buena Vista mansion and 3 acres of neighboring Jackson Park to a couple who want to renovate the building to live there.

Scott and Ascension Horchler will buy the historic mansion -- built about 1849 and one of the oldest houses in Roanoke -- to renovate it into a single-family residence for them and their two children.

They'll pay about $75,000 for the property, but there are several strings attached, including a requirement for them to invest at least $75,000 into renovations during the first year.

City officials have estimated the mansion will require nearly $500,000 in renovation and repair work.