MADISON, Wis. -- The developer for the Edgewater Hotel project has downsized his proposal to expand the Edgewater.

But some key leaders in the Mansion Hill Historic District, the hotel's neighborhood, said they still can't support the project, even with the developer's new scaled-back design.

The latest renderings of the developer's redesigned hotel project drop the 11-story hotel tower three stories to eight stories.

The renderings also show a terraced area that would sit lower than the current hotel roof, giving the public an even better view of the lake from the street side of the project.

Mansion Hill resident Fred Mohs is on a special Capital Neighborhoods hotel committee that recently met with Hammes Company president and developer Bob Dunn on the redesign.

His neighborhood association has just finished a model of the historic district with the original 11-story tower on it.

But Mohs said even with the tower downsized three stories, Dunn's project is still too big and too high -- and would violate every zoning code in the historic district.

"He wants to do something that is too big for this site and for the zoning. We have a little slipper here and he wants to put a great big fat foot into it and it just won't fit," Mohs.

By proposing something that doesn't meet a 50-foot height requirement and other zoning rules, Mohs said the developer has introduced the "wild west" into zoning.

Mohs said getting around current zoning would set what he calls a "dangerous precedent" for the historic neighborhood.

But, late Wednesday, Dunn said the new tower height is now compatible with nearby office and apartment buildings.

The downsized plan cuts a 100,000 square feet out of the original proposal and reduces the total rooms by 38 to 190. The new plan costs $93 million.

In a statement, Dunn said the redesign balances many important interests while revitalizing an important city landmark.

A public listening session on the new plan is set for Nov. 5.