The seven council members in favor of the building said the project is a prime example of smart growth, since it will provide housing -- including 23 apartments for people with moderate incomes -- to an area near the Bethesda Metro station.

"We need housing within walking distance of Metro stations," said Councilwoman Nancy H. Dacek (R-Dist. 2) of Darnestown. "I don't think this is too destructive to the neighborhood."

The two council members who voted against the building, Howard A. Denis (R-Dist. 1) of Chevy Chase and Blair G. Ewing (D-At large) of Silver Spring, said the process was so flawed that approval for the building should start from scratch.

"I'm a very strong supporter of smart growth. I like my smart growth like my steak, well done," Denis said. "This project has not been well done. There has been one catastrophic disaster after another."

Denis said there were flaws in the planning process, and cited the building's conflicts with the 1994 Bethesda Central Business District Sector Plan.

The sector plan recommends the height of buildings on Arlington Road be limited to 42 feet. It also encourages housing in downtown Bethesda. Denis said the council did not know about the sector plan's height recommendation in November when it passed the law allowing a 75-foot-tall building.

The law allowed apartment buildings to be 75 feet tall if built on land that is in a particular zone, is within 1,500 feet of a Metro station, and is at least 300 feet from a single-family home. The Giant Food site falls within this category.

However, residents were unaware last fall that the County Council was considering a bill to change the law, and passed it with no opposition. After it passed, they spoke out against it, and lobbied the council to repeal it. On April 9 Ewing introduced a bill -- the subject of Tuesday's vote -- that would in effect repeal the law.

Ewing and Denis said the process last fall undermined the community's role. "Most importantly, it violated the public trust," Ewing said. "That's going to have a devastating impact on a lot of people in the county."

Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns the site, plans to build a 67-foot-tall, 180-unit apartment building with retail space on the first floor. Without the change, Federal Realty would have been limited to a 42-foot-tall commercial building.

The law the council passed Tuesday will limit the height to 65 feet, the shortest height Federal Realty officials have said would be economically feasible, while keeping the stipulations of being within 1,500 feet of a Metro station and at least 300 feet from a single-family home. The council added a stipulation that the land on which the building would be built be at least 1.5 acres in size.

Some council members said they were concerned that if they started from scratch, Federal Realty would not build apartments.

"If we send this back, will we get affordable housing out of it?" said Councilman Donell Peterman (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring. "There is a segment of the population that really needs this type of housing."

Ewing said he supports affordable housing, but it has to make sense. "Are we going to protect residential areas around large urban centers?" he said. "The height and mass are huge."

Silverman said he is not sure from what the community should be protected. "This is a residential complex. It's not a landfill. It's not a 20-story office building," he said.