Schenley Park is 420 acres, but ravines, trails and existing uses afford few places for the city to triple the size of a maintenance building without angering someone living on the park's perimeter.

And so the democratic process of meetings and negotiations between city officials and Squirrel Hill residents continued this week with a wintry tour of five possible sites, the pros and cons debated with steamy breath.

Council President Doug Shields initiated the tour. About 20 people turned out, starting at the city's preferred location -- off East Circuit Road at the golf course maintenance building.

The other sites under consideration are in Panther Hollow near the Eliza Furnace Trail extension; Prospect Circle; along the Boulevard of the Allies, near the swimming pool; and near Schenley Oval.

The city needs additional space because it lost its maintenance area behind Phipps Conservatory when Phipps upgraded. The current 5,000-square-foot building -- resembling a metal hangar -- would be replaced with a 15,000-square-foot structure.

The new facility would be built according to green construction standards, said Guy Costa, public works director. The estimated cost is $1.1 million, to be funded with Allegheny Regional Asset District money.

The building would be tucked into the slope to save on heating and cooling, with windows placed to attract maximum natural light and catch cross breezes. The design includes rainwater collection for washing equipment and flushing toilets.

Residents say they are more concerned about extra traffic than about the building; none of the proposed locations would be visible to residents from their homes.

Steve Hawkins, president of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, said he considers the city's proposed site "as good as any and better than most." The coalition, a partner in neighborhood discussions, has not taken an official position.

Each site candidate has proponents who don't live near it. The most remote is in Panther Hollow, on a skinny swath between active train tracks and a segment of the bike trail.

"Where would you even contemplate putting it?" asked Mr. Shields. "Besides, from an operational standpoint, this is the farthest you can get from the park."

"It depends on your goals," a woman said.

"My goal is to cut the grass," Mr. Shields said sharply. "You can't access this without driving up the hill and going through Oakland. Remember, you're trying to run government efficiently and this is the farthest from the work" of maintaining Schenley Park.

Lisa Citron lives close enough to the golf course location to oppose it, saying it would compromise "a pastoral setting" and create too much truck traffic on Serpentine Drive.

Stan Marlan said the proposed location on Prospect Circle near his house would hurt his property value and destroy the copse where he walks his dog. He said, too, that maintenance vehicles pulling out from Prospect Drive would create a traffic nightmare.

Mr. Costa agreed: "I can't risk an employee coming out [onto Hobart Street] in a slow-moving tractor."

At each stop, public works staff explained the problems with the also-ran sites. A bib of land along the Boulevard of the Allies, within a few dozen yards of the swimming pool, is unstable, made up of fill and already sliding, said architect Jim Kendall. Building with supports on bedrock would be necessary and prohibitively expensive, he said.

Another location, down from the oval, is troublesome because of the slope's steepness and lack of an access road.

Mr. Costa said he had hoped to get the work started by March but now it likely won't begin before summer.