Palo Alto leaders remain as split as ever over the city's composting options, but they agreed Monday night to create a new Blue Ribbon Task Force to investigate technological, cost and site alternatives.

The City Council voted 8-1, with Greg Schmid dissenting, to create a task force that would evaluate various compost technologies and issue a recommendation to the council. Schmid voted against the motion because it did not expressly forbid consideration of parklands for a new composting site.

Yet even this rare moment of near-consensus involved hours of debate and numerous substitute proposals, all of which faltered by narrow margins.

Council members clashed over whether the task force should be appointed by a three-member council subcommittee or the council at large.

They also disagreed over whether the task force should be directed to completely exclude parklands from consideration, or merely consider other locations first.

The task force, once formed, is expected to convene for about six months before issuing its recommendations.

The idea of forming the task force was advocated by a colleagues' memo from Mayor Peter Drekmeier and council members Pat Burt and John Barton.

"I'm optimistic that the task force can come up with a viable or a set of viable technology alternatives that will be more effective on smaller footprints and really move us beyond what I consider the antiquated process of windrow processing," said Burt, author of the memorandum.

Council members Yoriko Kishimoto, Sid Espinosa, Schmid and Yiaway Yeh proposed explicitly excluding parklands for consideration, but this was rejected by the other five council members.

Councilman Larry Klein, echoing the sentiments of the majority, said he didn't want to predetermine the task force's recommendation.

"You don't advise your advisors on what they should advise you," Klein said.

Drekmeier also argued that by excluding all parkland the task would not be able to consider the area around the Water Quality Control Plant, which he said would make an ideal site for a smaller, more enclosed composting facility.

"For me, the vision is that we have a smaller, in-vessel facility, nestled up against the water treatment plant, converting our yard waste, food waste and generating energy," Drekmeier said.

Schmid, Kishimoto and Espinosa then tried to amend the motion to make parklands the alternative of very last resort. That alternative also failed.

The council finally agreed, however, to direct the task force to explore other alternatives before considering parklands. This proposal passed 5-4, with Burt and Yeh joining Schmid, Kishimoto and Espinosa.

"I know how hard it is to get land dedicated and I know how tempting it is to chip away at that," Espinosa said. "For me, protecting parkland and open space is sacrosanct."

Schmid, the only council member who voted against the final motion to form the task force, argued that by not excluding parklands the council is essentially authorizing an extension of the current composting operation at Byxbee Park beyond its scheduled closing date in late 2010.

"As long as windrow composting is going on anywhere on that 100-acre site, that entire site will be closed to people, the people who paid for it," Schmid said.

The council also clashed over whether the task force should be selected by a subcommittee or the council at large. Councilmen Klein, Barton, Burt and Mayor Drekmeier argued that giving the task to a subcommittee would expedite the process.

But the rest of the council sided with Vice Mayor Jack Morton, who argued that the project is too controversial to be handled by a subcommittee.

"Given the intensity of the issue, it's better that the whole council weighs in on who sits on the committee," Morton said.

Meanwhile, the green-vs.-green battle between local environmentalists who favor keeping composting in the city and the conservationists urging removal of all industrial operations from Byxbee Park continued to rage in the council cvhambers.

Dozens of community members attended Monday's meeting and about 20 made brief speeches to the council, representing a wide spectrum of opinions.

Emily Renzel, former councilwoman and one of the leading proponents of getting composting out of Byxbee Park, argued that extending landfill operations would betray the city leaders' earlier promises to residents.

"Every council member has spoken eloquently while campaigning about protecting our baylands and foothills open space," Renzel told the council.

"Your planning commission and your parks commission have both advised you that the compost operation does not belong in Byxbee Park.

"Now you're on the brink of approving a major nuisance right in the middle of what is supposed to be a major unifying factor in our baylands open space."

Cedric de La Beaujardivre, meanwhile, argued that city officials should do everything in their power to keep composting within Palo Alto borders and told the council to consider all options.

"Maybe the best technology to use for all our waste could spill over a little bit to the park, but if you say no to the parkland option, that would take this option of the table," de La Beaujardivre said.

(Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@paweekly.com.)