ST. PETERSBURG (AP) - The St. Petersburg legislature approved Wednesday the construction of a skyscraper that will tower near the architectural treasures of Russia's Imperial-era capital, a project that has drawn protests from many residents.

The city assembly adopted legislation providing for the construction of a mixed-use complex anchored by a glass-encased tower that is to rise 320 meters, more than twice as high as the stately city's current tallest building.

The Okhta project, pushed by the state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom, has sparked heated debate. And anger over the plans was a major draw during a handful of protests held by Russia's struggling political opposition in St. Petersburg over the past year.

Critics say the building would be a massively discordant element on the mostly low-rise skyline of St. Petersburg.

They cite rules dating back centuries that have limited the height of buildings in the center of city founded by Czar Peter the Great more than 300 years ago.

Proponents argue that the site is not in the historical center.

The law approved by the predominantly pro-Kremlin city legislature sought to appease opponents by decreasing the amount the city will pay to about 25 billion rubles ($1 billion) instead of the entire projected construction cost of 60 billion rubles ($2.4 billion), as previously planned.

Gazprom's oil subsidiary, OAO Gazpromneft, will pay most of the rest, officials said.

Mikhail Amosov, a former head of the assembly's architecture and planning committee and a leader of opposition to the project, said the change in the financing scheme was good news but the city should not be paying anything.

He expressed hope that lawmakers would bring the height of the tower to 100 meters or less.

But Vatanyar Yagya, a legislator from the dominant United Russia party, said the law was final and the architectural plans would not be altered.

"Okhta... will be located not in the city's historical center but at least 500 meters from it," Yagya said. "When people refer to the czar's height rules, it's about the past...

In such big cities as Moscow and St. Petersburg there can be only two lines in construction decisions - high up or deep down."

The complex is to be built by 2016.