PORT Melbourne residents against the erection of two proposed high-rise towers along the waterfront claim their fight mirrors that of the controversial St Kilda Triangle.

Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association president Eddie Micallef said Port Phillip council was dealing with the two situations in a similar fashion.

The St Kilda Triangle project, which earmarked a 2.5-hectare site on the Lower Esplanade for development several years ago, was fraught with disagreements between developers, Port Phillip Council and residents about the size and suitability of the plans.

But Port Phillip mayor Rachel Powning has called for calm, reiterating that there were no plans before council to develop the waterfront site, and further discussion would happen.

"There are no foregone conclusions here, we are in consultation," said Cr Powning.

The council's draft Urban Design Framework sets out preferred heights at 1-11 Waterfront Place. Currently the draft framework allows buildings up to 14 storeys.

"It's an inappropriate development and it has got a strong community backlash, so we're equating the similarity between this campaign and the

St Kilda triangle campaign," Mr Micallef said.

In the past two weeks opponents have handed out 3000 copies of a leaflet detailing the reasons behind their concerns. They say the towers would dominate Waterfront Place, ruin views and the area's ambience, spoil the arrival for cruise ship and ferry visitors and cause the loss of green space in the original Beacon Cove plan.