A former Maple Ridge councillor accused Coun. Craig Speirs of betraying Jackson Farm neighbours during Monday’s committee of the whole meeting.

Scott Leaf, who lives in the new Thornhill Heights area on 248th Street and 104th Avenue, was upset over council’s quick decision to move forward with the development proposal for the upper portion of Jackson Farm at 100 Avenue and 248th Street. He didn’t feel council was taking into consideration the concerns raised by neighbours.

“Coun. Speirs is talking like it’s a done deal. He’s talking like it already happened,” Leaf shouted during his address in the community forum portion of the meeting.

Leaf said Speirs showed more concern for parking spaces near Haney Place Mall than for people living in the Thornhill Heights neighbourhood on 248th Street and 104th Avenue. Council granted a development permit for a two-storey building adjacent to the mall earlier in the meeting and Speirs was opposed to the project because he didn’t feel the proposal had an adequate parking lot design.

“We’re being sold out as a neighbourhood,” Leaf said. “It’s a beautiful piece of property [Jackson Farm], but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is not a done deal as far as we’re concerned.”

Leaf also raised concerns about the development’s wildlife impact and density. The 112-lot project is a problem for some neighbours who fear their homes overlooking the farm will plummet in value.

Others opposed taking land out of the urban reserve for the residential development, a contravention of the official community plan.

The plan was presented at a public information meeting last week.

A public hearing on the development is scheduled for Sept. 15.

In order for development to proceed, council must approve the Maple Ridge Official Community Plan Amending Bylaw and Maple Ridge Zone Amending Bylaw. The first reading of the bylaws was approved unanimously by council in committee Monday.

The proposed subdivision of upper Jackson Farm will consist primarily of 4,000 sq. feet lots, with some 7,200 sq. feet lots on the northern end of the property.

The proposal, by Damax Consultants, calls for vehicle access only from the lower portion, off Jackson Road, as well as buffer zones to separate the subdivision from the larger-lot homes at the north end of 248th Street. Ground infiltration of stormwater will be maximized through the use of rain gardens in lots and shallow ditches that trap rain runoff from the homes and roads.

Storm water that does flow out will run through a culvert beneath Jackson Road into a one-acre wetlands/biofiltration area before the water is discharged.

As part of a deal to save the 15-hectare lower part of Jackson Farm, Maple Ridge council opted for a deal in which the Redmond family, which owns both parts of Jackson Farm, would give the lower portion to the district, in return for rezoning the upper part of nine hectares, to allow construction of 112 homes. The upper portion would also have to be taken out of the Thornhill urban reserve, though it’s within Maple Ridge’s urban area.

Council now wants staff to determine what future costs will be incurred with the parkland.

“When you end up with something, you want to know what it is you’ve ended up with,” said Coun. Cheryl Ashlie. “What would be our options for use for that park area? Are there potential costs to this site for the municipality to even use it as an open area? Or is there a need to start a significant influx of dollars onto this site to make it a park that we could use?”