They jammed council chambers and took a public hearing about the future of Jackson Farm past midnight.

Most of the 48 people on the speakers’ list Tuesday night were mad as heck and told council they didn’t like the deal worked out to preserve lower Jackson Farm, in return for allowing a subdivision on upper Jackson Farm.

“It’s very disturbing that this has proceeded this far,” said speaker Janet Dmitrieff. The proposal to allow development could set a precedent to allow suburbs on all of the Thornhill urban reserve (east of 248th Street) ahead of the schedule in Maple Ridge’s official community plan, she said.

“This is the first harsh attack on the Official Community Plan and the fine work that men and women did,” on the OCP, said Maple Ridge resident Ian Strachan told council. “If you approve this particular development, what’s to stop someone else on Thornhill from coming up with a proposal. I think it’s just folly. We need to stick to the OCP.”

Council is considering bylaws to allow rezoning and changing its long-term plan to allow 112 homes to be built on the nine-hectare upper Jackson Farm, located in Thornhill urban reserve. In return, the landowner or developers, the Redmond family (Harry, Norma, Craig and Jennifer) would give the 15-hectare lower Jackson Farm at Jackson Road and 102nd Avenue for an eventual park.

While most wanted lower Jackson Farm to be a park, they didn’t want to see the upper Jackson Farm full of houses. That would set a precedent, allowing further development, Dmitrieff said. Plus, the district has no formal plans to create a park in the lower portion. She pointed out that five years ago, council even ignored a consultant’s report in order to keep Thornhill urban reserve as the next growth area.

“Why does the development community have so much power over council decisions?” she asked.

“The more sprawl we allow, the more taxes will increase,” she said earlier.

“If council allows this development to proceed, they would be sending a clear message … it’s open season,” added Maple Ridge resident Steve Bentley.

Why rush into a decision when the district’s parks master plan will be finished this fall? he added.

If the deal goes ahead, he said the new homes would add more cars and more kids into an area where schools such as Samuel Robertson Technical and Albion elementary are already crowded. That would require parents to drive their kids elsewhere, adding to traffic volume on the roads. Combined with other trips, hundreds of cars could be added daily.

Leigh Hodgins said there is no area plan and no water plan yet and favoured one of the options considered earlier this year – a swap with the developer for district-owned land, in exchange for lower Jackson Farm.

Kevin Hodgins doesn’t believe council will do what the community wants and said some councillors’ acceptance of donations from companies associated with the landowners gives a perception of conflict of interest.

Mayor Ernie Daykin, Couns. Judy Dueck and Al Hogarth accepted contributions from companies associated with the Redmond family and from their consultants, Damax Consultants, during the 2008 election.

Daykin accepted a total of $6,500 in campaign contributions. Damax gave $1,500, while two numbered companies associated with the Redmond family – 685457 B.C. Ltd., and 0701915 B.C. Ltd. – donated a total of $5,000. Dueck and Hogarth each got $500 and $250, respectively, from 685457 B.C. Ltd, and Damax.

Councillors say those contributions don’t influence their decisions.

Hodgins said any councillor who accepted those contributions should abstain from voting.

Paula Panek said the district hasn’t analyzed the financial implications of allowing advance development in the Thornhill reserve.

She said the business case hasn’t been made clearly to allow council to make such a decision.

Costs such as re-allocation of staff, the cost of extra workload on public works, the fire department and consultants all have to be weighed, as well as the value and profit to the developer by being able to build the homes ahead of the schedule set out in the community plan.

Even putting the storm drainage biofiltration off site, into the more natural area of lower Jackson Farm, helps the developer because it means more room for homes, she said. However, Damax consultant David Laird said that location is more suited than trying to build it on the upper portion, where such a pond would have steeper slopes.

Neil Dmitrieff said he liked the idea of a park in lower Jackson Farm, but not at the expense of putting housing in the upper portion.

He said some people think the developers are owed something for not being able to develop lower Jackson Farm. Metro Vancouver last October refused to release it from the green zone.

“When a developer buys land outside the urban area at low prices, there’s always risks that they may not get the zoning they desire.”

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Michael Sather also addressed council.

“I think it’s unfortunate it’s come to this. I think it’s clear that it is an extension into an area that certainly qualifies as urban sprawl.”

Sather said that at a meeting last spring, Metro Vancouver CEO Johnny Carline talked about limiting urban expansion, while some Maple Ridge councillors were still saying that it’s council’s mandate to proceed with development.

“It’s not the way of the future, it really isn’t.”

Lisa Taylor, who lives below the proposed subdivision, wonders why no one has even checked the retaining wall to make sure the ground is safe, if construction above is being considered.

Ruth Sigurdson pointed out that Albion flats can’t be developed until there’s an area plan, so she asked for the same thing to happen in Thornhill before building starts.

“We just want the same consideration.”

The issue has left Stuart Pledge, with Friends of Jackson Farm, cynical about the whole process. He said council has been trying every way to take the land out of the green zone to allow homes on lower Jackson Farm.

That option, though, was removed last fall when Metro Vancouver voted down the application to take it out of the green zone.

“Then, just before the election, there’s a deal. All of a sudden, it’s game on,” Pledge said.

While the deal sounds good. “I know it’s just a softening up of the OCP for council’s urban expansion agenda.”

Shiraz Mawani said there’s agreement on most of the issue. Everyone agrees that lower Jackson Farm should become a park, he said. And he thanked the developer for trying to find a way to make it work. There’s just disagreement on how that should be done.

“Don’t make us a community of cynics,” he said. “So please save our community … keep our trust in you and our institutions.

Council considers second and third reading at its Sept. 22 meeting.

Several speakers mentioned the obstacles pointed out by district staff to the proposal:

• allowing development of upper Jackson Farm, which is in Thornhill urban reserve, contradicts Official Community Plans trigger points of hitting “build-out” and a population of 100,000 before expansion to Thornhill is considered;

• advance development in Thornhill urban reserve is not consistent with growth policies in the OCP because growth is “clearly directed elsewhere”;

• according to the OCP, Thornhill urban reserve can’t be developed until an area plan is complete;

• Metro Vancouver would have to approve a new regional context statement – which summarizes Maple Ridge’s OCP;

• the district hired a consultant to determine if the deal made financial sense for Maple Ridge – it concluded the district would get equal or slightly more value from the exchange, but that a full appraisal should be done “in the event it proceeds beyond the discussion stage”;

• Metro Vancouver would have to approve extending the sewage area, to allow those services there;

• the OCP says the district requires evaluation of groundwater flows for developments that would be adjacent to homes that rely on well water.

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