The developer for Jackson Farm has proposed a plan to preserve the lower part as a park.

The upper portion, currently in the urban reserve, would be a subdivision with 112 homes.

The Redmond family, which owns the farm, would donate the lower part for a park in exchange for taking the upper lands out of the urban reserve for development.

The proposal has met opposition from residents of large homes overlooking the farm from the bluff above on Thornhill. It’s going to ruin their view of the Lower Mainland.

The development of Jackson Farm has been the source of much controversy in recent years; a residents group formed and petitioned to preserve it as a park.

Earlier proposals would have only maintained the wetlands on the property.

The new proposal would save much more, and most importantly the rolling hills visible not just from the bluff, but along 102 Avenue and Jackson Road; opening them up to the public to walk amongst in the summer or sled down in the winter.

It would have cost the district millions of dollars to buy the property itself for parkland.

In trade, the Redmond family would be allowed to take land across the street from those hills out of the urban reserve to build on now rather than later.

It’s a one-time swap. Some worry that it sets a precedent for similar deals down the road, paving the way for development further up Thornhill.

The district’s population is supposed to reach 100,000 before that happens.

But given the resource given in exchange for taking the land out of the reserve, it’s a worthy and sensible compromise, and one Maple Ridge council should support.

–The News