Cranbrook council has voted to not object to a rezoning application for the Summit West development on the East Hill bordering the city.

At its regular council meeting Monday, all but one councillor voted in favour of the rezoning for phases one and two of the development, which sits in Area C of the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK).

The RDEK referred the rezoning application to the city since it sits close to Cranbrook's boundaries.

The development is inside the East Hill lands, which were the subject of the failed 2009 referendum to expand Cranbrook's boundaries.

On Monday night, developer Sheldon Isaman presented his plan for the 2,429 acre property to city council. He's currently seeking rezoning for the first two phases of his master plan, roughly 1,500 acres that he hopes to turn into 78 lots.

Isaman gave an outline of the development, then suggested why it would be good for Cranbrook and the surrounding region.

"This proposal provides opportunities to appeal to various industries and creates new marketing opportunities, such as aiming to be the fly in, fly out capital of western Canada," said Isaman.

The development will be marketed to the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, which is experiencing huge growth.

Then Isaman spoke to those opposed to his development.

"In the past 48 hours, Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook (CLC) have been creating much political hay about this proposal. They have suggested that this project is not only unnecessary but also somehow undemocratic," said Isaman.

"I respected the outcome of the referendum when the electors voted not to have my lands be part of the city or have jurisdiction over them. Since then I have followed the regional district development process.

"I want to bring new investment, new residents and families to Cranbrook and our area."

It was a theme soon picked up by council, many of whom said they received calls about the development leading up to Monday's decision.

"Many members of the CLC have contacted me and it's just a little frustrating because the whole idea of the referendum was to keep the land in the city so we could have our say," said councillor Diana J. Scott. "Once you say no, it's not in our hands anymore and you have thrown that out with the bath water. You can't have it both ways."

Almost the entire council said that Cranbrook residents no longer have the right to oppose the development after voting against accepting it into the city's boundaries.

"Those of you who voted no to the referendum have taken any decision making abilities on this land away from this council and further councils," said councillor Denise Pallesen. "We have no control of this land. We can give the regional district our thoughts, but then the decision is up to their board."

Councillor Jim Wavrecan said the city sought legal opinion about the issue on Monday.

"Our legal opinion put it in legal terms that it would appear to be unfair. I think that was a very kind choice of words to suggest that it would be unfair for us to oppose a restriction on this after having gone through the referendum process," said Wavrecan.

"(The developer) has followed all of our rules, all of our guidelines, all of our procedures. He's moving to the next phase where we directed him. For us to stand in the way of that is just unthinkable."

The lone voice of dissent, Councillor Bob Whetham said the city is going against its own policy in supporting a development within 10 kilometres of the city's limits.

"I really can't support us just ignoring our past policy and what our bylaws currently say," said Whetham.

He has too many unanswered questions about the development's implications to support the current rezoning application, Whetham continued, especially so close to a municipal election.

"I'm not able to support this thing going through in the last few weeks before an election. I think there's more than enough time to sit down with the developer, figure out what the implications would be in both the short and long term, and work out a solution that works."

But Mayor Scott Manjak said the time will come later to iron out the details.

"I think some of the things Councillor Whetham has said about unanswered questions are very relevant and they have a huge impact on this community. But on the other hand, it's really not our decision. We are being extended a hand of partnership through the regional district to work with them," said the mayor.

Right now, Manjak said, the decision is up to the RDEK, not Cranbrook city council.

"It is time for the residents of Area C to determine what they want to do with their land base."

After the council meeting, the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook responded to the developer's and council's criticisms of their motives.

"We felt that most people wouldn't realise that this was on the agenda for city council to make a comment on. So that's why it went on the blog: to inform people, because we didn't think most people thought this was even an issue at this point in time," said Norma Blissett, a director of CLC.

"Asking questions is okay and shouldn't be threatening. We listed council's phone numbers for people to ask them. Don't just go by what we're saying: find out yourself."

The group is not opposed to all development, Blissett continued, and has brought several experts on development to speak here on alternative methods.

What's more, residents of Cranbrook can still express their views on the development, she said.

"We do have the right to have an opinion on it. We can talk to our own councillors and they have a vote at the RDEK. Both Scott Manjak and Liz Schatschneider vote at the RDEK. They represent the City of Cranbrook at the regional district, so certainly they have input on what goes through the regional district."