Calgary's plan to annex land for future housing development has drawn criticism from a landowner living just outside the proposed city borders.

More than 100 people gathered in Balzac Wednesday night to hear details of the annexation agreement struck last month between the City of Calgary and the municipal district of Rocky View.

The city expects the plan would provide a 38-year supply of land for new developments.

Many landowners at the meeting welcome the annexation, but others like Laurie Miller, who farms just north of the city limits, had concerns.

"The land on all sides of us now has already been purchased by developers," she said.

"If we were annexed, probably [we] would also get bought out by developers, but if they know it's not going to be annexed for another 10 or 15 years, we're just sort of sitting there."

Farm in limbo

Miller said she'd prefer to sell her fourth-generation family farm and move the operation away from the city.

But she lives just outside the annexation boundaries, in an area called a growth corridor that the city plans to annex in the future.

Tim Creelman, a planner with the City of Calgary, said the city would oppose any bids to subdivide growth corridors, but the final decision would be with the municipality of Rocky View.

"We would oppose the development if it's taking new agricultural lands and starting to subdivide for residential," he said.

The city is prepared to fight any development approved by the municipality by appealing to a provincial dispute resolution board, he added.

Miller said that puts her farm in limbo.

"They want us to freeze that land there for them for the next annexation. So as a farmer, it's very difficult to continue to farm this close to the city."

Deal worth $17.8M

In exchange for 104 square kilometres of land, the City of Calgary is promising Rocky View $17.8 million, tax mitigation, grandfather clauses for existing properties and joint planning in areas adjacent to the annexed land.

It could be a year before the agreement is in place. The plan must go to open houses, then public hearings and a municipal governing board. It also needs approval from the provincial cabinet.

The next open houses will take place on July 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Victory Bible College and on Aug. 2 at Prince of Peace Community Centre.