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Anderson and Jorgenson presented separate responses to the Arbutus proposal that was first pitched to city hall two years ago.

Anderson called the proposal “out of sequence” and pointed out the city does not need to acquire more land to meet its current growth targets. She said Saskatoon has enough land to accommodate 500,000 residents.

“It has been designed in a vacuum,” Anderson said, adding that moving forward with the proposal would require a rethink of the city’s approach to growth on the east side.

Anderson acknowledged that The Willows, a high-end neighbourhood, was developed out of sequence.

Jorgenson called the solar-powered development “out of context” and said it does not fit with other neighbourhoods. Arbutus is proposing the community for the identified land because it’s close to the Vancouver developer’s holdings in the Rosewood neighbourhood.

Drexel said the company’s goal is to offer homes in Solair at about the same starting price as those in Rosewood — about $350,000. To do that, the company needs a larger scale development to keep the prices low, he said.

The solar-powered community, in which solar panels would be placed on the roofs of homes and buildings, would also use rain gardens for drainage instead of storm sewers.

Drexel said the development is expected to result in $1 billion in investment in Saskatoon, hundreds of jobs and a decrease of 450,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The company hopes to start work in three to five years.