Its emergence has heightened fears among residents the council gave the massive subdivision its tacit approval, three months before a development application was even lodged. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is on leave, so was unavailable for comment on Monday. Acting Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was also unavailable for comment. The council's planning chairman Amanda Cooper was also unavailable to speak to Fairfax Media on Monday but on Tuesday told 612 ABC Brisbane mornings host Steve Austin the infrastructure agreement was not pre-approval for the development. However, she repeatedly deflected questions probing whether there was a link between the signing of the infrastructure agreement and Mr Macallister's donor history.

"This infrastructure agreement doesn't allow development at all," she said. "The infrastructure agreement was drafted by council officers to make it very clear about the ecological values of the site, it rules out ecological corridors (for development). "I just want to make it clear there is no link between the development application and the infrastructure agreement. They sit separately." But Save the Gap president Shane Bevis said the document appeared to confirm residents' fears that the development application was a done deal, despite contravening the allowable density for the area in both the new City Plan 2014 and the Ferny Grove Upper Kedron local plan. He said no developer would outlay tens of millions of dollars for land without some guarantee their plans would be approved.

"This agreement appears to have been worth in the order of $60 million, so this is no insignificant document council has entered into with the original land owner," he said. "What it looks like to us is council has been trying to hide this document, to hide the existence of it, they have not discussed it publicly. "They have entered into a legally binding agreement that says something completely different to what the City Plan says and how the local plan says this land should be developed. "It's time for council to come clean and start answering some serious questions about how this agreement was entered into and on what basis." The infrastructure agreement is not available in publicly accessible documentation relating to Cedar Woods' application on the council's planning website, PD Online.

A council spokeswoman said the document did not guarantee approval of Cedar Woods' development application but rather, was a bid to protect the site's "significant ecological and waterway corridors". The infrastructure agreement, which the council spokeswoman said was binding on future development, irrespective of property owner, was signed just 20 days after the council endorsed City Plan 2014, which came into effect on July 1. It appears to override planning instruments in both the City Plan and the Upper Kedron Ferny Brook neighbourhood plan, both of which were endorsed after extensive public consultation. In both plans, the site is designated for low density future development and as environmentally sensitive. "Everybody who believed the council and the Lord Mayor when he said City Plan would protect our leafy suburbs, when this document was created at the same time, it's a real kick in the guts," Mr Bevis said.

"To those who thought they would have protection, the residents of Upper Kedron who rightly have an expectation council would stick to the local plan, it is just a real kick in the guts. "This agreement runs counter to everything council endorsed just 20 days earlier." A huge backlash from residents of The Gap and Upper Kedron greeted the massive subdivision proposal, when it was submitted by Cedar Woods in June. The council spokeswoman said the site had been identified as a location for future housing development under the South East Queensland Regional Plan. She said it was not uncommon for infrastructure agreements to precede a development application.

The council's opposition leader Milton Dick called for a special council meeting to examine the emergence of the infrastructure agreement. "The Lord Mayor personally met with this developer on two separate occasions, including the day the Infrastructure Agreement was signed and it's been reported he has made supportive comments in a statement calling for investors to the project," he said. "We need to restore independent scrutiny to the assessment of this development application and I call on the Lord Mayor to cut his holiday short and immediately re-call councillors for a special meeting of the Brisbane City Council." The council is currently in its spring recess period. Mr Macallister has donated on several occasions to the Queensland LNP, as well as to the respective election funds of Cr Quirk and former Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, Team Quirk Forward Brisbane Leadership and Forward Brisbane Leadership.