Hundreds of Ste. Anne de Bellevue residents packed a school gym Monday night to hear about the town's new development plan.

The idea is to rezone part of an undeveloped area west of the L'Anse a l'orme nature park in order to build condominiums and townhouses.

That means the population of the west island suburb could grow by an estimated 4,500 people.

Many residents are frustrated by what they say is a lack of information.

"It's a beautiful land and that's the last and largest land in the island of Montreal so before you do that and to have an impact over the next 25, 30, 40 years at least have some respect and do some studies and just do a study on the impact," said Lucie Marceau.

She was one of many worried that the town would not be able to afford the cost of new roads and services.

Councillor Poala Hawa shared those same concerns.

"As a councillor for this particular area, [my job] is to ensure that we get the facts and we make a reasoned decision," said Hawa.

A date for a final decision has not yet been made.