Mayor Lois Jackson's summit on the Southlands begins today at municipal hall.

The group comprised of representatives of the Century Group, those in favour of having the 538-acre property placed back in the Agricultural Land Reserve and others with an interest in the issue has been assembled in an attempt to discuss the future of the contentious property and perhaps reach some kind of compromise.

Century Group president Sean Hodgins, who is taking part in the summit, last week said he didn't know many details such as the agenda, mandate or terms of reference for the group that will be meeting behind closed doors.

Heading into the first meeting this week, Southlands the Facts spokesperson Dana Masolvat confirmed he was invited to participate, noting he wasn't sure of the extent of the discussions or how often the group assembled by Jackson would meet.

Saying he's participating only as a resident in favour of the ALR inclusion, and won't act as though he's speaking on behalf a segment of the community, Maslovat wasn't going into the meetings with any expectations. However, he noted he's still hopeful something positive would happen and that there's nothing to lose in having a dialogue.

"I'm not sure where this is going to go, but the one thing I'd agree with the mayor is that the public hearing process was certainly not engaging in dialogue. I would somewhat argue we've been trying for a year-and-a-half trying to get that dialogue," Masolovat told the Optimist.

"Maybe it's because it was such a divisive issue and adversarial issue. Maybe if you do get a small group of people that can have a conversation and can come out with something everyone can live with, I think that would be wonderful. I would say I'm not sure there's high expectations from anybody, but I think it's nice at least that everyone is willing to say, 'I'm not just going to turn my back on this.'"

The most controversial element of the proposed area plan is the recommendation Delta apply to the Agricultural Land Commission to have the Southlands placed back in the ALR.

The public hearing was heading into its fourth night earlier this month when Jackson, noting it was clear there was no consensus, announced it would be adjourned until April 14. By then, the summit would have met and issued a report. Jackson said the message she heard more than any other was the need for more dialogue.

As far as what a compromise might look like, Maslovat said it doesn't necessarily mean there would be a housing development.

"On one hand, trying to come up with a solution a hundred per cent of the public wants is always going to be challenging. There's still a very large majority of input coming in still supporting the ALR application," Maslovat said.

"To me, compromise isn't how many houses do you want. To me, compromise is within the agricultural designation, what can we do to allow the developer to make money off the land that will benefit the community and bring business to Tsawwassen. That's what I consider to be a compromise and a solution."

In an email to supporters this week, Maslovat noted both he and fellow Boundary Bay resident Richard Kunz, also a vocal opponent to development on the Southlands, were invited to the summit. He noted they would not discuss or negotiate future uses for the land that involve a change in designation or any residential development.

The majority of speakers over the first three days of the hearing were opposed to the ALR application. Maslsovat, though, insists those people are, in fact, in the minority in the community.