SCARBOROUGH – A proposed development that has been touted as a model for suburban growth is instead drawing opposition from area residents who are criticizing the magnitude of the plan.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition opposing Dunstan Village, a proposed development off Broad Turn Road that has been billed as the “Great American Neighborhood.”

ALC Development Corp. has proposed building 121 single-family homes, 185 condominiums, 51 apartments, 84 housing units for people over 55, and 50,000 square feet of office and retail space on 150 acres. ALC said the development would take up to 15 years to complete and would generate more than $1.3 million a year in taxes.

But the petition says the development is too big and would create problems for schools and town services, and generate more traffic in the already congested Dunstan Corner area of Route 1.

The planning board and Town Council would need to change zoning in the area to allow for such dense development.

Mary Angis, who lives across the street from the proposed project, said the development is simply too big.”If they want to cluster, why can’t they cluster the number of homes it’s zoned for now?” she said. “This is just crazy.”

Elliott and John Chamberlain are the two principals of ALC Development. The brothers are confident that people will come to like the project once they learn more about it.

Some planners nationwide say cluster developments with high densities, varied housing types and mixed residential and commercial uses can reduce sprawl and save towns money by concentrating services.

“If we just built the 65 single-family homes that are allowed [under current zoning], there’d be no trails, no parks, no community center, no job creation, none of the positives,” Elliot Chamberlain said. “When you look at the whole thing, it’s really difficult to say this is a bad thing.”