The heirs of a Maryland woman who sold her farmland to Johns Hopkins University for a fraction of its value in hopes of protecting it from suburban sprawl are suing the school over its plans to build a 17-building, 4.7-million square foot research campus on the site, writes The Washington Post. 

The plaintiffs say the project violates the terms of Hopkins’s 1989 contract with Elizabeth Beall Banks for the 138-acre Belward Farm in Gaithersburg, Md. Ms. Banks, who was well known locally for her opposition to development in the rapidly growing region outside Washington, died seven years ago.

Her family contends Ms. Banks believed the university intended to build a smaller satellite campus on the property and Hopkins’s current plan for a research and development complex far exceeds earlier plans.

The university says the deed places no size limits on development and that since the purchase its vision for the parcel has evolved alongside local government plans for a high-tech “science city” corridor research hub in the area. “We’re very confident our approach is consistent with our obligations,” a Hopkins spokeswoman said.