At last night’s public meeting, Côte Saint-Luc City Council adopted its 2013 budget for local and agglomeration operating expenses. An average single family home (valued at $470,000) will see a modest increase of $78 in taxes or 1.32 percent, well below the rate of inflation.
The total budget amounts to $65M which breaks down as $37M in local costs and $28M in island wide agglomeration costs.
The City will continue to invest in critical infrastructure (water distribution network, roads, sidewalks, etc.) as well as in rejuvenating its oldest park equipment.
As Councillor responsible for Public Safety I am quite pleased that the city will continue its important investments in this area ensuring top quality volunteer EMS response, the steady expansion of the volunteer Citizens on Patrol as well as Public Security, Emergency Communications and Emergency Preparedness.
Also, the CSL Cycles program will continue to roll out with new bike lanes stretching from Cavendish, along Baily toward the Cote Saint-Luc Shopping Centre, to tie in to the NDG network running up West Broadway. A new lane will also be painted along Kildare Road from Westminster to Shalom and through Ruth Kovac Park to reach the Cavendish Mall.
Unfortunately, Cote Saint-Luc is obliged to spend about half-a-million dollars on the Montreal Metropolitan Community, an added level of regional government for which we have very little input and see very questionable results. I concur with the Gazette’s civic affairs columnist Henry Aubin who has argued for years that the Montreal region is overburdened with layers of bureaucracy from multiple transit authorities, government departments and agencies, all adding to our tax burden at one level or another.
Fortunately, with the municipal demergers in 2005, Cote Saint-Luc controls well over half its local taxes and sets priorities locally on services closest to the resident.
Thanks to the Charbonneau inquiry, we’re waking up to long-ignored corruption. The Merger Delusion has the potential to help open society’s eyes to misplanned government structures. The longer we ignore this reality, the longer Montreal will overspend and drift.
Michael Applebaum has made the local history books becoming the first English-speaking mayor in 100 years. Also, Montreal has not seen a Jew in the Mayor’s chair since Joseph Shubert was appointed Acting Mayor of Montreal for a period of three months, on August 29, 1927.
Although the vote was a squeaker with Applebaum taking 31 votes to Richard Deschamps’ 29 votes, there were three spoiled ballots which could have shifted the outcome the other way. The vote for interim mayor was a secret ballot of Council members only since Mayor Gerald Tremblay stepped down less than one year prior to the next general election on November 3, 2013.
Councillors Ruth Kovac and Glenn J. Nashen with CDN-NDG Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum
The fact that a by-election was not needed saved Montreal taxpayers about $10,000,000 according to media reports.
Michael Applebaum has shown himself as an honest, hard working and dedicated Borough Mayor and Chair of the Executive Committee. I have seen him in action with regard to the expansion of the Jewish General Hospital as well as other issues in the Cote des Neiges-NDG borough. He is on top of his files and thoroughly understands the needs of his constituents.
Any criticism of his French-language skills is ridiculous. His French is excellent, regardless of his accent. Even Montreal opposition leader Louise Harel said that she wished she spoke English as well as Applebaum speaks French. In fact, he didn’t even speak a word of English during his pre-vote address to Council! (It wouldn’t have hurt).
Applebaum will now lead not only Montreal City Council and his borough, but also the Agglomeration Council responsible for regional services including the Montreal Island demerged municipalities, the Ville Marie downtown borough and the Montreal Metropolitan Community.
Councillors Ruth Kovac, Glenn J. Nashen and Sam Goldbloom discuss local issues with Cote des Neiges – NDG Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum (2nd from left)
Huge responsibilities, demands and expectations lie ahead for Applebaum. If he succeeds in cleaning up the image and reputation of Montreal and setting the course for a solid future as an independent mayor don’t be surprised to see his name on next year’s ballot (regardless of today’s intentions).
So, congratulations Mayor Applebaum. I wish you great success and courage in all the lies ahead. As a Cote Saint-Lucer I’m looking forward to your leadership and vision to benefit all those who reside on the Island of Montreal and across the region.
Côte Saint-Luc, September 14, 2012 – Only six months after announcing the Blue Bonnets agreement, which included the funding for Cavendish Blvd. road extension project, the City of Montreal has reneged on its undertaking and put the project on the back burner.
In March 2012, the City of Montreal and the Quebec government signed an agreement to transfer the Blue Bonnets race track land to the City of Montreal. One of the conditions of the transfer was an undertaking by the City of Montreal to set aside $44 million for phase 1 of the Cavendish Blvd. road extension project in its three-year Capital Works Budget. This agreement was ratified by the unanimous vote of the Montreal City Council on March 26, 2012.
Notwithstanding this undertaking in the agreement to set aside $44 million for this project and notwithstanding the unanimous resolution of Montreal City Council ratifying the agreement, the Tremblay administration has withdrawn the Cavendish Blvd. road extension project from the proposed three-year Capital Works Budget for 2013-2015, even though it was included in the last year’s three year budget (2012-2014). The proposed budget—without the funds for the Cavendish Blvd. road extension project—will be presented to Montreal City Council for adoption on September 20, 2012.
“The City of Côte Saint-Luc has worked very hard with our neighbouring cities and boroughs to convince the Tremblay administration that the Cavendish extension be made a priority,” said Anthony Housefather, Mayor of Côte Saint-Luc. “We worked with the local Liberal MNAs to find means of funding the project and over the last six months the announcements related to the Blue Bonnets site had pushed the project forward. The proposal by the City of Montreal to remove these amounts from the PTI is a complete reversal of commitments made only months ago and is completely unacceptable to those living and working in the west end and West Island of Montreal. We will use all means at our disposal to oppose this reversal.”
As well, the new Capital Works Budget does not provide for the completion of the feasibility studies that the City of Montreal also undertook to do. Since 2005, it has spent $2.5 million on these studies but so far has refused to make them public and now is refusing to complete them.
“This omission is in total violation of the Blue Bonnets agreement and the unanimous vote of Montreal City Council,” said Côte Saint-Luc Councillor Dida Berku. “This flies in the face of the will of all the councils of the boroughs of St. Laurent, CDN-NDG and cities of Côte Saint-Luc, Town of Mount Royal, Hampstead, and Dollard des Ormeaux, which have systematically called for the extension of Cavendish to be included in the Agglomeration of Montreal Transport Plan and in the Capital Works Budget of the City of Montreal. As well it flies in the face of the conditions in the Blue Bonnets agreement with the Quebec government and is a reversal of the public commitments and pronouncements of the Tremblay administration, made six months ago.”
When the Blue Bonnets agreement was announced, Minister Raymond Bachand said that one of the conditions of the transfer was that the proceeds would be used to finance the Cavendish Blvd. road extension project and that the City of Montreal would commit to proceeding with the feasibility studies in order to advance this project.
“We encourage residents to attend the meeting at Montreal City Hall on Thursday, September 20 and voice their concerns during question period,” said Councillor Berku.
Copies of the Blue Bonnets agreement, the 2012-2014 Capital Works Budget, and a press release from the City of Montreal announcing the commitment to build the Cavendish Blvd. road extension project are available at www.CoteSaintLuc.org/CavendishExtension.
Côte St. Luc council passed a resolution last week to promote alternative and active means of transport, such as public transit and walking for exercise, specifically on Sept. 21 or 22 through a special event to be organized by city staff.
The City of Montreal has a car-free day on Sept. 22, but Côte St. Luc is not going as far as that.
The Côte St. Luc resolution was introduced by Councillor Dida Berku, and seconded by Councillors Glenn Nashen and Steven Erdelyi, and points out that on Aug. 1, the Eleanor London Library will be hosting a lecture called “Leave the car at home: Get walking. Get healthy.”
The city has also resolved to “actively support public transit solutions when and if they are available and meet residents’ needs.”
Côte St. Luc is also asking Montreal’s bus service to “move forward with a shuttle service” to the very busy Côte des Neiges hospital district, which includes the Jewish General and St. Mary’s hospitals, and numerous medical buildings along Côte des Neiges Road.
Côte St. Luc’s resolution also asks the Metropolitan Transport Agency (AMT) and Montreal agglomeration to support a train station within the municipality, and authorizes the city to participate in the AMT’s blog, “which is offered in order to promote the interests of the citizens of Côte St. Luc for more access to AMT train and bus services, which will encourage and allow our residents to benefit from these public services which they support financially.”
The City of Cote Saint-Luc has adopted a resolution requesting the Quebec government and the City of Montreal to push forward with the Cavendish-Royalmount-Cavendish extension project.
Cote Saint-Luc has produced several excellent presentations on the Cavendish extension such as this simulation:
Cote Saint-Luc Council has unanimously supported the proposed extension since 1998. Here is the resolution adopted at this week’s public council meeting:
RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE QUEBEC GOVERNMENT AND THE CITY OF MONTREAL TO INCLUDE THE CAVENDISH-ROYALMOUNT-CAVENDISH EXTENSION PROJECT AS A HIGH PRIORITY PROJECT IN THE NEXT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MTQ (QUEBEC MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT) AND THE CITY OF MONTREAL
WHEREAS the project to link Cavendish Boulevard in the City of Côte Saint-Luc to Cavendish Boulevard in the Borough of Saint Laurent through Royalmount Avenue in the Town of Mount Royal, has been discussed amongst all the stakeholders for over a generation and has been an active project for the past 15 years;
WHEREAS, the aforedescribed Cavendish-Royalmount-Cavendish extension project (sometimes referred to as the ‘‘Cavendish extension project’’) was identified as the most important missing link in the Montreal road network and was defined as a priority project in the Montreal Summit of 2002;
WHEREAS CP rail and CN rail are committed to maintaining their presence in Côte Saint-Luc and Montreal and their yard operations represent an obstacle causing traffic congestion in the Western part of the Island of Montreal affecting the mobility of residents in Côte Saint-Luc and neighbouring municipalities such as: the Town of Mount Royal, the Town of Hampstead, the Town of Montreal West and the City of Montreal;
WHEREAS the new road connections along the Cavendish Boulevard axis would create economic vitality and open up important employment opportunities in the sectors of the Hippodrome, “Cité Scientifique’’ and industrial zones of the Town of Mount Royal and Boroughs of Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Saint Laurent;
WHEREAS in December 2004 a project bureau was formed by unanimous resolution of the Council of the City of Montreal with a budget of $5 million with a precise mandate to manage the Cavendish extension project, including the adoption of the final route proposal by 2006 and the design and completion of the work between 2007 and 2012;
WHEREAS in 2007, the City of Côte-Saint-Luc adopted resolution number 070730 and submitted a detailed brief to the Commission permanente du conseil d’Agglomération that clearly outlined the need to proceed with the Cavendish extension project (which was also supported by the Councils of:
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montreal West, Hampstead, Dorval, Town of Mount Royal and the Borough of Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce);
WHEREAS the Cavendish extension project was included as a ‘priority item’ in the Agglomeration of Montreal’s Plan de Transport 2008, as per item 18e entitled, ‘‘Chantier, Entretenir et Compléter le Réseau Routier de L’Île’’, an extract from which reads as follows:
“A ce chapitre, Montréal entend réaliser en priorité les projets suivants:
Notre-Dame (Dickson to Curatteau
Sherbrookeest (36e avenue to Notre-Dame)
Sherbrooke(Pie-IX to Papineau)
Raccorder le boulevard Cavendish: une première phase des travaux établira le lien Royalmount/Cavendish et une seconde phase reliera les deux tronçons existants de Cavendish
WHEREAS the Agglomeration of Montreal identified the Cavendish extension project as one of its Capital Expenditure Projects in its three year capital expenditure budget of 2012-2015;
WHEREAS the City of Côte Saint-Luc deems the Cavendish extension project essential for the development and enhancement of the quality of life of its residents on its territory as well as those in its neighbouring communities;
WHEREAS allof the adjacent municipalities and boroughs are in favour of a Cavendish extension creating a link between its Southern and Northern portions which would create a boulevard which would integrate public and active transit;
WHEREAS the Town of Mount Royal, and the Borough of Côte-des-neiges-Notre-Dâme-de-Grâce have already publicly declared and adopted resolutions in 2007 and in 2012, that they are in favour of the Cavendish extension project;
WHEREAS the commencement of construction linking the two portions of Cavendish is dependent upon provincial financing;
IT WAS PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR DIDA BERKU
SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR GLENN J. NASHEN
“THATthe City ofCôte Saint-Luc reaffirms its support in favour of the Cavendish- Royalmount- Cavendish extension project;
THAT the City of Côte Saint-Luc considers the Cavendish-Royalmount- Cavendish extension project a key element to improving traffic-flow for private, public and active transit in the Central portion of the Island of Montreal;
THATthe City of Côte Saint-Luc hereby requests that the Quebec Government and the City of Montreal give priority to the Cavendish-Royalmount-Cavendish extension project and that said project be included and designated as a priority project in the next agreement between the MTQ (Quebec Ministry of Transport) and the City of Montreal;
THATa copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Minister of Transport of Quebec, Pierre Moreau; MNA for D’Arcy McGee, Lawrence Bergman; the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal and all Mayors and Councils within the Agglomeration of Montreal;
Months of the Montreal Fire – Fire safety in the forefront
The following press release was issued by the Montreal Fire Department. Despite repeated requests by the City of Cote Saint-Luc, Mayor Anthony Housefather and myself, the MFD, an Agglomeration of Montreal service, continues to publicize its safety events, promotions and website in French only. What follows is a translation using Google Translate:
MONTREAL, Sept. 19, 2011 – The Fire Department of Montreal (SIM) offers the population of Greater Montreal, as part of the second edition of the Month Fire Prevention, a series of thematic activities. The event runs from September 19 to October 16, 2011. Although the evacuation plan is the theme this year, the importance of having a functional smoke alarm in the home remains at the heart of the actions taken.
Messrs. Claude Trudel, head of public security to the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Serge Tremblay, director of the Fire Department of Montreal, consider important that the initiative is repeated annually.
“The municipal administration strongly supports the initiative of the SIM. The success of last year shows that the population is becoming more receptive to messages of fire prevention. We must therefore continue all efforts so that citizens of the metropolis incorporate into their daily preventive behaviors suggested. So is safety. In this sense, I invite them to participate in large numbers to Month Fire of Montreal “, said Mr. Trudel.
Month Fire of Montreal is an event that has no equal. Last year, nearly 83,000 elementary students have undertaken to check the smoke alarm in their homes as part of their participation in the activity “Firefighter for a Day”, almost 12 000 people been encountered at public events, more than 3000 dwellings were visited 230 primary schools were inspected and about 1 400 children were sensitized through appropriate activities. This year the contest “Draw your plan! “And the series of activities offered, the service is optimistic it will exceed the number of children and families joined them.
Throughout the Prevention Month, the SIM will deploy resources in public places to raise awareness and to provide fire safety tips, visit the private primary schools and all secondary schools of the island, meet with groups of seniors, will experience the fire simulator to small pre-school, will hold open houses in some barracks and visit homes to ensure they are equipped with a smoke alarm functional. In all these activities, followed by several activities jointly.
“For the second consecutive year, the MIS staff has invested to provide an imaginative programming and a high quality of Montrealers. We have honed our communication strategies so that our message is heard by as many citizens as possible. Since the fire first starts at home, I encourage people to learn about fire prevention to our prevention officers and firefighters as well as through our website. By visiting it, they can view videos themes, various documents and consult the complete program of the event, “said Director Smith.
To be aware of the program, visit ville.montreal.qc.ca / sim.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC), chaired by Councillor Glenn J. Nashen, was tasked with updating the city’s Emergency Preparedness Plan. The previous plan was adopted during the merger and included the Towns of Hampstead and Montreal West. Prior to that, the city had its own plan, first adopted in the early 1970′s.
In 2007 and 2008, a working group of city staff met with the firm Multi-Risk International, which was contracted to develop a new plan for the city. The plan was produced in June 2008. The Multi-Risk International plan and the pre-merger Côte Saint-Luc plan served as valuable resources and references in the development and update of this document.
The new Emergency Preparedness Plan was reviewed intensively by Mayor Housefather and members of Council, particularly Nashen and Ruth Kovac (both members of the Emergency Preparedness Committee since 1990 and have attended Emergency Preparedness College of Canada) and was officially adopted at the March public council meeting. They worked closely with Jordy Reichson, Director of Public Safety, Cote Saint-Luc’s point-man on emergency operations and readiness issues.
The next step will be to undertake training for all key stakeholders and players, including the elected officials, city staff and partners involved in the management of an emergency as well as advising the public that a new plan has been adopted. A sensitization and education campaign of residents, through a “Guide to public safety” document will be conducted later this year.
The new plan will “tested” through tabletop exercises and possibly a live exercise.
The resolution reads as follows:
RESOLUTION TO ADOPT AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN FOR THE CITY OF COTE SAINT-LUC
“WHEREAS, the City of Côte Saint-Luc considers the protection of residents and infrastructure an important element in the safety of the city and its people;
WHEREAS, the Civil Protection Act requires all municipalities on the island of Montreal to enter into an agreement with the Agglomeration of Montreal, acting as a regional authority, regarding the prevention of, preparedness for, mitigation of and response to emergencies on its territory;
WHEREAS, the Emergency Preparedness Committee has prepared a plan for dealing with emergencies and disasters of all kinds on its territory.”
It was
MOVED BY COUNCILLOR GLENN J. NASHEN
SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR RUTH KOVAC
AND RESOLVED
“THAT the Côte Saint-Luc City Council herewith adopts the attached document, entitled “Emergency Preparedness Plan”, consisting of 99 pages;
THAT the Côte Saint-Luc City Council hereby authorizes the Director of Public Safety to submit a copy of the said plan to the Centre de sécurité civile, a division of the Montreal Fire Department;
I’m glad to see the Montreal Agglomeration is embracing new technologies to communicate more effectively with The Island’s residents in case of emergency or crisis situation. In 2011, though, they should also be actively pursuing the myriad of social media possibilities that can reach out much faster to many more people, and faster, than a traditional phone dialer. Twitter is an undeniable major player and its role in disseminating emergency communications should not be underestimated.
I do find a sense of irony in reading about Fire Department’s interest in reaching out to the residents across the Island of Montreal. If they are truly motivated to be more efficient at communications they ought to ensure that their own website’s English side shows more than “under construction” some 10 years after the announcement to merge Fire departments across the island.
After all, effective emergency communications is carried out in many languages, not just one.
Côte St. Luc passed a $59,213,830 budget late last month, a 3.96 percent increase over the 2010 $56.9 million budget.
Côte St. Luc property owners can also expect an average 2.98 percent increase, taking into account local and island-wide Montreal agglomeration taxes. Taken in isolation, the local tax increase is 1.8 percent, while the agglomeration increase is 4.1 percent. The owner of a home evaluated at the average $441,912 can expect to pay $5,728 in local and agglomeration taxes combined, a $166 increase from last year.
Last year, the average evaluation of a home was $426,320.
Councillor Dida Berku, in charge of finance on council, said 2011 is a “year of transition” for Côte St. Luc, referring to the development of the Cavendish Mall residential project and the building of the Aquatic and Community Centre.
“We did our very best to balance the budget, and we felt it was appropriate not to increase the taxes too much, but we have to deal with increasing agglo costs and the financing costs for the centre and the mall project,” Berku said.
Other facts from the budget:
• The three-year property evaluation roll for Côte St. Luc had an overall increase of 11.2 percent – residential was 10.5 percent and non-residential was 17.2 percent. Single family homes increased an average 13.2 percent, condos 4.6 percent, duplexes 7.3 percent and apartment buildings with six or more units 14.5 percent.
• Of the $59,213,830 budget, more than $33.3 million is being spent locally and more than $25.8 million is going to the agglomeration.
• As part of the year of transition involving the mall and recreation centre, there is an appropriation from Côte St. Luc’s surplus of $556,000.
“Since half of the mall is being demolished, it’s going to take a year or two to ramp up and build a development that will generate revenues, so we’re investing in the infrastructure but we won’t be reaping the benefits for another year or two,” Berku explained. “It’s the same for the Aquatic and Community Centre – we’re investing in it and until we get reimbursed by the federal and provincial governments, and get the pool running as a competitive venue, that will also take a little time.
“You have to invest to reap the benefits.”
• Locally, $8.3 million is being spent on general administration (city council, city hall, employees’ salaries), just over $8 million on public works (roadwork, snow removal, etc.), $4.4 million on environmental services (water and sewer infrastructure, garbage removal and recycling), nearly $4.4 million for debt service, financing costs and the Montreal Metropolitan Community; $3.7 million on parks and recreation, $2.7 million on the library and $1.2 million on Emergency Medical Services, public security and Volunteer Citizens on Patrol.
• The three-year capital expenditure budget, a wish list of potential projects, is more than $24 million in gross expenditures for 2011, including $18 million for park improvements and the building of the Aquatic and Community Centre, $2 million for replacement of sections of roads and sidewalks, $2.9 million for water and sewer main repair and replacement, including in the Cavendish Mall residential development; $843,000 for vehicle replacement and upgrades; $140,000 for repairs and upgrades to city property and $114,300 for information technologies.
• Taking into account federal and provincial grants totalling more than $13 million, the net capital expenditure by the city would be nearly $11.2 million.
Within moments of signing a declaration promising to protect biodiversity and green up Montreal yesterday, Mayor Gérald Tremblay faced tough questions on specific threatened green spaces, including Meadowbrook and a downtown community garden.
The mayor was among 20 local politicians, corporate leaders, housing organizations and environmental groups who signed the “Declaration of the Island of Montreal Community in favour of biodiversity and greening,” at a two-day Biodiversity Summit organized by a coalition of local environmental groups.
Coralie Deny, who heads the Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal, said the declaration is not only a way to put pressure on local politicians, but an awareness tool to get land owners of all stripes to think about the need to preserve wildlife habitats and green up the urban environment.
“People think about taking care of parks and street trees, but if we really want greenery and biodiversity in cities, we have to intervene on a large scale in a lot more places,” she said.
That means getting large public and private property owners to remove excess asphalt and plant trees and shrubs. Greenery on roofs and walls can become desperately needed habitat for birds and pollinating insects, she noted.
“We need imagination and everybody has to participate. So this declaration is to mobilize all the big players in terms of land owners in Montreal,” she said.
In a luncheon address, Tremblay spoke of Montreal’s richness in terms of natural attributes – the river, Mount Royal, its many large parks – as well as biodiversity-related organizations such as the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
He noted his administration has committed another $36 million to green space protection in its last budget.
After the speech, reporters asked Tremblay whether the declaration means his administration will commit to renaturalizing the Meadowbrook golf course in the city’s southwest, a 57-hectare green space on which a developer plans to build condos.
“It’s not a question of studies anymore, it’s a question of deciding whether it’s going to be green, or partly green with a residential or commercial project,” Tremblay said.
He said if the island council decides to make a park out of Meadowbrook, the city of Lachine would have to be compensated for a loss in potential tax revenue, because when Lachine residents voted to merge with Ville St. Pierre, it was understood that Meadowbrook would be developed.
The mayor also said he is reconsidering an executive committee decision to sell one of the city’s 78 community gardens to a developer.
“At the last city council, I asked that this project be studied more, so we are looking at it in a very different way now,” he said.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay mum on Meadowbrook plans
By MONIQUE BEAUDIN, GAZETTE ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
April 20, 2010
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay would not say Tuesday what he thinks should happen to the Meadowbrook golf course, the west-end site where a private developer has said it wants to build 1,500 housing units.
City council is expected to debate a motion from Projet Montréal Thursday calling for the city to recognize the golf course, and the Little St. Pierre River which crosses it, as an eco-territory and take steps to protect them. On Monday night, several hundred people converged on city hall to ask the mayor to preserve the site as a natural space.
The 57-hectare golf course straddles the city of Côte St. Luc and the Montreal borough of Lachine.
“It’s a debate that’s been going on for a long time,” Tremblay said. “We know the position of Côte St. Luc – they want a golf course. We know the position of Lachine – they want development. We have to find the best solution possible.”
His administration wants to preserve “as much green space as possible,” Tremblay said, adding that it has already spent $36 million on green space preservation and has promised to spend the same amount over the next four years. Last year, an agglomeration council commission recommended that steps be taken to protect Meadowbrook as a natural space.
Tremblay said he has asked LaSalle city councillor Richard Deschamps, who is responsible for Montreal 2025, the program to plan developments in the city, to meet with the parties involved in Meadowbrook.
A spokeswoman for Groupe Pacific, which bought the site in 2006, said last week the company hopes to make its housing project – planned for the Lachine part of the course – public in the coming weeks.
Tuesday, the mayor of Lachine said his borough has had no meetings or contact with Groupe Pacific in a year and a half. Claude Dauphin said while the Lachine part of the course is zoned residential, he would be open to preserving it as a green space if the island-wide agglomeration council provided funding. Lachine would have to be compensated for the loss of potential tax revenue from the housing project, he said.
Meadowbrook became part of Lachine in 2000, when the former town of Ville St. Pierre merged with Lachine. Part of the decision to merge included the potential of future revenues from development on the site to offset the costs of improvements in Ville St. Pierre, Lachine city councillor Jane Cowell-Poitras said Tuesday. Lachine has invested “several million dollars” in improvements to facilities like the pool and arena in the former town of Ville St. Pierre since 2000, she said.
Recent Comments