Plateau delays ban on new backyard spots for a month
Borough announces one-month delay as residents say measure too heavy-handed
A rowdy crowd filled the PlateauMont-Royal borough council meeting Monday night, upset about a new bylaw that would ban new parking spots from backyards fronting public alleyways and lanes.
But an hour into question period, the borough announced the adoption of the bylaw would be delayed for one month until June for “technical” reasons. Council said a delay is needed so the bylaw can be modified to reflect which zones are affected.
Mayor Luc Fernandez and his team had presented the project in early March. The Plateau’s administration says it wants to reduce the dependence on cars in the borough, and turn alleyways into green spaces where children can play safely.
But residents opposing the bylaw said the city’s regulation is too heavy-handed when persuasion would have been enough. They said they fear a ban on parking will cause more problems for those who rely on their cars to ferry people with disabilities, seniors and children who are involved in sports. Many repeatedly demanded assurances that no existing parking in backyards and alleyways will be scrapped once the bylaw is adopted.
The new parking regulations will not affect those in possession of backyard parking spots, Fernandez said. Protected by acquired rights, existing spots can be modernized provided they remain the same. Also, residents don’t have to validate their spots, as vested rights will not be questioned as long as no backyard renovation work is being done. Residents can present a photograph or a screen shot of an aerial image to have their current parking recognized.
Concerned residents took their complaints to a council meeting last month, but the borough said it would not budge.
Opposition to the parking bylaw is expected to lead to several referendums where enough residents had signed a petition to force a vote on the proposal.
On Friday, the borough announced it got enough signatures to hold referendums in 34 of 505 zones (about 14 per cent) of the Plateau. To obtain a referendum, at least 10 per cent of residents in a zoning area had to sign up.
Residents have been mobilizing in recent weeks to denounce the controversial law. Some spoke of having to give up buying an electric car because they could not install a charging station in their yard. Others suggested the new regulations would lower the value of their property and erode their rights.
Borough officials noted that climate change is a far more pressing need than individual rights. However, Fernandez said that the borough is moving progressively towards a vision of fewer cars. Residents can ask for an exception to the law, he added.
But a worried Richard Lemire said he’d rather his life not be “poisoned by a vision. I want it to be infused by reason and logic.” Lemire, who drives children to sporting practice, says the borough doesn’t need to impose regulations to improve green spaces.
Many residents, including Simon Cadotte, a lawyer who lives in the area, and one of the organizers against the new law, said last week that government has no business “sticking its nose in our properties.”
According to the borough’s analysis of permits issued from 2012 to 2017, an average of 14 parking surfaces are adapted annually. As for building permits, 90 per cent of new construction projects have no outdoor parking. The borough currently has 16,000 parking spaces.
The borough expects to hold the referendums by late spring or early summer.