Former councillor hoping to modify Faubourg du Lac-brome plan

Ouvrard lines it up with a 2012 plan adopted and forgotten

Aformer TBL councillor representing Foster, Patrick Ouvrard, is hoping to buy time to revisit a concept that was at the centre of a 2012 adopted development plan for Foster that enables a greener approach. He is hoping that the plan will be taken from the shelf and dusted off so that it can be used in further considerations related to the proposed Faubourg du Lac-brome plan before what exists would become a “fait accompli.”

Whether it was oversight by a newly elected council in 2013 or if it was simply ignored, Ouvrard feels it is important to revisit the plan with Marc Brochu, developer of Faubourg du Lac-brome and the TBL administration. Ouvrard emphasizes that he is not against development. He just sees that there is a possibility of a greater winning situation than what was adopted at a special council meeting on February 19.

Ouvrard says that this 2012 plan respects environment, entices young families, and improves existing issues around waste management and water even more than the proposed plan that was adopted by council and is now on course for citizens’ approval.

Based on the Green Air Approach, Ouvrard says that the developer could actually have more houses surrounded by larger areas of green space by implementing the concept. There would be more variety in the housing prices, making it more reachable for younger families to attain.

“What people are looking for when building is the view,” Ouvrard says. “What are they looking out at? With this concept it is possible depending on how each house would be oriented.” He says the lots don’t have to be big. They just need to have views. He argues that the price point for the proposed houses puts the cost to almost $400,000, making it a stretch for many younger people. With this concept in mind, however, the plan to donate wetland area by Brome Lake Land Foundation would not be changed.

Ouvrard feels that the plan he is suggesting has elements that would bring more success to the community, including a wider tax base than proposed. He mentioned that in 2013 Quebec’s minister of municipalities decreed that it could not support infrastructure such as a central sewer system unless the numbers would warrant it. For Foster citizens, that has been a big disappointment. With an increased number of houses being built on the old golf course on Route 243 if using the Green Air Approach, the area would be eligible for a sewer system rather than individual septic systems. Once there it could eventually be extended toward the original Foster Village.