Court orders Pointe Claire to let developer build on small lot
Pointe Claire council authorized a $50,000 payment to a developer last week regarding a residential project opposed by neighbours on Queen Ave.
Anthony Roy took the city to court last fall after council denied his permit request to build on the vacant lot at 147 Queen Ave. Roy had been attempting to get his plan approved by the city for two years.
In a ruling issued May 30, Justice André Denis noted that you can fight city hall and win.
Denis gauged that Pointe Claire council had acted in bad faith and was irrational in dealing with repeated requests to issue a permit to build a single-family home on the 4,700-square-foot lot situated between two existing homes on the north end of Queen Ave. He ruled in favour of the plain- tiff, ordered the city to grant a building permit, which it has since done, and to pay damages.
Pointe Claire council had reasoned a minor variance request did not meet the objectives of the city’s urban plan since the project would promote increased building density in this area and would have a negative effect on the quality of life and peace of nearby residents.
City officials had informed Roy the lot at 147 Queen Ave., which has been on the cadastral books for 100 years, is too small under municipal zoning regulations to build a home. It was noted in court that Roy had also purchased an adjacent older home, at 145 Queen Ave., renovated and then sold it.
Roy had submitted plans on several occasions between 2009 and 2011 for 147 Queen Ave., which included a minor exemption regarding the width of the lot to be developed. He testified that dealing with Pointe Claire was a “nightmarish experience.”
Mayor Bill McMurchie and Jacques Labbé, the councillor for the area, both take exception to the judge’s stating that the city acted in bad faith, but don’t believe the unfavourable ruling will set a precedent in regards to the city’s new master urban plan.
“I’m disappointed that the judge was of that opinion,” McMurchie told The Gazette. “The city always acts in good faith. We issue building permits in accordance with our bylaws.”
The mayor said the lot in question is about 40 feet wide while the city prefers the minimum to be about 60 feet, adding such a difference doesn’t fall under a minor variance for a zoning exemption.
Labbé said the city’s new master urban plan, put into force last year, and the practice of the city in the preceding years was to oppose building single-family homes on lots as small as 40 feet wide.
“There won’t automatically be building on 40-foot lots just because this gentleman won,” he said. “I guess he was able to say he bought the land and applied for a building permit prior to the passing of the law last year. His feeling was that he was grandfathered in, which no one today could do.”
Labbé said the city’s previous zoning bylaws stated there had to be 6½ feet between a home and neighbours on each side and the frontage had to be a minimum 32 feet.
“So you couldn’t build a 32-foot wide home on a 40-foot property and still respect those side limits,” he continued. “So that’s why no one had been building for any length of time on those 40-foot lots because of that. But now we made it clear by specifically saying that you can’t build a single-family home on a 40-foot lot.”
On the advice of its lawyers, the city decided against an appeal, the mayor said.
Construction of the new home at 147 Queen Ave. began Thursday.