A regional development plan has some critics saying it gives too much power to Montreal.
Montreal gets ‘too much power’
Regional politicians say they might have more difficulty attracting new business thanks to a regional development plan adopted by the Montreal Metropolitan Community.
The Plan métropolitain d’aménagement et de développement, which was adopted by the MMC early this year, will force rural areas like St-Lazare to add density, and it will tie the hands of a city like Vaudreuil-Dorion from adding much-needed commercial and industrial buildings.
“Everyone now is restricted,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon. “Because you always have to ask Montreal for what you want to do.”
Pilon said the PMAD gives the MMC control over commercial and industrial development. Since Montreal has half the votes on the council, it basically controls most development.
“We can’t dezone. We can’t do anything,” Pilon said.
He said the plan is shortsighted because it will put a chill on commercial development outside the island of Montreal.
“What they don’t realize is that the competition of Vaudreuil isn’t Montreal, it’s Cornwall,” he said. “If a business doesn’t locate here, it won’t necessarily go to Montreal.”
Julien Turcotte, the general manager of the Centre Local de Développement for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area, said he’s concerned that the plan doesn’t take into account future plans for the region, like a hos- pital, which Turcotte said should be developed as part of an institutional zone, with room for an eventual CEGEP for the region.
He’s also concerned the PMAD would scuttle plans for the region to develop an industrial zone around the new Highway 30, which is expected to open next month.
St-Lazare Mayor Robert Grimaudo said he’s con- cerned with density requirements for residential areas.
While the PMAD emphasizes development around transit hubs, it calls for an overall increase of the region’s population density. The plan calls for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region to have an average of 22 residences per hectare. In StLazare, there are currently about two or three homes per hectare, Grimaudo said.
“There’s no way we’re going to get to that density,” he said. “But we can densify without destroying our cachet.”
He said the city is looking at creating more dense housing units in its eastern sector.
“In areas where there is sewage, we can afford to put some smaller lots, like 8,000 square feet, rather than 20,000 square feet,” he said.
Turcotte said while the PMAD was adopted and accepted by the municipal affairs minister, there are still a few months left to make changes. He said the region plans to ask for some modifications to the plan before it is finalized.