Vaudreuil landowner defies town and continues work to drain old quarry and prepare site for development.

When the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion revoked the construction permit for the disputed Lac Chérie property, city workers planted the notice in the middle of the entrance road, on a sign with a large red X.

That didn’t stop developer Benjamin Wygodny, whose contractors drove dump trucks and heavy machinery right past the sign last week to start draining the large body of water at the centre of the property.

“As far as we’re concerned, we have a permit to do the work … and the city unilaterally cancelled our permit without any cause,” Wygodny said Monday.

He said he plans to drain the water, pour in landfill and start work on a housing project.

But Vaudreuil-Dorion says the body of water is a protected lake, and on Aug. 21 revoked Wygodny’s construction permit, pending a Ministry of Environment investigation.

The city took action in August after a resident called to report workers were clearing part of the area around the water to make way for a road.

Ministry of Environment investigators are assessing the property to determine if the body of water is a lake — as the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion believes — or a quarry full of water, as Wygodny maintains.

That distinction will determine whether Wygodny can legally drain the water and proceed with a proposed development project on the property, which is zoned for single-family housing.

“He can work on his land, but he has to come first to tell us what he wants to do, and we will issue a permit. Even that part, he did not do it,” Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon said.

Neighbourhood resident Gerry Sly said that on Thursday workers dumped dirt to fill in a road down to the water.

They also built what appeared to be a dam at the edge of the water, he said, but city officials arrived and told them to stop.

City officials were checking on the site again early Friday, he said.

As soon as they left, workers drove a tractor, bulldozer and a truck with two pumps toward the water, Sly said. Shortly after, city officials and a Ministry of Environment employee arrived, he said.

“They tried to get them to stop. But I think there was a bit of a kerfuffle — not a fight, but I think they were trying to be defiant,” Sly said.

The city workers parked their car across the road to prevent contractors from moving their machinery off the property, he said. Sûreté du Québec officers then arrived, and the contractors eventually left, Sly said.

But on Monday, Wygodny insisted he did not need the city’s permission, and said he would continue to drain the water.

“We’ve been told by our lawyers that we can proceed with the work, and that’s what we’re doing,” Wygodny said.

Like any other property owner, Wygodny is allowed to work on the land, but both the city and the Ministry of Environment say the developer cannot disturb the water or work on the shoreline.

The body of water, which the city and many locals call Lac Chérie, occupies an old quarry excavated in the late 1950s to provide material for highway construction. Water and fish filled the quarry after it was abandoned.

As well as a large number of fish, Sly said, the area is now home to turtles, at least one beaver and a crane.

“There are lots of animals, and it would be a shame to see it go if they do fill it,” Sly said, but added he understands the developer’s frustration.

“If you bought a car, and then the dealer put it in your driveway and said you can’t drive it, what are you going to do? … It’s his land, he can do whatever he wants with it.”

Pilon said he was not sure if city workers or residents had called the police on Friday, but said the city could ask the SQ to intervene again.

“If they are doing anything wrong, we will ask the SQ to come,” he said Tuesday.

Residents are also watching the project closely, Pilon said.

“We have a lot of eyes there. We’ll go there as fast as we can and we’ll stop (the work),” he said.

The city may issue fines if Wygodny continues to work on the property without a permit, Pilon said.

Contractors working on the lake could also be fined, he said.

The site was quiet on Monday afternoon, but will not be for long, Wygodny said.

Work to drain the water will begin again soon, once contractors at the site get a “bigger pump,” he said.

“We’re going to continue pumping out the quarry, and after that we’ll probably start filling it up,” he said.

“If the city wants to do anything ... they can go before a judge and try to get an injunction.”