Proposal calls for rezoning of Dorval Ave., main gateway to the city
The city of Dorval has adopted a new master plan that city officials are hopeful will help rejuvenate Dorval Ave., the main gateway to the city.
One of the key elements of the new planning document is the rezoning of Dorval Ave., the Dorval Gardens shopping mall and the long-shuttered Dorval Ave. movie theatre to allow for mixed commercial and residential development.
Mario St. Jean, the city’s director of urban planning, said the city’s goal is to create a regulatory environment that will permit mediumdensity development immediately south of Dorval Circle — up to 80 dwellings per hectare.
As it stands now, St. Jean said, the city’s main gateway is crying out for a makeover. When the Dorval Gardens shopping mall was built in 1954, it was a state-of-the-art facility and a signature landmark. That is no longer the case, he said.
Dorval’s new urban planning document was endorsed Oct. 9 by the Montreal Agglomeration Council.
On April 1, the Agglomeration Council adopted at new Land Use and Development Plan that calls on cities to amend their master plans to include local bylaws, which open the way for densification within one kilometre of a public-transit hub — the so-called TOD, or transit-oriented development.
“If we can increase the number of residences, and those people can take advantage of the commercial services on Dorval Ave. and the transportation hub, we would be pleased,” said St. Jean.
He said Dorval’s new sustainable master plan lays out a vision for the city to the year 2030 and aims to take advantage of the eventual completion of the Dorval Interchange and the long-planned intermodal transportation hub, where AMT commuter trains, STM buses and VIA passenger trains will stop.
Under the plan, St. Jean said, Dorval would allow apartment buildings — up to eight storeys on the west side of Dorval Ave. and up to four storeys on the east side.
However, he quickly added: “While we are open-minded to promoters, we will not accept anything. We want to see quality. We review the impact of any new development would have on traffic. We want to preserve existing neighbourhoods.”
St. Jean said the city has yet to hear from any developers but expects the city will as soon as the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec makes an announcement it will go forward with the Train de l’Ouest project.
“Once the Dorval train station is redeveloped, there will be more connectivity and intermodality,” said St. Jean.
“We have to be confident.”
ccornacchia@montrealgazette.com