Almost 10,000 sign petition to save green space
Community group Sauvons l’Anseà-l’Orme presented a petition with 9,700 signatures to Pierre fonds-Roxboro borough Mayor Jim Be is on Feb. 1. The petition, presented by Sauvons spokesman Ross Stitt, calls for the protection of a green space in Pierrefonds West now zoned for residential development.
“We wanted to raise public awareness,” Stitt said. “When we were going door-to-door to collect signatures, it became clear that a lot of people didn’t know about the development. Our plan is to continue to sensitize the population.”
Stitt said he’s not against development, but that the land in question does not fit the criteria laid out in the Land Use and Development Plan adopted by the Montreal Agglomeration Council, which states high-density development should be located near transit hubs. There is no transit hub in Pierrefonds West at this stage.
Beis thanked the members of the multiple environmental groups who collected the signatures and supported the petition for their efforts and said he would give the petition to the Office de consultation publique de Montréal so that it could be considered during the public consultation process about the proposed development of the land, which is expected to begin in spring.
The project — called Cap Nature Pierrefonds Ouest — would see 185 hectares of former agricultural land developed to include up to 6,000 residential units (30 per cent social and affordable housing), businesses, services and schools.
Bois-de-Liesse councillors Roger Trottier and Justine McIntyre both spoke out against the development. T rot tier voiced his cynicism that the public consultation process would have any impact at all on the proposed project, which he described as a “fait accompli.”
McIntyre said it was crucial to have “heavy infrastructure” such as métro extensions or above-ground train service in place before any development project moves forward.
“I decided to roll up my sleeves and dive into the debate,” McIntyre said the next day. “I think the petition sends a strong message that the population cares about what happens to green spaces. Ultimately, politicians have to answer to the people.” Quebec Green Party Leader Alex Tyrrell attended the meeting to show support for the Sauvons l’Anse-à-l’Orme group. He asked Beis to elaborate on comments he said the mayor had made earlier about people in the community who were in favour of the project “from a conservation perspective.”
Beis said there were people in the community who support a project that would allow them to live near a nature park while “conserving the green space and wetlands within the project.”
Beis said there were people who supported the fact that proposed project would be adding to the l’Anse-à-l’Orme eco-corridor, which is “already around 1,000 hectares.”