Hudson brings zoning bylaws in line with municipal standards
Hudson town council passed three bylaws on Monday that bring the municipality in line with land use standards set by the Municipalité Regionale de Compté (MRC) Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
No fewer than 10 residents objected that the bylaws aim to increase housing density in the community, particularly in the town centre. The Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC calls for the town to increase housing density within one kilometre of the Hudson commuter train station — identified as a transit-oriented development (TOD) area — up to a minimum of 40 units per hectare, which amounts to 336 units.
Just two trains stop at the station each day, on weekdays — one heading into Montreal in the morning and another back at the end of the work day.
“Hudson will not have a population necessary to support train service in the long-term, without drawing in a much larger population base,” resident Marcus Owen told council during a question period.
“I’m suspicious that the TOD is driving development, rather than development coming along by itself,” he said.
Councillor Deborah Woodhead replied that one purpose of the TOD and the three bylaws at large is to limit urban sprawl by building more dwellings in the core of towns and cities, particularly around transportation hubs such as train stations.
Limiting urban sprawl will save agricultural land in the province, as well as green spaces within communities, she said.
Asked whether the town had communicated with the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT, which runs the train line), and other transport authorities about commuting options for the future, Woodhead replied that the bylaws are “a work in progress.”
“We don’t have all of these answers now, but these will come, and this plan will be modified,” Woodhead said.
The three bylaws set direction for the town’s land use planning program. In addition to standards on housing density, the bylaws establish guidelines on zoning of residential and commercial properties, seniors’ residences and standards to follow for green spaces and parks.
Regional municipal authorities must follow a metropolitan development plan, set by the Montreal Metropolitan Community, when they produce their land use plans. Hudson, like other member municipalities of the MRC, must comply with these plans to produce their own planning program, which guides zoning bylaws.
Residents questioned the timing of the new bylaws. Jamie Nicholls, a mayoral candidate for Hudson’s Nov. 5 election, questioned how the town could proceed without plans to improve public transit in the region.
“You don’t have any promises from the province or the AMT on improved transit,” he said.
“We have to keep working on public transit, it’s extremely important,” councillor Natalie Best replied. “You have to submit plans, they have to be accepted. And as we know, the government is seriously looking at all the flood lines.”
Best and fellow councillors said the town can modify the bylaws once they are passed.
“We need to be in compliance with the MRC,” Woodhead said. “Once we are in compliance, and we are inside of this regulation, we can do things for Hudson that we cannot from the outside.”