Coptic church expansion plans facing zoning hurdle
KATHRYN GREENAWAY The debate over the possible expansion of the St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Pointe-Claire ramped up last week in the days leading up to the deadline for signing a register opposing the project.
The church owns property upon which sits a long-abandoned school. The plan is to knock down the school building and build a church hall. But because the school property is zoned for residential development, a zoning amendment is required and when that happens, contiguous neighbours can take steps to block the project.
Those opposed and those in favour of the project showed up to voice their opinions at the PointeClaire council meeting, Jan. 15. The deadline to sign the register was Jan. 20. The results of a register opposing the construction will be announced Jan. 23. If the required number of signatures are gathered, a referendum will take place Jan. 28.
Even the church’s spiritual leader Father Peter Saad took to the microphone.
But those who spoke first were firmly planted in the “no” camp.
Louise Sauvé Bissonnette said she wasn’t against the church — “my son was baptized there” — but that a large church hall was not a fit for the neighbourhood. She voiced concern about the influx of “up to 400 people six days a week to partake in many events at the hall.” She said many in the lakeshore community are concerned about “intense traffic” which would result.
She posited that the city seemed to be leaning toward allowing the church to rent out the hall to events having nothing to do with church activities and she appealed to council to force the owners to tear down the decrepit school.
“They are holding the abandoned school against us and refuse to tear it down — only if they are allowed to build their large community hall,” Bissonnette said.
Anna Merulla said a church spokesman had estimated in a media interview that there were 10,000 Coptic Christians in the greater Montreal region. She said she had been told that congregants shared respective facilities which could lead to “thousands of people” using the hall. And she said a letter sent to neighbours by the church earlier this month interfered with the democratic process because it asked people not to sign the register.
Mayor John Belvedere responded to the criticism by saying that he believed the church was working on the project in good faith.
Then it was Saad’s turn to speak. He said the church in Pointe-Claire has 400 members, not 10,000. The Sunday service would be attended by the majority of the congregation, but that attendance for the bible classes, youth activities in the gym and weekday masses would be significantly lower. On the subject of the letter, he said that he had spoken to neighbours who were unfamiliar with the register/referendum process and were under the impression they should sign even if they were in favour of the project. The letter, he said, was to explain that people were not compelled to sign the register.