Pointe-claire residents object to scale of proposed highrise

Some Pointe-claire citizens are again raising their concerns about a proposed highrise project being built on the former Mazda car dealership site on St-jean Blvd., just south of Hymus Blvd.

A handful of citizens directed questions to Mayor John Belvedere at Tuesday night's “virtual” council meeting.

One resident asked that the Groupe Brivia highrise project “be scaled back to the 2011 zoning of 18 townhouses and 80 apartments. This would indeed be a better fit for our neighbourhood. There are many concerns: a lack of infrastructure, a loss of privacy for nearby homeowners, extra pollution and traffic, safety and security.”

Last month, city council adopted a motion to scale back the proposed project from 10 storeys to six. The bylaw amendment would also significantly reduce the number of residential units on the site, said the mayor.

At Tuesday's council meeting, the mayor answered several written questions from citizens on the Brivia project at once by saying the city would respect its bylaws pertaining to the proposed Brivia project.

“In accordance to the bylaw in the respect to the demolition of immovables, any project submitted to the city prior to the change in regulations is subject to the bylaw in effect at the time the project is submitted,” the mayor said.

“In the case you are referring to, the residential renting housing project at the intersection of (St-jean) Blvd. and Chaucer Ave. was submitted before council filed a motion and a first draft bylaw amending the zoning bylaw was adopted.

“The purpose of this bylaw amendment is to ensure that new construction in this sector of the city centre blend with surrounding neighbourhoods.”

Belvedere's answer did not sit well with Pointe-claire resident Karen Guaiani, who is part of ad hoc group of citizens who started an online petition in order to persuade city officials from approving a demolition permit for the site, which is now vacant.

Nearly 2,000 people have signed the petition.

Another 300 signatures have been collected by canvassing the neighbourhood.

“I'm so disheartened,” said Guaiani, who added that the multi-level project by Groupe Brivia is simply too large for a neighbourhood composed of mostly single-family dwellings and townhouses. “It will have a negative impact on the whole neighbourhood.”