A construction material sorting center project threatens to increase truck traffic near an elementary school in Saint-Benoît de Mirabel and worries many residents, to the point where the City has decided to modify its zoning by-law to prevent this scenario from repeating itself, noted The duty.
“We have frozen the file for the future to avoid having another project of its kind in this sector”, confirms the director of the communications department of the City of Mirabel, Caroline Thibault. A special meeting of the municipal council was held on Monday to withdraw certain uses that had been permitted for 25 years in the village of Saint-Benoît, including that of “heavy industry”.
However, it is “too late” to prevent the realization of the project led by entrepreneur Sébastien Mercier – who has had legal disputes with residents of the area in recent years – and his business partner and spouse, Christine Brodeur, deplores the ex-Mirabellois city councilor Réal Proulx. This is indeed a project that respects the zoning rules that prevailed on this site during the initial steps taken by the contractors.
“I don’t need to tell you my disappointment with the Mirabel urban planning department, which allows you to organize a project in an area without checking whether it was compatible with the environment,” says Mr. Proulx, who is a member a committee of citizens involved in the “development” of Saint-Benoît. “We chose to settle here to have peace of mind, not to hear someone breaking concrete all day. »
The entrepreneurs behind this sorting center project have already obtained a declaration of conformity from the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, indicated Mr.me Embroiderer at To have to.
“We were presented with the project to get our opinion, but the project has already been done”, says resident Philippe Benoit, according to whom “the City should have cleaned up its zoning to ensure that the small village here retains its tranquility” before letting this sorting center project take shape.
On August 23, a public presentation of the project led by the couple of entrepreneurs, who own three companies specializing in demolition, recycling of building materials and the sale of these, attracted nearly 200 people to the heart of the village. , according to the testimonies collected. The project was then presented by its promoters as an ecological way to give a second life to materials that would normally have been buried, in particular those taken from the properties passing through the wrecker of SM Démolition, a company owned by Mr. Mercier since 2007.
“All these materials usually end up in the landfill. Our goal is to sort them in order to redistribute them on the market,” explained Mr.me Brodeur as she gave a tour of her facilities at To have to tuesday. “You would be surprised to see how much there is still a lot of material going to the landfill”, insists the one who considers that this project is “good for the environment”.
A security issue
As part of the operation of this sorting center, the contractors anticipate that at least ten trucks will enter the site planned for this project each day, where there is an old hardware store located near corn fields, 600 meters from the Church of Saint-Benoît. The couple acquired the site last December.
These heavy goods vehicles are therefore likely to circulate on a regular basis in the heart of the village, which lacks sidewalks in several places, as well as near the primary school in the area and a CHSLD, which concerns several residents contacted byr Le Devoir. Not to mention the noise, dust and vibrations that these trucks and the activities of the sorting center will generate, they list.
“The circulation of heavy goods vehicles is already significant, it’s already a problem, so it will just increase with this project”, worries Marie-Michel Gauthier, a mother of four children who also notes that it there is no school crossing guard in Saint-Benoît.
Residents now hope to convince the City to put in place measures to limit the apprehended nuisances of the project – by ensuring that the trucks that will supply materials to this sorting center do not pass through the heart of the village, for example. “As long as the zoning allows it, you can’t refuse the project, but you can better supervise it,” notes Réal Proulx.
The City says it will take into account the “recommendations” made to it by citizens over the past few days. “We cannot oppose the project, but we can ask that it be well integrated”, notes Caroline Thibault, who specifies that a possible supervision of road traffic in Saint-Benoît will have to be done in concert with the ministry. des Transports du Québec (MTQ), for example, to “prohibit the circulation of trucks on our network”.
A contentious past
The duty also found that Sébastien Mercier has been involved in litigation involving at least two area residents in separate court cases. Tension notably rose last year between Mr. Mercier and a resident whose developer rented the land to store “construction debris” and other residual materials on behalf of his company, SM Demolition, according to lawsuits. hearing records that we were able to consult.
The resident in question, who asked not to be named, would later have asked Mr. Mercier to leave his land since he was not satisfied with the way it was being used. However, Mr. Mercier refused to leave the premises and turned to the Superior Court, which instead agreed with the defendant. The businessman was thus ordered in July 2021 to empty the premises of all the residual materials that were there.
Christine Brodeur did not want to comment on this case, which is still the subject of legal proceedings. Sébastien Mercier could not be reached by The duty.