An imposing real estate project of 165 rental chalets intended for tourists is causing concern among several residents of Brownsburg-Chatham. They demand the preservation of the tranquility and environment of the rural areas of this municipality in the Laurentians region. The City says it is listening to these complaints, but for it, the financial interests are major and push in favor of the project.
At 27, Anthony Gibault is the only business administrator behind real estate projects totaling 500 cottages for short-term rental in the Laurentians region,so much in Saint-Côme. Of the lot, 165 will see the light of day within two years, according to its forecasts, in the bucolic municipality of Brownsburg-Chatham, which had approximately 7,100 inhabitants in 2016.
Some of these high-end chalets have already been built as part of the first phases of the project, which also includes the construction of 2.5 kilometers of new roads in this municipality, particularly in wooded areas. In the first three areas being developed as part of this real estate project, the municipality has also changed the zoning to allow only tourist residences, in sectors located north of the city where there are several lakes and wooded.
“We will not have a house that is inhabited year-round next to a tourist residence. We acted so that these things did not happen, ”summarizes the director general of the municipality of Brownsburg-Chatham, Jean-François Brunet. “The interest for the City is to have this resort area which brings it a certain economic development,” he adds.
A vision shared by the mayor of the city, Kévin Maurice. The tax rate imposed by the municipality on tourist residences is “double”, he notes, compared to non-commercial buildings.
Environmental Protection
A fourth phase of the real estate project is also planned near Lake Reardon, which is accessed via a narrow gravel road maintained by its residents. The dutywent there last Saturday to attend a meeting with a dozen neighbors concerned about the environmental impact that the 85 rental chalets planned in the adjacent forest could have, because buyers will be able to obtain notarized access to this body of water.
“If there were a few new houses being built with residents, that wouldn’t be a problem. But here, we are not talking about new neighbors; it will be new tenants who will party in front of our house every weekend. It will destroy neighborhood life ”, apprehends in particular Jimmy Gonzalez Palacios.
He and his girlfriend, Erika Nguyen, left their condo in Montreal at the beginning of the summer, in particular because of the nuisance caused by the short-term rental of a dwelling next to theirs. They have since moved into a small cabin located at the end of the road leading to Lake Reardon, very close to a waterfall and a small beach that is still uncrowded.
“Now we come here and we’re told: all your new neighbors, it’s going to be Airbnb. So there, we are wondering if we are not going to buy the land behind our house so that we can decide who we rent it to, but it is so expensive, the land [détenus par les entreprises d’Anthony Gibault]. This is madness ! adds Mr. Gonzalez Palacios. In this context, some residents are considering leaving the premises.
“We should perhaps think about protecting the natural heritage for our young people. If not, which places will remain? Going to Mont-Tremblant? It’s no longer a place to rest,” says Éric Quann, who fears that the Reardon Lake sector will become “a place of speculation” to the detriment of the sector’s rich fauna and flora.
“It’s so beautiful right now! We have to promote that instead of starting a project that goes against the environment,” adds Noël Brouillette, 59. The latter fears in particular an increase in the presence of personal watercraft and other nautical devices on Lake Reardon, at the end of this real estate project. ” I am very worried. »
” Sustainable development “
Joined by The duty, the promoter Anthony Gibault ensures that the protection of the fauna and flora of the sector is at the heart of this project, which he associates with “sustainable development”. He claims to have hired a biologist to supervise this real estate development, while steps are underway to obtain all the required authorizations from the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change in Quebec.
“Obviously, like any new neighborhood, you have to plan, not deforestation, but forest management, which has to be done. You should know that this is not clearcutting. We limit the forest development of each of the lots”, assures Mr. Gibault, who adds that this real estate project “will not affect the shores of the lakes” of Brownsburg-Chatham at all.
Mr. Gibault also says that a “residential buffer zone” will be provided so that the chalets are far enough from Reardon Lake and the residents who border this body of water. This is so that they are not inconvenienced by the noise pollution often associated with Airbnb-type rentals.
Several residents of Lake Reardon intend to take advantage of the zoning change process in this sector to demand that a referendum be held on the fourth phase of this real estate project.
But Mayor Kévin Maurice warns that if this part of the real estate project does not go ahead, the residents concerned could pay the price. “Unfortunately, if there is no development, with rising costs, citizens who don’t want housing estates near their homes are going to have to expect to pay a lot more in taxes. There is a choice to be made too. »