The official opposition at Montreal city hall is asking the Plante administration to move faster on housing and to use new powers granted by Quebec to accelerate construction.
Ensemble Montréal would like the City and its boroughs to be able to shorten the approval process for certain real estate projects, by ruling out the opinion of the planning committee or the possibility for neighbors to trigger a referendum. These powers were granted in Law 31, passed last month.
“The housing crisis is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional measures,” argued opposition MP Julien Hénault-Ratelle. “I call on the Plante administration to be a pioneer by municipalities and to seize this opportunity to accelerate construction starts rather than remaining passive. »
Mr. Hénault-Ratelle also highlighted the significant delay in residential development on land that belongs directly to the City of Montreal, such as the former racetrack and Voyageur Island.
The Plante administration must announce Thursday afternoon modifications to its regulations for a mixed metropolis (nicknamed 20-20-20), which imposes quotas for social, affordable and family housing in all new large constructions.