Even if the City of Quebec is committed to protecting 30% of its natural environments by 2030, that does not mean that it will no longer cut down any trees, warns Mayor Bruno Marchand, in response to criticism of the destruction of a woodland.
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To those who accuse him of holding double talk by authorizing the felling of trees in the technology park or as part of the tramway project, the mayor of Quebec replies that he indeed wishes to protect as many wooded areas as possible but that it will be “impossible to protect them all”.
“It is possible to reconcile the protection of biodiversity with the development of our city. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop the development of the City… It doesn’t mean either that we won’t cut down any more trees. We are going to cut as little as possible by choosing the best places to do it when we have to do it, inside the perimeter of urbanization, ”he pleaded Monday evening of the meeting of the municipal council.
Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
Devastated by the destruction without notice of a wooded area near their home, residents of rue de Joinville, backing onto the technology park, came to question the mayor in person Monday evening at City Hall, deploring that the City had allowed the owner of the land – acquired last year – to carry out a massive felling.
Mr. Machand reminded them that they would benefit from a buffer zone of 15 meters in order to maintain their privacy. As for the development of the site – zoned industrial – he recalled that the former administration had given the green light but he did not run away, saying that he would have done the same.
Curb urban sprawl
“It’s an industrial and technological park (…) It’s one of the few places still available for people to set up their business in an area close to the city,” insisted the mayor, reiterating his desire to curb urban sprawl.
“The choice we have, if we don’t do that, is that these companies will go elsewhere, much further than Quebec City, it will generate a lot more car traffic, travel and an increase in GHGs. . It is also part of sustainable development to have economic development within our city, ”he argued.
Citizens “taken by surprise”
The Leader of the Opposition, Claude Villeneuve, maintains that the way of doing things in this type of file must be reviewed and once again deplored the lack of communication. Affected citizens, he says, were “taken by surprise” and should have been notified ahead of time.
The mayor and the vice-president of the executive committee, Marie-Josée Asselin, recognize that the situation could have been handled differently. Ms. Asselin added, however, that the City issues more than 9,000 building permits to the private sector each year, recalling that when projects comply with zoning, there is generally no public consultation.