The opposition party Ensemble Montréal is urging the City to circumvent its urban planning regulations to accelerate real estate projects in the metropolis, by taking advantage of new powers at its disposal since the adoption last month of Bill 31.
The Act amending various legislative provisions relating to housing, resulting from Bill 31, was especially talked about for its provision giving more flexibility to owners wishing to refuse a request for assignment of lease from their tenants, in a context of housing crisis.
However, this law, approved on February 21, also provides for certain measures aimed at accelerating the construction of housing in the province by reducing the bureaucratic burden that cities impose on real estate developers.
Ensemble Montréal’s housing spokesperson, Julien Hénault-Ratelle, held a press conference at city hall on Thursday to urge Valérie Plante’s administration to adopt a resolution granting the metropolis “the authorization to deviate from municipal regulations in town planning in an exceptional manner”, as provided for in the new law that the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, has had to defend tooth and nail in recent months.
Also read – encadre_texte – ID #243422 (Swing)
Deregulate now
By applying this aspect of the law, Montreal could notably circumvent the obligation to obtain an opinion from the urban planning advisory committee, to hold a referendum or to obtain authorization from a borough’s demolition committee before approving certain real estate projects deviating from its urban planning and zoning regulations, underlines Ensemble Montréal.
This form of deregulation is, however, only permitted in the law for a period of three years after its entry into force, hence the importance of taking advantage of it now, in the opinion of the opposition party.
“What we want is to accelerate construction starts in Montreal,” where the housing vacancy rate fell to 1.5% in the Montreal region last year, stimulating a rapid increase rents, underlined Mr. Hénault-Ratelle. “It is essential to accelerate construction, to increase supply, in order to put downward pressure on the meteoric rise we are seeing in rents across the city. »
Accelerate by “a few months, or even a few years”
However, “administrative heaviness is one of the biggest obstacles currently across the City to implementing real estate projects,” continued the municipal elected official, according to whom the application of this provision of the law resulting from the project of law 31 by the City would allow the latter to accelerate by “a few months, or even a few years” the completion of certain real estate projects.
Julien Hénault-Ratelle is also calling for these new powers to circumvent the City’s urban planning regulations to be placed in the hands of local elected officials, who sit in the various district councils of the metropolis, the latter being, according to him, more able to know the specificities of the “built environment” in their territory and to ensure the “social acceptability” of real estate projects.
The municipal councilor does not believe that this deregulation risks increasing the risk of collusion among elected officials, a concern notably raised by the Order of Urban Planners of Quebec in recent months. “I trust the integrity of the various elected officials of the City of Montreal,” declared Mr. Hénault-Ratelle, who also recalled that the promoters will not have “carte blanche”, since the elected officials will be able to in particular continue to demand the creation of green spaces as well as the inclusion of social and affordable housing in real estate projects, among others.