Montreal is taking another step to protect the Anjou Metropolitan Golf Club. The executive committee approved Wednesday morning the modification of the allocation of part of this land in the East of Montreal by granting it the vocation of “large green space”.
The Plante administration also intends to preserve the Boisé-Jean-Milot park, located in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, a land recognized since 2008 by the borough as a natural environment to be protected.
During the election campaign, Projet Montréal had promised to create a large park in the East of Montreal and the protection of the golf course was one of the commitments to be made during the first 100 days of a second mandate. Last April, the Plante administration had also announced its intentions regarding the protection of the site in a declaration adopted by the municipal council.
The future of the Club de golf métropolitain Anjou has been at the center of a dispute between the Plante administration and the mayor of the borough of Anjou, Luis Miranda, for years, because the latter wanted part of this sector can accommodate industrial activities. Given his dispute with the Plante administration, the mayor of Anjou had entered into an alliance with Montreal mayoral candidate Denis Coderre during the election campaign.
Previously, in 2018, the company Solargise had expressed the wish to install its solar panel factory on the golf course of Anjou, but the project had not been able to materialize, for lack of an agreement with the owner of the land. golf. The company had finally decided to establish itself in the municipality of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. Mayor Luis Miranda then criticized the Plante administration for putting obstacles in the way of the company.
The disgruntled mayor of Anjou
Valérie Plante believes that it is better to protect land that is already green, rather than buying industrial land and having to decontaminate it and then transform it into parks. She invoked Wednesday morning “a matter of common sense”. According to the documents provided by the City, the sector covered by this new protection is located in the southern part of the golf course which was identified as having an industrial vocation in the Development Plan. This is a plot of land belonging to private interests – the Di Lillo family – of 40 hectares, which brings to 80 hectares the area benefiting from the allocation of large green space in the Development Plan.
“This modification that we are making for the Metropolitan Golf Club of Anjou will not prevent the activities of the golf club”, insisted on specifying the mayor. “We come rather to make a change of assignment which will allow us to protect him. »
Joined by The duty, Mayor Miranda says he learned the news on Twitter, by reading the messages published by Projet Montréal. “I find it a bit peculiar. The elected official criticizes the Plante administration for its “amateurism” and its lack of vision in terms of economic development. “We had no communication from anyone to ask us what we thought of it. »
The elected official maintains that he had contacted the administration last year in order to discuss an overall plan for the site of the Anjou Metropolitan Golf Club in order to determine the areas to be protected and those to be developed. “We got the answer this morning on Twitter,” says Mr. Miranda, who says he does not know which lands are covered by the new protection. “In four years, we can do a lot of damage to the reputation of a city like Montreal as we emerge from a two-year economic slump. We must create wealth, good jobs. »
The head of urban planning on the executive committee, Robert Beaudry, believes that the mayor of Anjou cannot be surprised by the decision taken by the administration. “Mr. Miranda may say what he wants, there are no surprises. There were exchanges during the last mandate. It was very clear with the statement [au conseil municipal] where he is staying and where we are staying,” he says.
Industrial development will no longer be possible on this part of the site, but the owner will be able to continue to operate a golf course and carry out development related to recreational activities, he specifies. “We judge that we are within our rights. Our intentions had been announced during the last mandate. We hope that the promoter shares our concerns about the climate crisis we are currently experiencing,” commented Mr. Beaudry.