The executive committee of the City of Montreal on Wednesday adopted regulatory amendments aimed in particular at reducing the heights and densities permitted in Chinatown in order to preserve its built heritage, which is threatened by real estate pressures in the city center. However, the administration of Valérie Plante does not go as far as what the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) recommended earlier this fall.
“It’s a great day for Chinatown,” said Wednesday morning the head of urban planning on the executive committee, Robert Beaudry. The latter was then reacting to the adoption a few seconds earlier of a by-law aimed at “reviewing the maximum heights and densities permitted for the Chinatown sector”, as the OCPM had recommended last October, at the end of a public consultation.
The draft by-law thus aims to limit the height of new constructions to four storeys in part of Chinatown, in a context where real estate developers have acquired heritage buildings located in this sector in recent years, in the hope of real estate projects there. This is particularly the case of the former building of the British and Canadian School, erected in 1826, which is in the sights of promoters Brandon Shiller and Jeremy Kornbluth.
“We wanted to be quick because the OCPM and the community that participated in this report asked us to move forward to lower the heights, but also to expand the borders of Chinatown, an area of exceptional quality. , added Mr. Beaudry. That’s what we’re going to do. »
Preserve the built environment
The executive committee nevertheless adopted this draft by-law “without change”, even if the OCPM recommended in its report to the City that it study the possibility of lowering the densities and heights permitted in Chinatown even further “in order to preserve the existing built environment.
” The [coefficient d’occupation du sol] can hardly be lowered further considering the shape and size of the Chinatown subdivision and the average height of the existing buildings, which is five stories”, justifies the City in decision-making documents. The municipal administration thus seems to rule out a greater reduction in the heights permitted in this sector, compared to those already included in its new by-law.
The Government of Quebec, for its part, mentioned last January its intention to classify the heart of Chinatown as well as two of its emblematic buildings under the Quebec Cultural Heritage Act.