What is happening with the La Tulipe auditorium is a festival of aberrations and illogicality.
Since Tuesday, the media have seized on this affair between the former Variety Theater of Gilles Latulippe and a neighbor who, after becoming the owner of the premises adjacent to the room where various musical events are offered, repeatedly complains about the noise. .
Claude Larivée, President and CEO of La Tribu and current owner of this theater, can no longer live with this situation which has its source in an administrative error made in 2016 when the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough allowed the conversion of this space, which had a commercial vocation, into residential use.
Luc Rabouin, mayor of the borough, acknowledged this blunder on Wednesday during a press briefing. In fact, in a document published by the City of Montreal, during the work carried out by the owner in the summer of 2016, of which I obtained a copy, it is clearly stated that “the permit should not have been issued since the housing is adjacent to a performance hall ”and that a letter will be sent to the owner“ advising him of this fact ”.
Mistake or not, commercial or residential, it seems to me that when you want to live, eat and sleep in an apartment that is stuck to a performance hall, you should know that there will be noise. A lot of noise.
The neighboring owner of La Tulipe, who has been making numerous complaints to the police for two years, knew exactly what he was going to experience. But instead of looking for an apartment elsewhere in the city, he settled there and today demands to have peace as if he lived in the suburbs.
This man bought the old warehouse that Gilles Latulippe used to store his sets and costumes (the place is obviously located right next to the stage of La Tulipe) and he expects to hear the sound of locusts at the sunset.
The other aberration in this case is that his calls to the police are being heard. Agents arrive regularly at La Tulipe during shows and slap the sound systems on the shoulder to lower the volume.
Let us demand from Pierre Lapointe or Dumas that they accompany themselves on the ukulele and without a microphone while they are at it.
This incredible story once again takes us back to the reality of nightlife in Montreal. The metropolis, which for a long time was less wise than it is today, achieves a good balance between “nightlife” and tranquility of life.
The areas that bring together bars and theaters are well demarcated and are easily identifiable. In short, if you want peace, don’t go and settle in the Gay Village or on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
But it still happens that voices are raised to complain and demand more calm. The most recent example is the Divan Orange which, victim of repeated complaints from a tenant who lived above, had to resolve to close its doors in 2018. Despite financial assistance from the City of Montreal to soundproof the room, the small bar which hosted many artists for a dozen years is now just a memory.
This closure was preceded by that of Inspector Épingle, a bar on rue Saint-Hubert, lair of Plume Latraverse and many artists. Faced with stiff competition and a dime a dozen tickets, the owner went out of business in 2016.
The faithful of La Tulipe now fear that the same fate will strike this theater which has become famous, among other things, for its evenings It’s great, which allow all generations to dance without complex to songs by Dalida or Claude François.
While the owners of La Tulipe are piling up fines and tickets, the neighbor has filed for an injunction which is due to be heard on December 21, 22 and 23. Could the judge decide that La Tulipe ceases its activities?
The problem is that this performance hall, founded in 1913, cannot be anything else… than a performance hall. Classified as a heritage monument by the Ministry of Culture, the place is dedicated to a vocation linked to entertainment.
Do you see what an extraordinary impasse the owners of La Tulipe find themselves in?
Jean Hétu, professor specializing in municipal law at the University of Montreal, thinks that the judge will look very closely at the error of the official who granted a permit to transform the premises into residential apartments. A city employee does not have the power to change a municipal by-law.
Will we force a cohabitation between the two parties? Could we revoke the residential status mistakenly granted to the old warehouse? These questions will be debated next week in the name of the protection of this theater which has welcomed laughter and bravos from the public for more than a century.
I also wonder what Gilles Latulippe, unforgettable performer of Symphorien (who will soon come back to life on stage), would think of this whole affair. No doubt he would say that, even in the craziest sketches that Marcel Gamache wrote to him, he could not have imagined such a scenario.