Posted at 2:00 p.m.
Saint-Bruno has just adopted exceptional measures to regain control of real estate development on its territory and protect its unique character. It seems that these measures have struck a chord, especially with a certain property developer who sees the apocalypse in it!
Let us understand ourselves well: it is legitimate to criticize these modifications, but it is still necessary to have understood them well.
These regulatory changes are above all emergency measures introduced in order to regain control of real estate development, between now and a revision of the Urban Plan as a whole.
Before our arrival, citizens were able to see the aberrations of an outdated urban plan that was not at all in phase with its population: construction of condo towers in wooded areas, approval of a crematorium in the residential area, pink vape shop in the middle of the town square, destruction of undamaged single-family homes, etc.
It is also wrong to claim that the settlement stops at just two floors. Three-storey buildings will be permitted, but instead of giving developers blank checks, they will have to justify their projects and ensure that they fit well with the existing built environment before authorization.
New Promenades district
The Promenades eco-district is a project of the former administration planned since 2015. It is impossible for us to block this project without expropriation and the latter would have been done with or without the recent zoning changes.
It is, however, legitimate to mention that high-density seven-storey projects are more desirable here than inside a village town center in which four-storey buildings are already struggling to integrate with the environment. existing building.
These regulatory changes do not prevent social housing projects in the city center and they even give us leverage to demand more. Recently, a real estate developer who wanted to build a three-storey building was open to adding affordable housing to it in order to obtain his approval for an additional floor. This would have been unthinkable to obtain before the amendment to the regulations.
For intelligent densification
The tangent that this debate is taking worries me: we seem to want to divide us between those who would be “for” and those who would be “against” densification, when this is not the case. We have to accept the nuances and understand that we are all moving in the same direction, but taking into account the realities specific to each of our cities. It is also important to remember that Saint-Bruno is already doing its part in connection with densification: not only do we reach the density ratios dictated by the Montreal Metropolitan Community, but we greatly exceed them!
We must promote bigenerational housing, include social housing and ensure that any multi-storey project makes sense and will integrate well where we want to take it.
We must densify intelligently, but we cannot go about it anyhow. And above all, we must take into account social acceptability, a concept too often forgotten by the givers of lessons.