The Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) succeeded in acquiring 35 hectares of natural environments in Montérégie within the perimeter of the Châteauguay-Léry Green Corridor, which extends over 350 hectares. The protection of green spaces still remains a journey strewn with pitfalls for municipalities which face multiple lawsuits from owners who accuse them of “disguised expropriation”.
In 2015, the municipality of Léry adopted a zoning by-law aimed at protecting land located in the Châteauguay-Léry Green Corridor. The owners were quick to react. Eight of them went to court to invalidate the regulation, which they compare to a disguised expropriation. They are demanding from the City and the MRC of Roussillon $44 million for land covering a little more than 90 hectares in order to compensate for losses linked to the impossibility of carrying out construction on these lots. For a municipality like Léry, which has 2,400 inhabitants and which has a budget of around 5 million, the weight of this type of lawsuit is heavy to bear.
However, the CMM has just concluded private agreements with nine owners — one of whom withdrew from the action brought against Léry and the MRC of Roussillon — for an amount of $4 million, which will be assumed in equal shares. by the CMM and the government of Quebec. Of the 35 hectares acquired, 22.3 are in the territory of Léry, and 12.75 in that of Châteauguay. “Despite a lawsuit, we managed to buy 35 hectares. It shows that over-the-counter works,” says Massimo Iezzoni, general director of the CMM, who describes the price paid as “reasonable”.
A natural environment with high ecological value, the Châteauguay-Léry Green Corridor was designated in the Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan as one of the metropolitan woods of interest, with its six forest ecosystems considered exceptional.
A rain of pursuits
Although the protection of natural environments and the acquisition of land for this purpose respond to government orientations in land use planning, municipalities are exposed to legal recourse which can be costly.
Last year, the CMM adopted two interim control regulations (ICR) to protect golf courses and wetlands, with the approval of Quebec. Bad luck came to her, since to date, she has been the target of more than 30 legal proceedings from land owners.
And the sums claimed are exorbitant in the eyes of the cities. For example, the estimated market value for four of the golf courses covered by the RCI is 68.4 million. However, the owners are instead demanding 508 million dollars, which represents a gap of 440 million, revealed Thursday the mayor of Terrebonne, Mathieu Traversy, while he presented the CMM’s brief, during the detailed study of the project of law 22 on expropriations.
Bill 22 provides in particular that compensation paid in the event of expropriation by municipalities or the government must be calculated based on the market value of the expropriated property, and not according to the value to the owner or the income that an owner could draw.
Enthusiastic welcome
Representatives of municipalities welcome this bill with open arms, which would allow them to acquire land intended for collective infrastructure such as schools, social housing, protected green spaces or transport equipment at prices deemed fairer. common.
“On certain current projects, we look at what we have paid or what we are in the process of paying versus what would be in place with the new law, and we realize that for certain transport infrastructures, for example , we are talking about simple to triple. It really explodes the costs,” explained the president of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Dominique Ollivier, in a parliamentary committee. Montreal particularly wants the new provisions to come into force as soon as the law is assented to.
Lawyer Marc-André LeChasseur, who accompanied the CMM elected officials on Thursday, maintained that the discussions surrounding Bill 22 had contributed to the multiplication of appeals from developers wishing to take advantage of the current provisions of the law which benefit them. “Four to five years ago, there were no prosecutions for disguised expropriation. It was a relatively little-known concept. »
Following COP15, which was held in Montreal last December, the CMM committed to protecting 30% of its territory by 2030. Currently, with the two RCIs adopted last year last, it crossed the threshold of 22.1%, maintains Massimo Iezzoni.