Every year in May, Michel Charpentier meets with neighbors for a barbecue. On the agenda: the work needed for the road where they live. As this is a private road, the Township of Gore does not deal with potholes on Bartlett Road.
“It costs us $200 to $300 per year per house,” explains Mr. Charpentier. Out of 18 houses, 17 contribute. Only one family systematically refuses. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Michel Charpentier and his neighbors must maintain Chemin Bartlett, a private street in Gore, at their own expense.
There are 114 private streets in this municipality located in the Laurentians, totaling 45 km, reports the mayor of Gore, Scott Pearce, also prefect of the MRC d’Argenteuil and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “Since 2016, we’ve been helping with snow removal on private streets, but we can’t do maintenance,” says Mr. Pearce. I myself lived until recently on a private street. The secret to getting most people to contribute is communication between neighbors. You have to accept that one or two people will be hard-headed and won’t pay. Otherwise, nothing is done. »
Over the years, Mr. Charpentier has experienced his share of tensions. “Sometimes people want to pay less because they don’t come often. I live at the beginning of the street, but I pay the same amount as the others. If you have to charge by mileage, it becomes unmanageable. »
David Bouley-Nadon is having a lot of trouble convincing his neighbors on Claudine and Lucien streets, also in Gore, to pay for their upkeep. “Until now, I was the only one paying for maintenance, out of a dozen houses,” says Mr. Bouley-Nadon. Now we are three, it’s a little better. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
David Bouley-Nadon in his private street, rue Claudine, in Gore. Many of his neighbors who live on Claudine and Claudine Nord streets refuse to contribute to the maintenance of these streets.
For ten years, I had to pay over $20,000 out of pocket. There are even neighbors who wanted me to pay for the damage to their vehicle because of the state of our streets.
David Bouley-Nadon, resident of Gore
It was Mr. Bouley-Nadon’s grandfather who opened the private street. The deeds of sale of land indicate that the people who live on rue Claudine and rue Lucien contribute to the upkeep “at the discretion of each”. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t have to pay anything. It just means that we have to agree on the work to be done. »
What the law says ? “For me, a private street is like the corridor of a condo building,” says Marc-André Lechasseur, municipal law specialist at Bélanger Sauvé and assistant professor at McGill University. “All residents must contribute to its maintenance. The residents are those who live on the private street.
The street owner does not have greater financial responsibilities and could even be exempted from maintaining it if he does not have waterfront land, according to Me Lechasseur, who cites a 2018 judgment of the Court of Appeal on a private bridge and road in the “Lajeunesse domain”, in Lanaudière. And according to him, even owners of waterfront land where there is no house should contribute.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
A private street in the municipality of Gore, in the Laurentians
Infrastructure
Private streets are mainly present in the countryside. “These are areas that the municipality did not want to develop by building infrastructure,” explains Jean-Philippe Meloche, director of the School of Urban Planning at the University of Montreal.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Jean-Philippe Meloche, professor of urban planning at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture of the University of Montreal
Owners who had large lots divided them with a path to connect the different lots. In theory, people who live on a private street can apply for municipalization, but for that, they have to bring the street up to standard. It is very expensive.
Jean-Philippe Meloche, professor of urban planning at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture of the University of Montreal
In the case of Mr. Charpentier and Chemin Bartlett, the work leading to municipalization exceeded $700,000 a few years ago. “And with the pandemic, the cost of 0-3/4 [le gravier 0-3/4 est utilisé pour les routes non asphaltées] really increased. What we paid $150 per load has now become $500. »
In addition, a municipalizable street is wider than a private street, which means that several buildings along private streets should be moved, reports Mr. Charpentier.
Tensions
Why don’t municipalities publish a guide to good conduct for residents of private streets to reduce tensions between their citizens?
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pierre J. Hamel, professor of local public finance at INRS-Urbanisation
Municipalities don’t want to approach private streets with a ten foot pole. Above all, they don’t want to appear to have a responsibility.
Pierre J. Hamel, professor of local public finance at INRS-Urbanisation
Jacques Demers, mayor of Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley and president of the Quebec Federation of Municipalities, notes that the situation is complicated by the great diversity of practices.
Do houses on private streets have a lower assessment since they have less road services? “Honestly, we don’t see any difference on the market between houses that are on a private street or not, says Mr. Demers. And I would say that people who live on a private street are the biggest users of municipal roads, because often private streets are located at the end of the street. »
According to Stéphanie Gauthier, broker at Re/Max du Cartier, a property on a private street can have a lower price because overbidding is less frequent. “There are people who don’t want to have the trouble of having to negotiate with their neighbours,” said Ms.me Gautier. It reduces the pool of buyers. »
Learn more
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- $800
- Average per capita spending on transportation, including roads, in Quebec municipalities in 2018
Source : Portrait of local public finances in QuébecUniversity of Sherbrooke, 2020
- 28%
- Average proportion of municipal budgets allocated to transportation, including roads, in Quebec in 2018
Source : Portrait of local public finances in QuébecUniversity of Sherbrooke, 2020