JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
The future of Sandmere Street in St. Lazare has been an issue that has divided residents in the Saddlebrook area for decades. And now, with the latest proposal, the debate has been reignited.
Residents of the street, along with those looking to preserve the dense forest, have been at odds with the town council and the owners of empty lots in the immediate area over what to do with one of the last private roads in town.
While those opposed are decrying the environmental impacts and noise that new development would bring to the quiet road, town officials maintain that this is the best option given likely future obligations to increase population density for new developments.
New provincial legislation adds fuel to the fire, as municipalities now have more control over zoning changes for construction.
But issues involved are far from simple for this unusual street.
Split in more ways than one
Sandmere Street is split into two sections, separated by about 300 metres of forest. The eastern portion of the street is public, home to around 27 single-family homes, while the western portion is private.
The private section runs a straight line from Côte St. Charles eastward for about 800 metres and is home to four houses and about 34 empty lots.
The street does not receive municipal services – like garbage pickup and regular street maintenance. Manoeuverability is also a challenge for fire trucks, ambulances and other municipal vehicles, as the private road leads to a dead end.
However, one issue stands above the rest for the owners of the 34 empty lots: they are unable to build anything on these properties.
This has been the source of growing frustration for the lot owners, as they still pay taxes for the land, but have been unable to build, which also limits their options to find a buyer if they wanted to sell their lots.
On the other end of the spectrum, many residents of St. Lazare, including the inhabitants of the few houses on the private section of Sandmere, which were built before the province halted development on private roads, have spoken out against the municipalization project for one reason or another.
Many have expressed concern about how the development of new houses on the street would lead to the destruction of part of the lush forest that makes up many of the empty lots.
Others worry that the tranquil street will turn into a popular route for speedsters, as both sections of Sandmere would create a straight thoroughfare with no intersections.
The lot owners have unsuccessfully been pushing for Sandmere to be municipalized for years. But it wasn’t until recently that the tide began turning in their favour.
New law renews push
Last summer, the Quebec government amended legislation respecting land use, planning and development. Requests for certain zoning changes, like the minimum size of lots, are no longer subject to municipal referendum procedures, giving towns more power.
This legislative change fuelled a renewed push by lot owners to municipalize the street.
Enter St. Lazare’s two bylaws that were proposed last month. They aim to reduce the minimum width of properties on Sandmere from 50 metres to 37, which no longer is subject to municipal referendum procedures, and drop the minimum frontage from 12 metres to 10, among other measures, which still could be subject to a registry and possible referendum if enough residents object.
This reduced minimum space would allow between 42 to 44 single-family homes to be built along Sandmere and would “help lower the cost of municipalization for the current landowners who want to develop their land,” St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance told The 1019 Report in an email.
Why municipalization now
According to Alexandra Lemieux, St. Lazare’s director of urbanism services and the environment, the addition of 42-44 homes would maintain St. Lazare’s current densification standard of 2.7 dwellings per hectare. It would also limit deforestation on lots to a maximum of 20 per cent for each property.
Connecting the 300-metre stretch that separates the two sections of Sandmere, Lemieux added, would also facilitate the flow of local traffic and emergency vehicles.
Lachance explained that although the proposal was blocked by residents last year, it is being considered again because it is better than what could eventually be imposed on the town by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.
The CMM is expected to impose greater housing densification norms on the 82 municipalities on and around the island of Montreal, including St. Lazare, by 2025.
“Basically, they tell us what to do,” Lachance said at the meeting. “If (the CMM plan) passes, it would mean that the density is not 2.7 homes per hectare. It’s 40 homes per hectare.”
By that calculation, Sandmere Street would be required, in theory, to build 880 dwellings under the revised PMAD.
“If residents are worried about 42-44 additional homes on Sandmere, imagine if the CMM increases this density as they’re proposing!” Lachance told The 1019 Report in an email.
With that in mind, it would be imperative that the development get under way prior to the adoption of the PMAD, Lemieux explained to The 1019 Report. Any construction on the vacant lots “will not be subject to any new minimal density if it is done before the new density is prescribed.”