By Trevor Greenway
editor@lowdownonline.com
Remi Robert is not building condos on Valley Drive.
He’s not deforesting the area around Wakefield Spring or selling the 32 acres of forest to a developer – not yet, anyway.
The Wakefield resident and owner of Rona in the village built a driveway off Valley Drive that leads to his property on Chemin Labarge. The sight of a laneway cut through the forest earlier this spring has caused panic and alarm among nearby residents, who told the Low Down that they fear the entire Rockhurst hill will be developed into homes.
According to Robert, he’s “open to anything,” but he wanted to be clear that nothing is imminent. No deals have been signed with developers; no development plans submitted to the municipality; and no design plans drawn up for the area.
“It’s just a driveway,” said Robert from his hardware store in Wakefield. “It’s a long driveway. It’s not a road. People have been saying that it looks like a road, but it’s my driveway.”
The driveway was cut in early spring, and a torrential downpour on June 6 caused sand and mud on the driveway to slide. The debris blocked a nearby storm drain, causing significant flooding on Valley Drive, forcing the municipality to close the road for several hours while they worked to clear the drain.
Robert said he has since installed crushed stone and an 18-inch culvert to divert the water. He told the Low Down that the driveway wasn’t completed when it washed out. The property is near the Wakefield stream, a popular source of drinking water that many Hills residents rely on. The municipality built a zone of protection around the spring to prevent potential damage from development.
Robert said he’s very aware of the zone of protection around the Wakefield Spring and agrees that protecting the spring is paramount to any future development.
“I’ve been here 35 years, so I care about that spring more than anybody,” said Robert. “This water comes from the spring right here, what we drink,” he added, pointing to a water cooler inside Rona. “I would never do anything to harm the spring in any way whatsoever.”
Robert said he built the driveway so that he would no longer have to drive his heavy equipment down Rockhurst Road, with its winding curves and hilly stretches where kids usually play or bike along the road.
The 32 acres off of Valley Drive are inside Wakefield’s urban perimeter, meaning they could be developed in the future. Robert said he knows how sensitive people are about development in Wakefield, but he’s also aware of the region’s housing crisis. With a growing region, he questions where everyone is going to live. He said he’s open to condos, affordable housing apartments or forested private lots.
“There could be a development there, and there’s almost no limit to what it could be,” he said about the Rockhurst property. “But I haven’t done anything in that way yet other than just talking and evaluating.”
Robert said the forest is a “gem” in the village. “There are huge, huge pine trees and spruces. And it’s just gorgeous. We’re open to anything.”
La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux confirmed that Robert did get municipal approval to build a laneway.