JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

St. Lazare is moving closer to giving the final green light to a “Growing Greener” development project which looks to balance environmental preservation with building new houses and roads in a forested area south of Highway 40 despite objections raised by residents and one city councillor who says the project will come at the expense of  a “pristine forested area.”

Councillor David Hill has voted against every resolution associated with the project planned for an area north of Oakridge Street west of Côte St. Charles across from the Saddlebrook area, claiming it will have “considerable” impact on the local environment, comprising the forest and wetlands in the zone.

He wants to see the city preserve all of  53 hectares of woods that is slated for partial development.

However, Mayor Geneviève Lachance said Hill is playing the role of “activist” rather than elected official on this topic, telling The 1019 Report last week that his position lacks compromise.

“Nobody wants a project through a forest,” Lachance said. “But the fact is, it’s inside the urban perimeter (and) it was already set years ago to be developed.”

But Hall still raised objections.

“I believe prioritizing more sustainable development projects before making incursions into pristine forested areas is both prudent and in the best interests of our community,” Hill explained in an email to The 1019 Report, adding that the zone for the project is considered to have “high ecological value.”

Hill was one of several residents who asked questions and raised concerns about the project’s potential environmental impact at the March 25 public consultation.

Woodland preserved

The project aims to develop an enclave of 60 single-family homes north of Oakridge Street. Of the 53 hectares in the zone, about 15 hectares, or 28 per cent of the area, will be used for these new homes and roads, while the remaining 72 per cent, or 38 hectares of forest and wetlands, will be preserved in perpetuity.

Dubbed the “Growing Greener” or “Cluster Development” approach, the development will see the 60 houses built more closely than in some other areas of the city. Minimum lot sizes in the zone will be reduced to 1,500 square metres from 10,000 square metres, while the distances between neighbouring houses and between houses and the road have also been reduced.

Buffer zones around wetlands, where no building is permitted, have been expanded to 30 metres from 10 metres, which is the norm in other areas in St. Lazare. A biologist will also be on-hand during the construction process to monitor the environmental impact.

Lachance explained that this was a compromise between the city and property development firm Habitations Robert. The zone is owned by the company, which has been attempting to get the council’s approval to build houses on the land since 2017.

“When we got the first (draft) of the project, it was a traditional development which had many, many, many more homes throughout the entire forest,” Lachance said, adding that she considers the preservation of 38 hectares of the woodland to be “a gain for our city.”

She added that any attempt by the city to completely torpedo all development in the zone could run the risk of the courts allowing the developer to build on the land as originally intended, without any obligation to preserve the forest.

“I think with the long list of things that we’re asking the developer to do in order to preserve (72 per cent of) this land, it’s the most ecological project we can have,” Lachance said. “This is the compromise we came to.”

A subdivision bylaw requires that the developer transfer at least 30 per cent of the preserved land to the city. But this may increase to protect 38 hectares, as the developer may choose to discard land that cannot be used.

St. Lazare council was slated to move forward with the project at last night’s public meeting. The project will be up for final approval in May.

Construction, however, is unlikely to begin this year, Lachance said, as details are worked out between the developer, the city and Oakridge residents.