Architecture heritage and sex at June Laval city council

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Laval mayor Stéphane Boyer pledged during the June 3 meeting of Laval city council to take whatever action is possible to prevent the demolition of an early 20^th century heritage house located on du Mont-Royal Street in the city’s Vieux Sainte-Rose neighborhood.

A petition was started by Sainte-Rose city councillor Flavia Alexandra Novac opposing the redevelopment of the house and land – dating from as early as 1911 and vacant since last November – into a rental project with as many as two dozen individual units.

‘Why here?’

During the public question period, Louise Labrie, a concerned resident, asked the mayor why the city approved a high-density project like this on a narrow street where there are pre-existing traffic issues.

“Did you consider that the number of renters doesn’t fit in on a quiet street with beautiful old homes and mature trees?” said Labrie.

Another resident pointed out that there are close to a dozen heritage properties on du Mont-Royal St., and Laval’s current urban planning and zoning regulations allow developers to demolish heritage houses and sub-divide the land into smaller units.

Right construction date?

Councillor Novac maintained that the property in question actually consists of eight smaller lots, although somehow the city failed to accord it with a heritage property designation.

According to one of the residents, the date of the house’s construction was incorrectly recorded in city property records as 1937, which may have prevented it from being accorded a protected status.

Novac tabled a motion for the city administration to conduct a new inventory of heritage homes built in Vieux Sainte-Rose before 1940, which are not yet on the City of Laval’s official list, and that they be protected from demolition like those already safeguarded by the city.

Will look into it, says Boyer

While maintaining that Laval has made great strides in recent years to safeguard the heritage homes and properties on its territory, Mayor Boyer said he agreed with the residents that there is something not right about the situation involving 133 du Mont-Royal St.

“Was there an oversight by the firm that conducted the heritage inventory?” he asked, referring to an outsourced contractor that was hired by the city to create an inventory of properties that should be protected.

“Is there something that should be corrected? We will definitely be looking into it. I agree with you that it’s a very beautiful home on a very beautiful piece of land next to a sector that’s already protected for heritage value. And so certainly, if there is something we can do legally to protect the house we will do it.”

Injunction may be issued

He said the city will be looking into the possibility of obtaining a 30-day injunction ordering the developer to cease all activity on this particular project, particularly the demolition, which would allow a consultant working for the city to study the property’s heritage value.

The mayor said he was as surprised as anyone to find out that such a large number of individual units could be built on that particular property. “So, we will definitely be looking into whether there is a way to adjust the zoning for the sector where you live,” he told the residents.

Gay sex on de Lisbonne

One of the City of Laval’s “roads less traveled,” boulevard de Lisbonne, which is an unpaved and unimproved road in the Fabreville/Sainte-Rose area, was the suject of complaints from some local residents.

They maintain that, apart from the road’s dilapidated state, it has also become a popular gathering place for gay men seeking out anonymous sex.

During the June 3 meeting’s question period, several residents as well as the city councillor for the area acknowledged that a spot on de Lisbonne near the end of the gravel has become well-known for gay sex acts openly taking place.

Children and families

“All year long, day and night, homosexuals gather to have man-to-man sexual relations in public,” said one woman, noting that the activity often takes place in full view of families with children who are clients of an outdoor activities camp located at the end of the road.

She claimed the City of Laval and the Laval Police are “perfectly aware” of what’s going on, “but do nothing at all” to intervene. At the same time, she noted that boulevard de Lisbonne has been described as the worst street in Laval for roadway maintenance, with some potholes nearly two feet deep.

‘In front of you’

A spokesman for the Centre de Golf Fabreville, which is located on large tract of land at the corner of de Lisbonne and boulevard Sainte-Rose, said de Lisbonne has become a place for “meet-ups” and prostitution by “grown men who give each other fellation, who engage in sexual activities just like that – in front of you.”

Parti Laval city councillor for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin Louise Lortie said she had personally witnessed sex acts being committed on de Lisbonne.

“I’m telling you now frankly, it’s disgusting,” she said emphatically, while adding that the last time she was there in her car, she found herself being followed afterwards “as if to let me know that I had no business being there.”