zoning

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Huntingdon mayor André Brunette says the town’s development plans are back on track, after an interim control bylaw (ICB) prohibiting new construction within up to 300 metres of railroads was repealed during the January 22 meeting of the regional council of mayors.

If maintained, the temporary bylaw introduced by the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent would have caused many of the town’s residential projects and future development initiatives to grind to a halt.

The MRC proposed the ICB in response to a series of nine provincial government guidelines for regional planning (OGAT) that came into force in December. These cover several aspects, including the quality of living environments, transportation, sustainable mobility, adaptation to climate change, water resource management, and the protection of natural and agricultural environments.

Within the guidelines are 22 objectives and six regulatory frameworks that the MRC is required to integrate into their land-use planning and development schema over the next three years. One of the frameworks, which is addressed by the MRC’s ICB, aims to mitigate the harmful effects and reduce the risks related to road, rail, and air transport, as well as fixed sources of noise, by prohibiting new residential and institutional development within 300 metres of railways.

The MRC’s ICB promoting the safety, property, and quality of life in the vicinity of a railroad was introduced by notice of motion on November 27. This resulted in an immediate temporary freeze on all new development within 30 metres of a railroad. The regulation was then presented to the council of mayors on December 18, where it was adopted by a slim majority after five mayors voted against the ICB. 

The railroad line in question is a 35-kilometre stretch of the CSX Transportation Montreal Subdivision, which runs through the municipalities of Dundee and Godmanchester and the town of Huntingdon. The MRC resolution notes that in addition to the storage of cars in Huntingdon and a service point in Dundee, the rail line is used primarily to transport various goods and materials, including hazardous materials.

The resolution argues there is a risk of derailment and hazardous material spills within the urban perimeters of Dundee and Huntingdon, where other negative impacts such as vibrations or sounds are more present given the proximity of the population.

Significant impacts

Brunette says the council’s decision left him reeling.

He says the mayors debated the bylaw for two hours. During this time, the spectre of the fatal train derailment in Lac Mégantic was brought up. “When people talk like that, it creates fear, a danger, that there is going to be a derailment, that there are going to be explosions, and the town will go up in flames,” he says.

“The railroad tracks have been completely redone. They’re flat, parallel to the ground. There are no mountains. It’s not the same terrain,” he says, insisting this type of comparison is unfounded. Trains roll through Huntingdon two times per day, one in the morning and again in the evening, at a maximum speed of 16 kilometres per hour, he explains. He notes that the town has also surveyed with those living along the railway and while they do hear the train whistle, vibrations are not a problem.

As a result, the Huntingdon municipal council unanimously passed a resolution on January 13 asking the provincial government to postpone the implementation of its regulatory framework. A similar resolution was passed by the Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités in December, as well as the Table Régionale des Élu[e]s Municipaux du Bas-Saint-Laurent.

The town also requested that the government establish standards based on the type of railway line, traffic flow, and train speed and size, like those in place for roadways.

The town contended that the regulatory framework in its current form would hinder both current and future development, including residential projects involving loans and investments in water and sewer infrastructure that are already implemented within 300 meters of the railroad.

“The town is in full development. We have been working on these projects for years, and now we are getting somewhere. According to the proposed bylaw, we could not build anymore,” says Brunette. Plans to build a new elementary school would also be abandoned, as well as a possible daycare expansion, if the proposed bylaw had not been repealed, he adds.

Brunette says the freeze on construction, which lasted over 50 days including the holidays, also kept the town from issuing permits. This restriction was lifted when the ICB was repealed in January, after eleven of the thirteen mayors voted it down.

MRC director general Pierre Caza explains that adopting an interim control bylaw enables the MRC to promptly address issues related to land use planning and development. This measure helps prevent the escalation of certain problems while providing the MRC with the necessary time to properly develop, modify, or revise its planning tools.

He points out that these temporary bylaws maintain the effectiveness of planning efforts by preventing projects that might conflict with new planning and development frameworks or rules while they are being established.

In this case, the MRC needed more time to analyze and establish safe distances and perimeters [from railways] while prohibiting all new cadastral operations until a permanent solution is adopted that would address safety, public health, and well-being concerns arising from rail transport in residential areas or near services for vulnerable populations.

Caza confirms the MRC is now holding meetings with the municipalities directly concerned “to find the best solutions to promote people’s safety while minimizing, if possible, the impact on the municipalities.”

Following discussions with the relevant municipalities, Caza says the objective remains for the council of mayors to adopt an optimized ICB that ensures the safety of individuals and properties near railroads.