BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report
The town of Vaudreuil sur le Lac has struck a deal to buy more than half of a 50.5-acre forest residents have long been pushing to save from development, putting together a financing plan that will see grants cover two-thirds of the $2.8-million price tag for the land.
Before a packed house at town hall last Wednesday evening, the proposal was outlined to residents for the first time. The plan to purchase 28 acres of woodland owned by Planimax D.S.F. Inc. includes a $1.34-million subsidy from the Commaunauté métropolitaine de Montréal and a $500,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, leaving less than $1 million for taxpayers to shoulder.
And without wasting any time, the town’s municipal council will tonight take the next step by adopting a loan bylaw for $961,500 to cover its share. The expenditure, according to municipal officials, represents an annual increase in taxes of $165 per year for the owners of an average house in the municipality, which is valued at $547,000. This estimate, based on a 30-year amortization period, is the worse-case scenario, according to town consultant Jean-François Vachon, as it has been calculated using a 5-per-cent interest rate. If interest rates continue to fall, the cost of the loan will drop as well, Vachon said.
Vaudreuil sur le Lac has only 1,361 residents and 494 private dwellings, according to the 2021 Census.
“It’s the best offer that can be presented to citizens,” said resident Geneviève Roy, a spokesperson for the Regroupement pour la protection du Boisé de Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac, a grassroots group that has been lobbying for the preservation of the woodland.
Roy said she is optimistic taxpayers in the little town will support the deal.
“There is a value for citizens, not just of Vaudreuil sur le Lac, but for the Montérégie,” Roy added, pointing to the ecological value and the importance of preserving biodiversity in the region.
“This is a real opportunity,” said Mayor Mario Tremblay in an interview on Monday, pointing out that the woods will be preserved in perpetuity. “We are convinced this project is positive for everyone.”
The remaining portion of the forest – 22.5 acres – is currently owned by a family and is not under immediate threat of development, Tremblay said last Wednesday evening. But the long-range plan would be for the town to acquire that land as well, he said.
In an interview with The 1019 Report last weekend, Roy said her group continues to lobby for the protection of the remaining part of the forest, but explained that given the fact that much of that section of the forest is wetlands, the current owner cannot develop much of it.
Once council adopts the loan bylaw tonight, the town will hold a register, providing citizens who are against the expenditure to voice their opposition. If enough residents sign the register, the town would be forced to either withdraw the loan bylaw or hold a referendum on the issue. Although no exact date has been set as of yesterday, a register would be held some time this month, town officials said. Tremblay said it would take slightly more than 100 signatures on the register to force the issue to a town-wide vote.
Although the town is moving quickly after having struck a deal with one of the two owners of the forest, the fate of the woodland, one of the last undeveloped areas in the municipality, has been on the public’s radar for almost two decades.
According to the town’s last urban development plan adopted in 2007, the tract of land was slated for residential development, with zoning bylaws permitting it to be subdivided into about 45 lots for single-family homes.
In 2016, the town approved a conservation plan aimed at protecting wetlands within its territory. This plan identified part of the woodland as having a high ecological value as it contained wetlands and old-growth trees.
The following year, the council, which represented the previous administration, adopted a development freeze on the forest, putting on hold any subdivision and construction in the area.
In 2020, a group of citizens advocating for the preservation of the forest began lobbying to save the woodland, which has several walking trails that are enjoyed by many residents.
In October of 2021, the current council submitted a request for funding to the CMM’s greenspace preservation fund known as the Trame Verte et bleue to help finance the acquisition of the land.
Then, in April 2022, the CMM imposed its own interim control bylaw that put a stop to all construction projects on a vast tapestry of undeveloped spaces across its territory in the Greater Montreal region, including the forest in Vaudreuil sur le Lac and other areas in Vaudrueil-Soulanges, like the area surrounding Sandy Beach on the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains in Hudson.
In July 2022, Planimax D.S.F. filed a lawsuit against the CMM over the development freeze, naming the town as a party to the action. But the company agreed to put its legal action on hold in early 2023 pending negotiations with the town to see if a deal to sell the land could be struck.
In January 2024, Planimax offered to sell its holdings to the town. And in June a deal was agreed upon.
The fate of the deal now rests with the town’s taxpayers, who will decide if they support the plan put together to acquire the forest. If they support it, the deal is expected to be finalized in early 2025.