JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

With no resident of Vaudreuil sur le Lac having voiced opposition to the town’s $961,500 borrowing bylaw, representing its contribution to the purchase of a 28-acre wooded area, the last hurdle leading to the preservation of the forest has been removed.

“We were all crying on the call when we heard the news,” said Geneviève Roy, a spokesperson for Regroupement En Faveur De La Protection Du Boisé de Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac, a citizens’ group that has been advocating for the town to purchase the undeveloped tract of land to prevent it from being developed.

“When we learned that there had been no signatures (on the register), it was very emotional,” Roy explained.

In the end of September, the town unveiled a plan to purchase the land, just more than half of a 50.5-acre forest, for $2.8 million from Planimax D.S.F. Inc., a construction company that intended to develop on the land. The purchase scheme 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.

In October, the town adopted a loan bylaw to cover its contribution. That bylaw was subject to a register Oct. 22, providing residents the opportunity to sign if they opposed the move. But no taxpayer stepped forward to oppose the move.

“I think it speaks to the quality of the project that we have and the way we have set it up,” said Mayor Mario Tremblay in an interview. “After all, it’s something to make sure that we would have this forest protected forever.”

The loan bylaw means that the owner of an average home in Vaudrueil sur le Lac valued at $547,000 will see a tax increase of around $165 annually over the next 30 years.

“We’re very proud of (the project) because not all municipalities get as much support as we did,” Tremblay said.

Many residents are attached to the wooded area, referred to by residents simply as “the Boisé,” said Roy, who described it as a place where residents go for a walk or a hike with their friends, children and pets. The land also serves as an important noise barrier between the community and Highway 40.

“For us, the forest is like a citizen in its own right,” she said.

The remaining 22.5 acres of undeveloped land that makes up the rest of the forested wetland is owned by a family. It is not under immediate threat of development, Tremblay said, adding that t he town has expressed interest in purchasing it in the future.

But for now, the town will focus on a few minor administrative steps to finalize its first purchase. Tremblay expects that an official ceremony to acknowledge the purchase will be held by January.