Saint-Bruno becomes denser … farther away from its city center

Suzanne Colpron
Press

The mayor of Saint-Bruno-de-Monterville has found a way to solve the seemingly insoluble problem: to consolidate his city while preserving his single-family property at all costs.

The solution? Denseize the field well away from the urban core. In this case, the other side of Highway 30 is 5 km from downtown.

“Our vision is that densification will take place more in the Promenades Saint-Bruno sector, which will not bother anyone,” Mayor Ludovic Grise Farand explained in an interview. Press.

To embody that vision, his administration approved a strict zoning bylaw amendment Tuesday night banning all new construction over two floors in the downtown core. Until now, three, four or five storey buildings have been allowed to attract citizens and ensure the dynamism of the village heart.

However, the Municipal Council reserves the right to grant “extra floors” to certain buildings.

“Saint-Bruno is a city that has won many awards,” said the 30-year-old mayor, who was elected in November 2021.

Isabelle Berube, an expert in environmental and land protection and a loser for the Saint-Bruno mayor’s candidacy, said: It seems that Promenades is sending those who can not afford it to the outskirts of Saint-Bruno. Then, we place the imagined village character to please the elderly who do not want to change the downtown area. ⁇

Delightful medium

But how will the new mayor coordinate his strategy with the principles established by the Quebec government and the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) of which Saint-Bruno is a member, to counter urban expansion and consolidate territory in this order?

“We can do a lot of densification in cities like Langueil, Montreal, Laval, Sherbrook or Gatino,” Mr. Grise Frand replied.

In Saint-Bruno, with a population of 26,873, most homes are made up of bungalows, which make up 72.6% of the population. According to the Observatoire du Grand Montreal, the city also has a large agricultural area representing 28% of its area.

This urban composition may help explain the city councilor’s priorities: “We keep as many single-family homes as possible because young families are looking for it when they come here. We believe that the decision on urban development should be made by the citizens and not the promoters. ⁇

The mayor, who is an accountant by training, believes he is fulfilling his responsibilities with the “2800 Doors” development project behind Promenades Saint-Bruno and Walmart. “The site may have four-, five- or six-story towers that allow us to respect the density ratios created by CMM because we are committed to it.”

In the wrong way

Michelle Rochefort, a professor of urban planning at the University of Quebec in Montreal, believes Saint-Bruno is on the wrong track: “When you look at the city center, you see that there is a lot of space that can be optimized. We will create new environments that are completely separate from Saint-Bruno, which will lead to car travel instead of active travel.

This policy regarding land use is not only reflected in the Zoning Sub-Act. It is the subject of another debate over the location of the more than 50 million future sports complex on the Mont-Bruno Secondary School site, less than a kilometer from the city center. , Or in Mary-Victorine. The site is close to Highway 30, which is further away and therefore likely to promote car use.

The choice of one of the two sites will be submitted to the referendum in early June. “It simply came to our notice then. I’m going to vote for the Mary-Victorine site, ”the mayor said, referring to costs and delays, and the site’s” little way “near the highway, which he thought was no problem.

“We can go to a legal referendum and the process will cost a lot of money. Instead, we have done business with a specialized agency that has an ultra-secure voting system. Every citizen will receive a personal identification number by mail and can vote online, by telephone or in person,” he said. .

Compromised projects

The amendment to the zoning by-law also has a very definite effect on development projects, which suddenly put themselves at risk.

Brendan O’Dowd, an expert in affordable housing, has sued the City over the rejection of his project. He got two houses in the Chemin de la Rubastalier‌, which he intended to demolish to build a 19-unit building. His project, which was approved by the Saint-Bruno Urban Planning Advisory Committee (CCU), was blocked by the demolition committee.

“The new regulations will not include water in relation to urban sprawl, density of city centers, environment, public transport and local stores,” he said. [Grisé Farand], Said no, we’ve finished it and we’re going to send people to the new neighborhoods that will be built in five or ten years behind Promenades Saint-Bruno. ⁇

Councilor Vincent Fortier Zoning voted against the amendment of the by-law, which would encourage expansion and give the mayor discretion. “The mayor has the ability and right to filter out real estate projects that do not conform to the regulatory framework and may submit to the City Council what he deems interesting. How to ensure integrated development without a coherent control framework? It’s impossible for me, ”he said.