At the June 12th city council meeting, a group of Châteauguay residents tabled a petition containing 5,500 names, calling on the city to “immediately prohibit all residential development on vacant wasteland, woodland or wetlands” and to adopt a preservation plan for these areas.
Translation Amanda Bennett
Châteauguay resident Anna Zeliszczak told the elected representatives that this spring the citizens’ group launched a campaign on the importance of preserving the municipality’s remaining natural areas, which are not protected. The group collected signatures in supermarkets, hardware stores, on Île Saint-Bernard, at the Centre Fernand-Seguin and online.
The petition calls on the town to draw up a classification plan for all natural environments and prohibit development. “The city needs to classify what it has to offer before it allows everything to be destroyed,” said Chantal Payant, one of the spokespersons for the Comité pour la Conservation des Boisés du Chemin Saint-Bernard.
Creating Housing Without Affecting Nature
Citizen Amélie Sénécal added that the committee is not against residential development, but it must not be at the expense of nature. “(…) The idea is not to stop all development, but to rethink the way we use our land.”
The group points out that one of the four orientations of the municipal strategic plan is “to place the fight against climate change at the heart of land use planning”. To be consistent with this vision, the remaining natural environments must be conserved, it argues.
Environmental Efforts
Châteauguay Mayor Eric Allard said that the municipal council was genuinely sensitive to the fight against climate change and was open to working with the citizens’ committee. “The proof is that we have created an environment committee. We have also taken steps to hire an environmental specialist in our administration to make decisions,” he said.
The issues are more complex when it comes to private land, according to the mayor. “We can’t just turn up and declare everything protected. We’re going to get sued like most cities get sued for disguised expropriations, and we don’t want to go there,” he commented.
Of the 5,500 signatures, the majority are from Châteauguay residents, according to the group. Some 900 residents of surrounding towns are supporting their initiative, along with 800 others from the wider Montéégie region and Montreal.