Permits, schmermits

>> Controversial NDG development hasn't been approved but city officials are promoting it anyway

By GEMMA WILSON

The City of Montreal, not merely content with its role as dispenser of construction permits and monitor of building codes, has expanded its role in the field of urban development by actually marketing future projects on behalf of contractors--even before they've been approved.

In a brochure published by the City for a recent housing trade show, the City of Montreal promoted 38 new housing developments which will be cropping up across Montreal. One of the projects listed was Gescor's controversial housing development in NDG--the same project which saw 22 mature trees hacked down last year without a permit and which still has not gained city approval for construction.

"This project needs to be squashed as a message to city councillors," says Jeremy Searle, opposition councillor for the Loyola district and a member of the city's Urban Development Commission. "The developers have flaunted the rules and they are mocking the process."

At the time of Gescor's commando lumberjack activity last spring, the company was punished for their actions with a fine of about $1,000--a meagre sum for a multi-million dollar project. City officials also pointed out that approval for the project was still pending.

But in a recent turn of events, the City of Montreal went ahead and promoted Gescor's latest proposal to build 10 housing units on the lot where the trees once stood--behind the former Dominican monastery at NDG boulevard and Botrel--despite the fact that zoning for the project has yet to be approved.

City spokesperson Danielle Dionne says the publication itself was not a conflict of interest. According to the brochure, the City and the contractors offer no guarantees that the buildings themselves will actually be built.

But in Gescor's case, the promotions may have paid off: five of the units have already been sold. "It is an area which is in high demand," says Myriam Houle-Corbeil, a spokeswoman for Gescor.

Mount Royal next?

Residents of NDG have spoken out against the proposed development for months and close to 1,000 signatures have already been collected to oppose the project. "We have a whole legal and moral issue here," says Avrum Dunsky, a member of the Villa Maria Coalition. "First we lost the trees which we desperately need. Second, they actually cut down the trees illegally in order to build a $3-million project which they will profit from."

The site itself also carries historic significance. The location under consideration and the surrounding area are at the core of the old NDG village.

And in addition to this project, Gescor and their partner Q2M are hoping to gain approval for another development on the Precieux Sang site behind Villa-Maria metro. The original plan approved by the City in 1995 was for a proposed project of 172 units with 236 parking spaces, but updates on the developer's Web site hint at a 550 units with 400 parking spaces.

The Villa Maria project calls for the removal of another 65 trees--which has residents like Avrum Dunsky crying foul once again. "The city has shown itself to be in favour of any development," he says. "We are in for a rough time. Even the Mountain is not safe." :

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