Several citizens shared with us the latest article by La Presse (French-written) published last week, regarding a new development planned in the north-west part of De l'Équerre woodland. We are as worried as you and are taking this issue very seriously. We are currently gathering as much information as possible to better understand what this entails. Once this is done, we will be able to take a stand on the matter.
What we know for now is that the project targets an area that was mostly zoned T1.2 (protection) in the initial version of the town planning code, but since then, the suggested zoning was switched to Urban expansion area.
This sudden plan change did not go unnoticed, and many organizations such as ourselves as well as citizen groups opposed it through briefs that were submitted in the context of the public consultation last month. Therefore, we will have to wait for the presentation of the final version of the town planning code to confirm that a building project can be received by the City for the area included in the perimeter of woodlands of interest and to find out if our recommendations have been integrated.
However, should the achievement of the Urban expansion area zoning happen, appeals do not stop there. Indeed, projects that are submitted in an Urban expansion area must present an Overall development plan, which will be subjected to a vote by the executive committee of the City of Laval. This means that in addition to having to present an Overall develpment plan that pays special attention to the preservation of sensitive natural elements on the territory, it will also depend on the vision of the elected officials that will form the executive committee of the City of Laval at that moment.
These are therefore concerning news reported by La Presse, but actions are still possible. We will have the opportunity to prepare ourselves in advance and to try and influence this project upstream, by identifying now the boundaries of the natural environment on which we must leave untouched and by sharing our claims to both the elected officials and the candidates for the November 2021 elections.
If you care about this matter and would like to get involved, we invite you to join the Facebook group Mobilisation Bois de l’Équerre so that we can join forces.
We have added below a map of the west sector of De l'Equerre woodland, prepared specifically by our team for this occasion, that you may find useful to better insist on the richness of these landscapes. We also added a screenshot of the initial zoning that was planned for the town planning code, where we clearly see the areas that were dedicated to Protection (T1.2) or development.
