Dogs in Boucher Forest and garbage incineration:

City council fields long list of citizen questions

Bulletin staff

April 17’s council meeting in Buckingham started a long line of public questions, many from Aylmer residents who made the 50 km trip to attend. Laura Prud’homme presented a petition of over 1,000 signatures in favour of allowing dogs (on and off leash) in the Boucher Forest. Louis Grignon, an Aylmer resident for 21 years, reiterated Prud’homme’s comments. He added that while there’s an off-leash dog park near Boucher Forest, dog walkers are much more comfortable in Boucher Forest thanks to the trees (less wind and cooler in the summer). As for safety concerns voiced by some residents, he said that no dog attack has been reported. Dog owners properly train their dogs, he claimed.

Mr Grignon said there are benefits to allowing dog and their walkers in the forest. “We are the eyes and ears of Boucher Forest,” he said.

Audrey Bureau, Aylmer councillor and former Boucher Forest Foundation director, replied that in the annex of the dog document, no immediate change is planned for dogs in Boucher Forest. She added that the Forest’s Foundation is working on a master plan, and the time will come to debate the place of dogs in Boucher Forest.

Deschênes councillor Mike Duggan added that the goal is to maintain Boucher Forest’s ecological integrity. He reminded the crowd that the city has spent millions towards this objective and that more money might be spent, since roughly one-third of the forest is still owned by private interests. He noted that it would be hard to justify spending millions for a dog park, and that the Foundation is conducting an environmental survey to identify humid areas and threatened species. It is only following this exercise that regulations about dogs will be studied.

Fraser Road

Mr Lupien, one of the dozen co-owners of the 100 Fraser Road building, expressed his opposition to the 104 and 108 Fraser Road projects.

The two additional buildings are in discordance with the current building, he claimed. Almost half of the residents at 100 Fraser Road have said no to the project. Given that the current landowner wants to build more cost-effective units,  Lupien wondered why he could not wait for the market to change? There’s no urgency to build these units, nor a large parking lot (roughly 40 spots instead of the 14 projected) near the Ottawa River, he argued. Mrs Blain added her testimony.  She plans to bequeath this investment to her family, and she feels that is now in question.

 

She admitted that when she purchased her unit, she knew more construction was scheduled, but what’s proposed now is not what was initially proposed. Several additional intervenors on the same subject declined to speak when their time came.

The building promoter, Étienne Fortin from Les Habitations FR, argued the project respects current zoning and that following talks with the co-owners, the green space was increased by 18%. As for the building’s siding, 85% will be brick and the rest a type of cement. He also noted that the co-owners cannot legally block the project. Mr Fortin argued that a low-density project, as proposed, would not reduce property value, but increase it. He said the project has greatly evolved following meetings with nearby residents.

Councillor Duggan expressed his opposition to the project because it exceeds current regulations for that zone. He noted that open-air parking lots are no longer viable, especially compared to green spaces.

Old Hull

Old Hull’s viability was another hot topic. Mrs Chrétien lambasted Council for the absence of a grocery store here. “I keep hearing from council that the Island of Hull is so important for the city, so why is there not a grocery store? If Council wants to repopulate the downtown core, we need a grocery store.”

Hull-Wright Councillor Cedric Tessier explained that the city is not responsible for building grocery stores, but is willing to help. He added that he’s gathering funds to make this priority a reality.

Guy Lebel added his voice in favour of the grocery store project, and criticized Mr Tessier’s criticism of former councillor Denise Laferrière for having spent funds earmarked for a grocery store project on other projects.

In the same ward, Bill Clennett questioned the controversial decision to demolish a former presbytery in Old Hull. Demolition Committee president Jocelyn Blondin said it is now too late to save the historic building.  Councillor Tessier re-enforced Mr Clennett’s disappointment with the demolition.

Garbage plans

Finally, citizen Sébastien Lebel urged the city to re-consider its waste management plan. He suggested the city team up with neighbouring municipalities to find an alternative to sending waste to Lachute, which generates a lot of pollution. He endorsed a modern incinerator as an alternative to using the landfill, a proposal also endorsed by the Mayor and Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, Chair of the environment commission; both said talks were underway to find alternatives in dealing with waste. The incinerator proposal is also endorsed by the new MRC Pontiac warden.