Du Maquis Street project

Aylmer residents voice concern to council

Several Aylmer residents attended the September 20 council meeting in Masson-Angers and two of them voiced their concerns regarding a forthcoming housing project just east of the gas station at the corner of Allumettières and Wilfrid-Lavigne Boulevards in the Lucerne Ward.

 

“We are not against the project, but we are asking council to postpone the vote. I don’t understand why we were not consulted after receiving a letter from councillor Mike Duggan in 2014. Moreover, some of the studies are outdated, such as the hydrocarbon concentrations study which is from 2012. As for the traffic study, it’s from 2014, which might not seem too old for some, but traffic in the area has considerably increased in the past two years,” argued Aylmer resident Louis Abbott.

The 2012 environmental assessment report indicates that the land is not contaminated and the 2013 ecological study states that there’s no wetland and no wildlife species at risk living in the area.

Despite the demand from the resident to hold off, council still approved the 78-unit project, each of roughly 84 square metres, coupled with the minor variances. These variances are permitting the builder, for example, to build 101 parking spaces instead of 117 and to reduce the front margin from 10 m to 7 m for the proposed building at 100 du Maquis Street. The project, not recommended by Gatineau’s planning advisory committee, will feature five buildings of two storeys; two of 12 units and three of 18 units.

“Everyone has concerns when a residential project is coming near their homes. It’s a complex situation when we are trying to limit urban sprawl and concentrate the population,” said Mike Duggan, councillor for Lucerne.

“This piece of land was rezoned a few years ago to permit residential and I delivered a letter to each home in sight of the project informing them that four-storey buildings could be coming there and I got zero responses,” added Duggan.

The councillor has been in communication with the builder, Gérik, which, according to Duggan, is well prepared. “They had answers to all my questions,” noted Duggan.

Guy Pinsonneault, an Aylmer resident for more than 30 years, also addressed council regarding this housing project and wondered if council was truly taking into consideration residents’ welfare.

“We were indeed made aware that the zoning in that area changed to allow multi-unit homes. That’s fine, but we still want the same conditions as before with a buffer zone with vegetation and a noise barrier. I’m also hearing that the local gas station could be building a car wash, which was previously prohibited and which in turn would eliminate the buffer zone. If this is the case, then it appears to me that council is taking steps back regarding citizen welfare,” said Pinsonneault.

Mr Duggan indicated that he would ensure the agreement still stands regarding the wall separating the gas station and the homes or that a new one is drafted “given that the area has evolved.” Mr. Duggan noted that there’s no proposal to currently add a car wash even if the company purchased a strip of 2.8 metres behind the commercial building to normalize his lot. The resolution does state that the gas station will be renovated.