When Saint-Lin gives a lesson in Quebec City
Saint-Lin-Laurentides has barely 25,000 inhabitants. That didn't stop the small municipality from giving
a lesson in urban planning 101 to the Legault government.
It is hoped that the latter took notes.
What is happening in Lanaudière affects the entire province. The new mayor of Saint-Lin, Mathieu Maisonneuve,
threw a stone into the pond by making remarks... really sensible.
Mathieu Maisonneuve, Mayor of Saint-Lin-Laurentides
He wants to reverse the agricultural rezoning of 7 hectares orchestrated a few years ago by the
local MRC with the unjustifiable agreement of Quebec.
He says he wants to develop his city within the current urban perimeter rather than sacrificing farmland to build businesses.
He says that in the long run, protecting the territory will bring more to its citizens than short-term tax revenue.
And he warns those who have bought land by speculating that it will one day be dezoned and sold
to developers that his role is not to make them win their bet.
These words are refreshing and courageous.
Mathieu Maisonneuve articulates an intelligent and modern vision of land use planning in a corner
known for having done precisely the opposite in recent years.
In 2019, the MRC de Montcalm, where Saint-Lin-Laurentides is located, asked to change the use of 160 hectares of agricultural land, the equivalent of 220 football fields, mainly to develop homes and businesses.
We recognize here the all too well known scenario of unbridled development. Developers are pressuring elected officials to dezone farmland and erect their bungalow fields. Relieved by the new taxes, elected officials board.
Unfortunately, we know where this leads: to the loss of agricultural land and natural environments. Urban sprawl, real estate development far from public transport networks, cars that will increase traffic jams.
Quebec should clearly have refused this revision of the development plan of the MRC de Montcalm.
Its own experts, from three departments, recommended it.
But the government lacked courage and allowed it. At the time, we denounced this approval.
Today, the mayor of Saint-Lin-Laurentides wants to return to the initial plan and maintain agricultural zoning in his city. One would have thought that it would cause flares in the region. Not even!
On Wednesday, the MRC unanimously adopted a resolution that not only receives Saint-Lin's proposal for the 7 hectares, but also undertakes to review the entire land use plan of its territory to reflect "a strong vision for the protection of natural environments and agricultural land".
What we see here is a complete disavowal of the old game plan that relied on rezoning and that had received the approval of Quebec. Such a turnaround is embarrassing for the provincial government. It shows the extent to which the latter has abdicated his responsibilities
and left it to others to protect the territory.
It is not normal for the mayor of a small town to stand as a bulwark against ill-considered decisions from above.
Last summer, Quebec adopted its national architecture and development policy. It affirms the importance of "countering the loss of natural environments and agricultural territories" and "directing urban growth towards areas already equipped with infrastructure and public services, in the heart of our villages and cities."
This is exactly what Saint-Lin and the MRC de Montcalm are advocating today... and precisely
the opposite of what Quebec authorized in the region in 2019.
We are now waiting for the Legault government's action plan that will articulate this national policy.
Let us hope that, this time, actions will follow words.
a lesson in urban planning 101 to the Legault government.
It is hoped that the latter took notes.
What is happening in Lanaudière affects the entire province. The new mayor of Saint-Lin, Mathieu Maisonneuve,
threw a stone into the pond by making remarks... really sensible.
Mathieu Maisonneuve, Mayor of Saint-Lin-Laurentides
He wants to reverse the agricultural rezoning of 7 hectares orchestrated a few years ago by the
local MRC with the unjustifiable agreement of Quebec.
He says he wants to develop his city within the current urban perimeter rather than sacrificing farmland to build businesses.
He says that in the long run, protecting the territory will bring more to its citizens than short-term tax revenue.
And he warns those who have bought land by speculating that it will one day be dezoned and sold
to developers that his role is not to make them win their bet.
These words are refreshing and courageous.
Mathieu Maisonneuve articulates an intelligent and modern vision of land use planning in a corner
known for having done precisely the opposite in recent years.
In 2019, the MRC de Montcalm, where Saint-Lin-Laurentides is located, asked to change the use of 160 hectares of agricultural land, the equivalent of 220 football fields, mainly to develop homes and businesses.
We recognize here the all too well known scenario of unbridled development. Developers are pressuring elected officials to dezone farmland and erect their bungalow fields. Relieved by the new taxes, elected officials board.
Unfortunately, we know where this leads: to the loss of agricultural land and natural environments. Urban sprawl, real estate development far from public transport networks, cars that will increase traffic jams.
Quebec should clearly have refused this revision of the development plan of the MRC de Montcalm.
Its own experts, from three departments, recommended it.
But the government lacked courage and allowed it. At the time, we denounced this approval.
Today, the mayor of Saint-Lin-Laurentides wants to return to the initial plan and maintain agricultural zoning in his city. One would have thought that it would cause flares in the region. Not even!
On Wednesday, the MRC unanimously adopted a resolution that not only receives Saint-Lin's proposal for the 7 hectares, but also undertakes to review the entire land use plan of its territory to reflect "a strong vision for the protection of natural environments and agricultural land".
What we see here is a complete disavowal of the old game plan that relied on rezoning and that had received the approval of Quebec. Such a turnaround is embarrassing for the provincial government. It shows the extent to which the latter has abdicated his responsibilities
and left it to others to protect the territory.
It is not normal for the mayor of a small town to stand as a bulwark against ill-considered decisions from above.
Last summer, Quebec adopted its national architecture and development policy. It affirms the importance of "countering the loss of natural environments and agricultural territories" and "directing urban growth towards areas already equipped with infrastructure and public services, in the heart of our villages and cities."
This is exactly what Saint-Lin and the MRC de Montcalm are advocating today... and precisely
the opposite of what Quebec authorized in the region in 2019.
We are now waiting for the Legault government's action plan that will articulate this national policy.
Let us hope that, this time, actions will follow words.
