Rechercher dans la communauté

The redpath mansion is crumbling, but residents and protectors of the city's heritage buildings balk at allowing a developer to raze the house and build anew LINDA GYULAI, The Gazette August 19, 2010 The remains of the Redpath Mansion on downtown du Musee Ave. have stood for 24 years as a vestige of what preservationists hoped was a bygone era of battles to save heritage in Montreal's Square Mile. However, a developer's renewed request to demolish what is left of the deteriorating structure at 3455-3457 du Musee to replace it with a 14-unit condo project is again sparking debate. The Ville Marie borough will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the project by Amos and Michael Sochaczevski, who are father and son, as well as on five other rezoning projects around the borough. The Queen Anne-style mansion was built in 1886 by architect Sir Andrew Taylor for the Redpath family, which founded the sugar-refining company of the same name, on a slope of Mount Royal overlooking Sherbrooke St. W. Demolition was started in 1986 when members of the Sochaczevski family bought it, but Heritage Montreal sought a court injunction to halt it. That left the facade and about 10 metres of the side walls standing. A city appeal board blocked a second request by the Sochaczevskis to demolish the remaining structure in February 2002. Now, the latest project calls for demolition and construction of a seven-storey building with 28 underground parking spaces. The top three floors would be of glass and recessed on all sides so it's not noticeable from the street, the owners say. The project, which passed first reading at a borough council meeting in July, would stand 25 metres high, while the zoning allows for 16 metres. However, Heritage Montreal says the plan violates an agreement it signed with the city and the Sochaczevskis in 1986 after the initial demolition was halted. The agreement called for any future project to preserve and integrate the remains of the original building. It also called for the project to respect the scale and design of the original building. "The Redpath project involves 24 years of trying to have discussions and it's being treated in a very shallow fashion," Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru said. However, the Sochaczevskis say the project is greatly reduced from an initial plan to build 11 storeys, and will breathe life into a derelict site. "Finally, after 20 years, we have a project that will put a development worthy of the Golden Square Mile on the site," Michael Sochaczevski said. "There is no building, there is only a ruined front." The plan is to use the foundation of the original building and reuse some elements, such as the stone, in the new project, he said. " We took a lot of things into account and we tried to please everybody and still have a reasonable project that makes common sense," Amos Sochaczevski said. Moreover, the site is surrounded by 11-, 17-and 20-storey towers on neighbouring streets, the Sochaczevskis say. However, Bumbaru countered that most of the towers date back to the 1970s when Montreal was a "frontier town" that lacked zoning rules. "Nobody here says: 'Don't develop,' " said Jean-Francois Sauve, who lives behind the mansion on de la Montagne St. "Just respect the agreements that were made and the (zoning) rules that are in place. Sauve says he's also concerned the project will block sunlight on his property and allow residents to peer into his garden and home. "It's quite surprising that we're right downtown and the city can't enforce simple zoning," he said. "It's actually quite alarming." Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Mansion+again+target+demolition/3415685/story.html#ixzz0x4A1M8SA

Encore une fois pas certain ou afficher -- le gouvernement du Qc propose -- surprise surprise -- de nouveux reglements cette fois dans le domaine des condos. For those familiar with the more granular aspects of condo financing, building and selling any thoughts and comments? I've never bought a condo buy my first reaction is typical Qc government reacation in that more regulation is the answer. How do other jurisdicctions regulate the condo market and is Qc actually in need of updating rules and laws or is this needless meddling?

(Courtesy of CJAD) Thing is, I never see any cops around when people fail to stop for pedestrians. I wonder how many points you will lose for failing to stop at a stop sign or red light or even turning right on red on the island. These new rules are good, but still not strict enough. Honestly, where is the rule about if you get caught over the legal limit of alcohol in your system, you lose your license for good. I guess the people in the government, like drinking and driving

(Courtesy of The Globe and Mail)

STRIKE BANS In Montreal, a civilizing effect INGRID PERITZ April 29, 2008 MONTREAL -- Once upon a time in Montreal, public-transit strikes seemed as common as Stanley Cup parades. They occurred almost annually, with devastating results. There was a month-long walkout during Expo 67; another in 1974 that dragged on for 44 days. In 1977, workers walked off the job for four days, then walked out again during Grey Cup festivities. Each time, Montrealers fumed. These days, strikes have become almost as rare as hockey playoff victories and when conflicts arise, the effects are diminished, thanks to Quebec's Essential Services law. Basic transit service is guaranteed in Montreal during strikes, a fact that brings a measure of civility to the city's turbulent labour relations. "The Montreal system, with predictable essential-services rules, has been a good system," said Allan Ponak, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary who has co-authored a book on the subject. "Predictable rules like you have in Montreal are better than ad hoc rules created in an urgent situation." The justification used by the Quebec government for declaring public transit an essential service in 1982 went like this: If everyone drove cars during a strike, traffic jams would threaten the safe passage of emergency vehicles. The law not only had a dissuasive effect on strikes - there have been only two in the past two decades - but it softened their impact when they did occur. Last May, for example, 2,200 maintenance workers went on strike to press for a new contract. The Essential Services Council ordered full bus and subway service during morning and afternoon peak hours, as well as late at night. "There's no question that public transit is an essential service just like hospitals," said Reynald Bourque, director of the School of Labour Relations at the University of Montreal. "The system is beneficial because it balances the rights of the striking workers with the rights of users." Unions have also come around to realizing they need public opinion on their side during conflicts - Quebec has floated the idea of restricting or abolishing the right to strike for public transit unions. So unions, too, have come to live with essential-services rules, a specialist says. "We really have succeeded in civilizing the right to strike in public transit," said Michel Grant a professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal. "It's a model, and if they'd had had it in Toronto there wouldn't have been a problem and they wouldn't have needed a special law." Maintenance employees and drivers in Montreal belong to separate unions. Montreal's bus and subway drivers, who belong to the Canadian Union of Public Employees, voted overwhelmingly in February for a new five-year contract. As for maintenance workers, their strike last May ended in only four days. They voted to return to work to dodge the threat of a government-imposed settlement, but remain without a contract. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080429.TTCMONTREAL29/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/