West Island green space sale raises concern

[rosey12387]

West Island green space sale raises concern

 

The wooded area extends from Cap-Saint-Jacques nature park in Pierrefonds alongside the l'Anse-a-l'Orme Park to Angell Woods in Beaconsfield. (CBC)A call for tenders for green space on Montreal's West Island has caught both environmental activists and government officials by surprise.

 

Quebec's industrial development corporation, the Société générale de financement, which owns the land, has published ads in local papers seeking bids for the 98 hectares of land. The ads announce opportunities for residential and industrial construction.

 

The wooded area extends from Cap-Saint-Jacques nature park in Pierrefonds alongside the l'Anse-a-l'Orme Park to Angell Woods in Beaconsfield.

 

David Fletcher of the Green Coalition said he's worried the land - home to beavers, a herd of deer and rare species of plants and trees - will be spoiled.

 

"We already have enough development," said Fletcher. "We already have enough strip malls. We don't have enough areas conserved."

 

Local environmental groups and officials at the city of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue said they had been told at one time the land would be turned into a conservation area.

 

"When we saw the ad in the paper, we thought, obviously we've been lied to perhaps," said Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Coun. Ryan Young.David Fletcher of the Green Coalition says the land should be preserved.David Fletcher of the Green Coalition says the land should be preserved. (CBC)

 

The city had been planning to change zoning bylaws on its portion of the land this fall, said Young.

 

But some worry it could be too late.

 

A spokesperson for Quebec Environment Minister Line Beauchamp confirmed the ministry had hoped to turn the land into a conservation area.

 

He said she is not happy about the decision to sell it.

 

"I think that speaks volumes," said Young. "I've been speaking to activists inside Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and there's a move afoot to demonstrate … public support [to save the land].

 

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/06/16/mtl-west-island-woods.html#ixzz0r77Ccrlu

[cjb]

Good news, we will be able to convert useless green space into great warehouses, with jobs starting at 11$/hour.

 

Like this, we will be able to deliver Ipad's faster to hungry customers.

[Malek]

"We already have enough development," said Fletcher.

 

 

wow:eek:

[pedepy]

why dont' these people just move and go live in the fucking forest ?

 

oh thats right, i forgot: they are dependant of the big city, they just don't wanna pay their fair share and have anyone else get in on their gated community...

Edited June 17, 2010 by pedepy

[MTLskyline]

I don't see anything wrong with wanting to protect a natural area. There are plenty of other areas nearby that can be developed and densified.

[monctezuma]

Et + on protège de territoire sur l'île, + la pression pour construire vers le haut sera grande !

[rosey12387]

I'm for protecting this area. Not necessarily indefinitely, but with the amount of development happening west of the 13, you also have to question how many more people the current highway and public transit systems can handle. A huge park would also be a great asset to the 250,000+ people living within a 10 minute drive. I'd be more inclined to looking at converting some of the industrial land in Lasalle and Lachine and partially developing the area near where the government wants to extend highway 19 northward in Laval to the 640 before developing this area.