An ever denser metropolis and the "Not in my backyard" syndrome

Interviewed by La Presse, our partner Simon Pelletier comments on a recent decision of the Superior Court of Québec invalidating two municipal by-laws of the City of Mont-Saint-Hilaire.

These by-laws were inconsistent with both the regional county municipality’s land use and development plan and the Montreal Metropolitan Community’s metropolitan land use and development plans (the “MLUDP”), which suggests directing 40% of population growth around public transit access points through the development of TOD neighborhoods aimed at slowing down urban expansion. Both by-laws sought to exempt a sector of the mountain from the minimum density requirement and thus prevent, abusively, the construction of residential housing. “He is the first judge who, to my knowledge, analyzes the MLUDP in detail and comes to a specific conclusion regarding the need to densify the territory,” said Simon Pelletier, who represented the owners of the lots against the City of Mont-Saint-Hilaire with respect to the disputed zone, A‑16, crossed by Ozias-Leduc and de la Montagne roads.

Read the full article (in French only).