Successful Case of Disguised Expropriation in Relation to a Heritage Protection By-Law

The owner of a vacant lot in the rang des Mines, located in the heart of the Domaine-des-Pauvres heritage site in the City of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, has been successful in his case against the latter, which sought to forbid any type of construction through a heritage site citation by-law.

Although the owner had already taken steps to build a single-family home, the regulations adopted by the City to protect the Domaine-des-Pauvres failed to define any real criteria for granting a building permit. As a result, the by-laws forbade any modification of the site, including new construction. Given that the premises, initially acquired for residential use could not be used properly, the owner decided to sue the City of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures. In this case, the Superior Court found that it was indeed a disguised expropriation. “Saint-Augustin chose to include the lot in the Domaine-des-Pauvres heritage site instead of exercising their power of expropriation. By doing so, they are expropriating the lot, in a disguised way, as the effect of the regulations is to remove all use of the lot, and even the exercise of the right of ownership.”

BCF is proud to have acted on behalf of the owner of the lot and to have obtained compensation for the appropriation of his property, in this case led by Audrey-Anne Béland.

Click here for the judgment (in French only).