Gatineau council meets in person for first time since beginning of pandemic
On August 24, Gatineau’s municipal council held its monthly meeting in-person for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
--Word from the mayor
Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin opened the council meeting stating there are three more of this version of council – with the 2021 municipal election approaching.
The mayor addressed the Société de Transport de l’Outaouais’ (STO) new loan regulations, noting that up to $49 million will soon be admissible in subsidies for the extension of the Rapibus on a portion of boulevard Labrosse and boulevard Lorrain. He added that improving public transportation is one of the best ways of reducing Gatineau’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The mayor also said the city is planning the construction of a third hangar at the Gatineau airport, as part of its ongoing efforts since 2013 to make the airport financially self-sufficient, and that council was on the verge of approving a 21-unit affordable housing project supported by AccèsLogis Québec as part of the Maison des apprentis social initiative - to address the local housing crisis and to fight poverty.
--Councillors’ comments
With kids back in school, Lucerne district councillor Gilles Chagnon urged the population to be extra cautious on the road in the coming months, notably respecting pedestrians, cyclists, and school buses and to follow speed limits and traffic signs. He also thanked school employees for what they do to help students.
Deschênes district councillor Mike Duggan announced that the 2021 Terry Fox Run is scheduled to take place on September 19 in the morning along the bike path at Parc des Cèdres in Aylmer. Like last year, the run will be modified in accordance to Covid-19 public safety guidelines to keep people safe, while volunteers will take in donations for cancer research. Inviting other councillors to donate, Duggan said he will double their collective donation with up to $2,000 from his discretionary fund, and encouraged residents to support online at terryfox.org.
He also pointed to two notices of motion submitted to council, one regarding the extension of the waterfront park near the intersection of boulevard Lucerne and chemin Fraser – known as the Deschênes Forest – to determine an official name for it.
The other includes three proposed initiatives in the wooded area between the Plateau district and the Parc Champlain neighbourhood, south of boulevard des Allumetières featuring finalizing and approving a bike path to connect rue Robert-Pilon to the boulevard des Allumetières bike path, an analysis to improve the existing walking path underneath the south side of boulevard des Allumetières, and to analyze and authorize the construction of a wooden walking bridge above a stream at the ruisseau Moore.
With the pandemic resulting in heightened use of local parks, Duggan said it’s imperative for the city to invest in them for the overall well-being of the population, and reminded people to drive extra safely for the school year.
Plateau district councillor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette addressed the aforementioned affordable housing project spearheaded by AccèsLogis.
To be located on boulevard Maloney in the Gatineau sector and include community services, she said the project is intended to house and support local youth with autism and other types of mental deficiencies whose parents can no longer take care of raising them. She also spoke favourably about the official preservation of the Deschênes Forest.
Calling it a highly valuable ecological haven, she reminded that thousands of residents mobilized in the summer of 2020 to highlight the natural and archaeological wealth of the land and convince the municipal council to vote against selling the property for future development and keep it as is.
Aylmer district councillor Audrey Bureau gave an update on the Robert-Middlemiss Pavilion at the Aylmer Marina, saying it remains open every day with year-round universal access to washrooms, and access to recreational and sports equipment from its rental office.
She added that the restaurant in the building should open by the end of September – understanding that the population is eager to see it – and that she’s in contact with the owner of the restaurant and the city to make sure it opens as soon as possible. She also encouraged non-profit-organizations to contact the city to rent rooms and halls at the pavilion, and said the city should organize meetings with the city’s interservice departments to plan how Gatineau will adjust itself to the reality of Parc des Cèdres’ future as a regional recreational destination.
--Questions from the public
Council received six public interventions, namely focusing on the lack of sports and recreation infrastructure and maintenance services in the Masson-Angers sector, concerns with the STO’s multi-billion-dollar tramway project’s drawings for routes in the west-end, and conflict between residents, prospective business owners, and the city regarding the potential opening of an outdoor airsoft and archery tag facility on chemin Simmonds in Aylmer North called Enclave Tactick.
In the process of soliciting the city for a business permit and hopeful to open as soon as possible, Enclave Tactick co-owner Mélanie Lavictoire said the main issue revolves around the interpretation of her enterprise’s activity as an extreme sport while their property is legally zoned to accommodate recreational sports.
Assuring that their offering of activities is wrongly classified by the city, she asked what the city could do to help expedite the process of obtaining a permit. Fully supportive of Enclave Tactick becoming a legal operation in the near future - despite its activities looking fairly militaristic upon first impression - Duggan said he visited the site, documented what it offers and contacted the city to discuss how to solve zoning and classification issues as soon as possible.
Buckingham district councillor Martin Lajeunesse and Lac-Beauchamp district councillor also echoed similar sentiments. The mayor said the city will ensure the file is treated with utmost diligence.
Asking to reconsider already proposed solutions regarding the STO’s tramway project, Local resident Michel Lefebvre expressed concerns, saying the scenario deemed optimal in the drawings would present tremendously negative environmental impacts including great levels of deforestation, that it doesn’t comply with the city’s new zoning regulations and developmental guidelines, and will be too noisy and unsafe for surrounding areas. He added that residents weren’t sufficiently consulted in the project’s planning process.
Hull-Wright district councillor Cédric Tessier and the mayor replied that it’s still early in the process and that the project will be further studied and adjusted if needed, and that finding ecological solutions is a paramount priority.
--Meeting’s agenda
Among other things, Council approved a second resolution for the construction of a community building on 280 to 340 rue Nancy-Elliott, building a single-family home on 1234 chemin Antoine-Boucher, and to augment the maximum height of buildings in part of the Hull-Wright district from eight to 10 storeys.
It also approved the construction of a 15-unit housing complex on 109-111 rue Saint-Étienne in the Hull-Wright district, and a 13-unit building on 2287 rue Saint-Louis in the Limbour district, and a notice of motion for a law project to modify zoning regulations to allow artists to perform in certain commercial spaces in downtown Hull.
Council also authorized the construction of an 11 floor, 35 metre high, mixed-use building with 146 units on rue Jos-Montferrand in Hull-Wright, and building a nine-floor multi-family complex on 60 rue Jumonville in the L’Orée-du-Parc district.
Among several heritage citations requested at the meeting, Duggan submitted a draft regulation proposing to officially grant the Bellevue Cemetery, located on 1030 chemin d’Aylmer – second oldest burial ground in the city – a municipal heritage citation.
It authorized the construction of a service station with a depanneur, carwash and a restaurant on 340 rue Front, to renovate an oil distribution centre on 210 boulevard Saint-Raymond in the Plateau district, and the implementation of municipal services as part of the new phase of the Village Ferme Ferris project in Lucerne.
