Homeowners in the Rosemont neighborhood of Montreal successfully killed an affordable housing project that was supposed to add 50 condos on an empty lot. This is happening despite the housing crisis that the city is facing.
The proposal looked like this.
But the local homeowners opposed it.
They feared losing a sunny view and precious parking spots for their cars.
“Our entire neighborhood is only 3-storey buildings or smaller” says Hugo Didier, the leader of the local anti-housing movement. “We do not want tall buildings here. It is just too inconvenient” he said.
Local city council members in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie initially supported the project. « We are facing a major housing crisis, we need to do more » said mayor Francois Limoges. What they didn’t expect was the opposition.
158 individuals signed a petition against the new project, demanding a neighborhood referendum. At least 200 people showed up at a public hearing. Under pressure, the council shut down the entire project.
Real estate developer Félix Péladeau-Langevin was behind the proposal. He planned to build 50 new condos. « The location is good. It’s close to public transit and to a bike lane. I didn’t plan to add any parking spot » he told us.
Péladeau said he was disappointed by the opposition from local homeowners. “They went door to door. They convinced everyone to put their name and signature against the proposal, demanding a referendum”
Protest leader Hugo Didier says he reached out to the developer and offered a compromise. Just build a small building.
« I look at the cost of the land and the cost of construction. If they don’t want a multi-storey building, it’s just not worth it » Péladeau said.
“We do not want tall buildings here. It is just too inconvenient” he said.
Set up homeless encampments outside then. People need to live. They can either let a building go up, or let the homeless live there instead.
nimby, its almost always rich and or white people, west coast is plagued by them,.
This development is in an area of the city where you kind of have to be a masochist to have a car anyway. Shouldn’t have given in to the Nimbys.
Annoying NIMBY gentrifiers.
Look, as much as I think people should be taking transit and bikes as much as possible, for the developer not to provide a single parking lot for a building that size is silly.
Edit: I meant to say “single parking spot” not lot.
So don’t rent that specific condo if you have a car. It is supposed to be an affordable development and cars are expensive. Many people who need affordable housing the most don’t own a car and the land close to transit and bike lanes should be prioritized for them instead of cars.
I never said they needed one space per unit, but say, 10 spaces for the 50 units would have likely been enough to dissuade fears of the local residents.
Downvote me all you like but the place isn’t being built now because of this decision, so the area gets nothing.
It’s right next to a couple of major bus arteries, both of which take you to the metro and a major multi-use pathway (one of the best in Montreal). Given the housing shortage in the city, it really shouldn’t be hard to find 50 families willing to make that particular compromise.
I’m confused by this article a bit.
Couldn’t they compromise on having underground parking for that building? I wonder if it’s like, well if we have SO many people then the local parking is going to be flooded too. Although, if it’s that local would they even drive?
Maybe it’s not feasible to do underground parking in which case it would take up spots all around, which I half get. Car-based towns and stuff have really done a number on us.
