Municipal councilors Michael Provencher and James Casey, representing the Arthabaska West and East districts, agreed, at our request, to participate in a citizens’ meeting held Monday evening, November 25, at the Arthabaska Community Center .
The organizers, Gilles Labrosse and I, supported by a few volunteers (whom we thank), wanted to give citizens a voice on the contested project to build around 300 housing units on the Arthabaska sand pit site. Our municipal councilors therefore had the opportunity to hear the opinions, arguments, testimonies, wishes and solutions of the approximately 45 people present and tried to answer their many questions. The mayor’s political attaché, Benoit Plamondon, was also present.
Preserve biodiversity and restore a precious natural space
If a consensus were to emerge from the comments heard during this meeting, it would be the unanimous opposition to the project put forward by Construction Binette. The sand pit is part of a precious ecosystem made up of the Boisé des Frères, the Nicolet River and the adjacent marshes, with in its center a sand pit which has certainly degraded over the years, but which could be preserved and restored, to make it a nature park. This is also what the petition signed by nearly 1,400 people, submitted two months ago to the city council, asked for.
The fragmentation of this natural space would harm both the flora and fauna which must be preserved and the humans who have frequented this peaceful place, often for decades. Citizens asked their city council to have vision, as the creators of Terre des Jeunes once had, as Henri-Paul Labonté, one of the current defenders of the creation of a new large-scale natural space.
Some citizens, like Pierre Bastien and Frédéric Boyé, said they were surprised, even shocked, by the passivity of the municipal council in the face of citizens’ environmental concerns while Victoriaville presents itself as the cradle of sustainable development. Shouldn’t the values displayed so proudly be reflected in the city’s actions?
Preserve heritage
Other people raised an argument that we had heard little about until now: the preservation of heritage. For Sylvie Garneau, walking in the sand pit is feeling immersed in the history of the region, it is seeing the paintings of Suzor-Côté who painted the church of Saint-Christophe, but also the sand pit itself. even. Moreover, history professor Gaëtan St-Arnaud speaks of it as a sector with high heritage value, marked in particular by the passage of the Abenakis, well before the settlement of our region by settlers from the lordships on the edge of the Saint -Laurent. He wanted to point out that the City adopted, during the time of Councilor France Auger, a heritage policy, of which Mr. Casey is now responsible since he is in charge of the culture file. It is not only the built heritage, but also the natural heritage that must be protected, “to avoid the mistakes of the past”. Councilor Casey was later heard to say that he was going to rule in a way that would protect heritage. We sincerely hope so.
Gentle densification?
Several people also questioned the densification of the city desired by the mayor and his council, a densification framed in a municipal guide. As Audrey Murray pointed out, in the Old Arthabaska sector, densification must be done while respecting the following principles: preservation of heritage, densification on a human scale and protection of green spaces. “Why does the Binette construction project not respect these principles? ”, she asked. “At what cost to city development and urban sprawl? Is the densification guide really taken into consideration? » Councilor Provencher responded that many densification projects are underway in Victoriaville and that the City is trying to follow its densification guide.
A project or no project?
Mr. Provencher, although having assured, on several occasions, that currently, “there is no project” for the sand pit, still conceded that engineers and municipal officials were collaborating with the contractor to verify “the feasibility of the project”, particularly with regard to the sewers and aqueduct which must comply with municipal regulations. Some people got impatient: how then can we seriously say that there is no project? Mr. Provencher replied that the housing development in question is in fact “a preliminary project which is in no way definitive”. If a building permit were to be granted, he had clarified earlier, this would have to be the subject of a council resolution, then a consultation and a final resolution. (Concerned citizens, this is a process that we must follow seriously, by appearing regularly at city hall meetings).
“There is no plan,” you say. However, the director of town planning himself presented the project last June. When an official presents a project at a public information session, it suggests that the City is behind the project. In addition, there is engineering work being done. We feel that unofficially, it is happening, even if there is not much social acceptance.” To these comments by Pierre Bastien, the same municipal councilor replied that a project manager from the developer made a presentation on June 17 at town hall, but that he himself, Mr. Provencher, personally deplored that the promoter himself did not, on this occasion, defend his own project. “It made me angry,” he said.
A potential conflict of interest?
After admitting that no biologist was hired by the City itself, but that it was based on studies by the developer, Mr. Provencher had to face a series of indignant interventions raising the question of a potential conflict of interest.
“Have we ceded control of the city to developers? » asked Ms. Murray, who is still waiting to be able to read the studies on which the City relies, but which were in fact carried out by the developer. As these studies do not belong to it, the City cannot disclose them. And the promoter could refuse to provide them, it is his strictest right, specified Mr. Provencher.
Is the City truly neutral? “Relying on the promoter is an aberration,” exclaimed Manon Leclerc. “You say that we should not see a conspiracy there, but it is a question of ethics, we must have independent experts…” affirmed Mr. St-Arnaud.
Criteria or no criteria?
In turn, François Duguay asked what the City’s criteria were for judging whether the project was acceptable. To which Mr. Provencher replied that there were no criteria defined as such, that it will be judged according to known information, that the city council will take into account all the elements: the private nature of the property, heritage, environment. But there are no precise criteria except compliance with municipal planning regulations.
In short, are there criteria or not? The citizens’ assembly had to be content with this contradictory vagueness.
Government approval still uncertain
Among other subjects of public concern, the complex question of flood zones, which is increasingly pressing given the effects of climate change, remains to be examined; We will have to wait until the final regulations applicable to the sand pit are known, we learned from Councilor Provencher. Will the project have to be submitted to the BAPE? That will have to be verified, the advisers said. But ministerial authorization is required, according to participant Denis Gélinas who questioned a biologist. This needs to be verified.
What are the expectations of the city council?
Finally, Sophie Harvey expressed her expectations of elected officials: “Let’s be ethical, think about environment, heritage, citizen representation. I ask elected officials to take up the cause of citizens, to protect our last natural environments in Victoriaville. We only have four left, three of which are private or semi-private. Mount Arthabaska is semi-private. The sand pit is private. The colonial woodland is private. Only Terre des Jeunes is public, created by visionaries at the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s (…). I ask you to review your priorities, to put budgets in the right places. (…). “
Other means of democratic expression
This is how this essential exercise for municipal democracy ended, which deserves to be held more frequently. Gilles and I thank again the councilors and citizens present, the number of whom could certainly have been greater if we had been able to benefit from a more spacious room. Like that evening, I would like to remind you that everyone has the opportunity to come to the town hall at 6 p.m., the first Monday of the month (door 2) (for example: from next Monday) to ask their questions to the city council, after its meeting. As for the Save the Arthabaska sandpit petition, you can still sign it by clicking on the link below. Thank you for your support. We remain on the lookout and mobilized.
On Sylvie Lemelin
Committed citizen of Victoriaville,
Member of the Save the Arthabaska sand pit mobilization action committee
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(Photo courtesy)
