What is their vision on real estate development?
Real estate development in Châteauguay has accelerated in the last 4 years. According to data provided by the City, 1000 more residences have been added in the municipality since 2017. What is your vision for real estate development in the next four years? Do we maintain this momentum?
Lucie Lamoureux, Impact Châteauguay
Between 2012 and 2020, Châteauguay welcomed 7,000 new citizens. According to Quebec’s statistical projections, the City of Châteauguay will have a population of more than 58,000 people by 2041. Development will have to continue to meet this growing need, which is also what is expected of the cities of the Montreal Metropolitan Community in order to avoid urban sprawl and encroachment into the cultivated agricultural zones that feed Quebec's population. Development must be carried out in parallel with the improvement of municipal infrastructure in order to meet the needs of our citizens. It will have to respect environmental standards. For this purpose, a national strategy for urban and regional planning will be deployed in the spring of 2022 by the Ministry, which will allow the internal teams to oversee the development. The current supply being lower than the demand, the absence of development would influence the price of houses and consequently the tax bill. Real estate development rhymes with commercial development and an increase in the workforce, which is good news. Parti Impact Châteauguay was born with the notion of balance between our ambitions and our obligations, and it is with this in mind that we will approach development, for and with our fellow citizens.
Eric Allard, Alliance Châteauguay
While there are developments underway, we need to address the water supply, street and traffic issues. We have already spoken out on this issue, regarding the need to address the water supply problem.
Furthermore, when we see the work required in the city's schools for expansions or the installation of modules for student places, it is obvious that there is a shortage of student places in Châteauguay. This must also be considered in further reflections. For example, Marguerite Bourgeois school, which no longer has schoolyards, is that what we want?
It is imperative to review the city's urban plan, we must consider the protection of green spaces, the greening of the city, the reduction of heat islands and the reduction of GHG. This reflection is already underway within our team, but it must extend to the city administration as well. Development of the city and investments in our municipality is good news, which means that the City of Châteauguay is interesting and full of potential. We must find a balance between development and the protection of green spaces.
Nathalie Simon, Citizens’Action
It is wrong to assume that development has accelerated. According to CMHC, the pace has been the same since 2009. (1200 units between 2009 and 2013 and 1000 between 2013 and 2017). And what this tells us is that it is possible to develop intelligently and without destroying natural environments as has unfortunately been done over the past four years.
However, the real questions that need to be asked are: Can we afford to continue? What are the impacts of this development on our tax bill? On our environment? On our infrastructure? Citizens have experienced the answer in recent years with extended watering bans, brown water episodes and millions of dollars borrowed and spent to try to correct the situation, which they will have to pay back. Our commitment is to first address these issues. We understand that some development is needed, especially on the commercial side, and that's where we're going to focus our efforts. Most importantly, we will sit down with the citizens to decide together what we want and need for our city!
(Translation Renaud Medan)