Municipal council votes against 21-unit residential project in Deschênes

Gatineau’s municipal council voted against a project planning to build a 21-unit residential project at 36 rue Deschênes during its meeting on January 19.

Voting nine to nine, with one absentee, the project needed a majority to be approved. Aylmer district councillor Audrey Bureau and Lucerne district councillor Gilles Chagnon were among those who voted against the project. Considering how long and hard he and his wife Gail Potts worked on the file and how much money went into it, the property’s co-owner Vince Dinardo said he felt frustrated with how things went down.  He explained that the project planned a frontage of 30 metres, while the city’s minimum zoning requirement on the property was 40 metres. 

Still believing in what the project offered, he asked the city for a minor variance that would allow the project to be built as planned. But, council ultimately denied the project notably because the structure would’ve been a tight fit on the property.

Knowing that requesting a minor variance to build the project outside of the city’s zoning regulations was a gamble, he understood why council voted against it. “I tried to do something more,” Dinardo said. “At least I rolled the dice on it. I was hoping for the best and I got the worst. That’s what happens. It’s risk. I took the risk and I lost. I am disappointed. But I’ve got nobody to blame but myself.”

Back to square one, Dinardo and Potts’ options are either to redesign the project in accordance with the city of Gatineau’s zoning regulations, or to sell the property to someone else. “Money that was spent is wasted,” Dinardo said. “We need to start over again, now with less money. It’s going to be tight. Am I going to be able to do something else? I’m not sure.”

“I’m going to try to do something that fits better,” he added. “I don’t have a choice. I’ve got to make something out of it. Push comes to shove, I’m going to have to get permits for something else and get in there and build it.”

Since the property is legally zoned to accommodate an eight-plex, Dinardo said he will consider going that route instead of trying to manoeuvre the city’s rule book again – hoping that he can present new architectural drawings to the city in six months.

During the public question period of municipal council’s meeting on January 19, Deschênes residents' association (ARD) President, Howard Powles, expressed concerns regarding the minor variance request asking what kind of precedent it could create for future projects in the neighbourhood. Powles said residents felt preoccupied with the project's potential ramifications on traffic, the quantity of asphalt used for the parking lot, and the lack of sidewalks provided. Wanting the project to go forward, Deschênes district councillor Mike Duggan, said other councillors voted against the project for the wrong reasons – political incentives. “I like the plan and I’m very aware that it’s a tight fit,” Duggan said. “But it was worth taking the risk.”

Duggan believes the one absentee, Touraine district councillor Nathalie Lemieux, would have voted for the project, which made the outcome all the more disappointing. “It’s kind of an accident that it failed,” Duggan said. “It probably would have passed if we’d had a full council.”

A fan of the project, Duggan said it would provide a number of benefits for residents by providing more access to housing in a desirable location. For Bureau, building more projects and densifying in Deschênes is the right thing to do. However, she emphasized the importance of being vigilant regarding what kind of projects get approved in the neighbourhood.

She noted that, since the developer requested a minor variance, the process prevented residents from manifesting their opinions on the project. Bureau added that the project’s delimitations were too sizeable for the property, leaving less space for greening and reducing quality of life.

Still in favour of densifying on the property, Municipal council has suggested that the developer rework the project with the city so that it goes through an administrative process that allows for public intervention, Bureau said.