Proposed housing development in Shawville to get second public consultation
Proposed housing development in Shawville to get second public consultation
A proposal to rezone a chunk of land on the outskirts of Shawville to allow a block of apartments got a largely critical reception at a consultation at town hall on February 3, but council is planning a follow up in the coming weeks. Around a dozen people attended to hear about the proposed project, which comes from developer Maisons PAJ who in recent months have constructed several similar apartment buildings around town. They are seeking to rezone chunk of land on chemin John-Dale near the intersection with West Street to allow for a block of four, six-unit apartments, with a mix of one- and three-bedroom units.
Shawville’s building inspector Charles Gallant explained that under new provincial legislation Bill 31, municipalities can speed up the rezoning process for housing developments, cutting down the process by several months, provided the proposed development meets certain standards including increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. While the provincial law doesn’t define “affordable”, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) defines it as less than 30% of a household’s income.
Maisons PAJ representative Matthieu Jodoin explained that through the MLI Select program, the CMHC provides favorable mortgage terms on the condition that the buildings are energy efficient and contain at least one affordable unit per building, which he estimated would be priced around $900/month.
Maisons PAJ builds apartments to sell to investors, but any potential landlord would still be bound by these stipulations in order to keep their financing advantages.
At the February 3 meeting, Rick Valin, whose home of nearly 50 years is situated next to the proposed development, said that while the town needs affordable housing, there were some concerns about the location which doesn’t have a sidewalk or street lights. Other residents of the neighborhood raised concerns about the amount of vehicles the development would bring to the area, which already sees a number of motorists speeding and running the stop sign at the intersection.
Speaking after the meeting, Gallant said that they will be announcing a second public consultation in the coming weeks with Jodoin in attendance to answer any questions. He and DG Crystal Webb provided CHIP 101.9 with a copy of their notes and questions from the first public consultation (available here). Once the public has more opportunity to comment on the project, the decision on whether to go ahead with the zoning change will likely be made at the municipality’s public meeting on March 11.
A site plan is available here.
