L'Île-Perrot neighbourhood rallies to save forest slated for private development

Residents of a L'Île-Perrot neighbourhood are decrying the destruction of a beloved forest slated for private development, but the city's mayor says its fate is sealed.

The forest, bordered by 8th and Parc avenues, is behind Catherine Roscoe's home. She's lived there for more than a decade and said the forest is a neighbourhood jewel for the city west of Montreal.

"Every day, the kids come home from school and the first question they ask is, 'Can we run out to the forest?'" Roscoe said. "They want to go out there and play with their friends."

Though the wooded area is privately owned and zoned for construction, for years it has served as a natural playground for children in the neighbourhood. Now, a developer is planning to use the land to building 160 townhouses.

The area's residents worry about how the development's density could affect their community. They say traffic is already an issue and are concerned about the environmental impact.

"I'm worried that green spaces will be destroyed for no reason," said Richard Schanck, who's lived near the forest since 1992.

It's not the first time residents on the island have banded together to protect their green spaces.

In November, a group of citizens in another city on the island, Pincourt, teamed up to fight residential development on what they said was one of the last existing forests within the city's limits.

Mayor says hands are tied

The mayor of L'Île-Perrot, Pierre Séguin, pointed to the property's zoning, which allows for development, saying nothing can be done to stop it. 

Séguin says the only power the municipality does have is to force the developer to build fewer townhouses. On June 12, city council is expected to vote on whether to allow 160 or 90 townhouses as part of the project.

Séguin said he sympathizes with the residents, but that the city is growing and that comes with sacrifices.

"More people, more cars, more traffic — it's part of the game," Séguin said. He said that city council is "caught in the corner," just like the residents.

Roscoe said she believes more can be done.

"We've only been given these two numbers. Of course, 90 is much better than 160," Roscoe said. "We're not for 90; we're for zero."