I am very pleased that a majority of city council has agreed to move forward with the 21-unit town house complex on Marc Chagall Avenue. A notice of motion to waive the reading of a bylaw and adopt a first draft to change the zoning from commercial to residential was placed on the agenda for the Mon. July 14 meeting. Provided everything goes according to plan, on Mon. Aug. 11 we will have a public consultation on the project prior to our public meeting and then adopt a second draft of the bylaw. Following this meeting public notice will be given asking those in the concerned and contiguous zones if they want a register. On September 8 a final version could be adopted.

This project has been in the hands of council, initially via the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC), for more than a year. Once the PAC gave its approval I held a special information meeting for residents of District 2 last December at City Hall. We had strong representation from the three highrise condominiums on Marc Chagall Avenue. By a wide majority they approved of the town house proposal, principally because the alternative would have been a strip shopping mall.

When we went back to council later that month we did not have a majority of votes to change the zoning. It was therefore delayed. During this time the developer, concerned that the town house proposal was not going to move forward, announced that he would proceed with a strip mall. I believed him, but others did not. Last month he put up a billboard inviting potential tenants to sign leases. He also published newspaper ads. Residents of the Marc Chagall Avenue highrise condos were up in arms. Last week I received a petition, signed by people residing mainly in those three buildings, against a strip mall. I explained to my constituents that I agreed with them – a strip mall was not an appropriate fit for this street.

I want to thank Mayor Anthony Housefather for his undying support on this issue and for the members of council who voted in favor of the zoning change. I realize some of them had concerns about the nearby Hydro wires. But the fact is, if the town houses were turned down – a strip mall would have gone directly under those same wires.

I will not get into the debate about the Hydro wires except to say that no studies have been conclusive about their potential dangers. Dr, Joe Schwarcz, a resident of Côte Saint-Luc and a highly respected scientist, had told members of council he does not for one moment agree with the Hydro wire argument.

This all being said, I look forward to moving the town house project forward. It will be a nice addition to a growing street which will soon include the Beth Chabad Community Centre. Bialik High School is currently working on phase two of its building expansion. As for the twin towers project at the corner of Marc Chagall and Mackle, I have no reason to believe anything will be happening on that spot anytime soon.

By putting a town house condominium project on Marc Chagall we are removing the threat of a strip mall, which has hung over us for years.

There has been a lot of concern expressed recently by residents of Marc Chagall Avenue over the proposed strip mall across the street from the snow dump and right next door to the Bellagio Condominium and across the street from the Marquise. Let me remind everyone that we had a beautiful town house proposal for the land last fall. I called a District meeting at City Hall, following which residents of the Bellagio, the Marquise and the Rotschild all expressed their support for the project - knowing full well that if it were to be rejected a strip mall could go up there since that is what the property is legally zoned for. We never did bring this to a vote though, since a majority of councillors indicated they would not support it. They cited the proximity of Hydro tension wires. I did not buy this argument. Mayor Anthony Housefather has supported the town house project all along. Ditto for two other councillors. We needed four votes in order for the mayor to break a tie. Sadly, one councillor who supported the project from the start and stood up in front of 60 people at my District meeting in December and said so changed his mind for no acceptable reason. I do not want a strip mall on Marc Chagall, nor do the residents. I am hopeful that at least one councillor will change their vote, allowing us to bring the town houses back online. Afterall, whether it is a residential or comercial project - the Hydro wires will still be there.

The shed on Marc Chagall Avenue, which was supposed to serve as as a model home for a large highrise condominium project, has been torn down. I am sure this will make neighbouring residents very happy.

They have been lobbying for this, noting that the small building was infested with different kinds of animals including groundhogs, skunks and squirrels. A previous council zoned this land for 17 storey condos many decades ago. Residents of Marc Chagall and neighbouring Mackle were not happy about this, but there was nothing council could do in regard to rezoning. Years passed from the time a sales office was established at the Cavendish Mall. The project seems to be dead. We followed the letter of the law in waiting for the allowable time to demolish the shed. There are no guarantees this land won't be developed in the future. But nothing appears imminent.