Montreal homeowners successfully killed affordable housing project. They feared losing their parking spots. - jlai.lu

Homeowners in the Rosemont neighborhood of Montreal successfully killed an affordable housing project that was supposed to add 50 condos. This is happening despite the housing crisis that the city is facing. The proposal was supposed to add 50 new condos on an empty lot: The local neighbors disagreed. They feared losing a sunny view and precious parking spots for their cars. “Our entire neighborhood, it’s only 3 story buildings or smaller” says Hugo Didier, the leader of the local anti-housing movement. “We do not want tall buildings here. It is just too inconvenient” he said. Local city council members in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie initially supported the project. « We are facing a major housing crisis, we need to do more » said mayor Francois Limoges. What they didn’t expect was the opposition. 158 people signed a petition against the new project, demanding a neighborhood referendum. At least 200 individuals showed up at a public hearing. Under pressure, the council shut down the entire project. Real Estate developer Félix Péladeau-Langevin was behind the proposal. He planned to build 50 condos. « The location is good. It’s close to public transit and to a bike lane. I didn’t plan to add any parking spot » he told us. Félix Péladeau said he was disappointed by the opposition from local homeowners. “They went door to door. They convinced everyone to put their name and signature against the proposal, asking for a referendum” Protest leader Hugo Didier told our newspaper that he reached out to the developer and told him to compromise. Just build a smaller building. « Look, when you consider the cost of buying the land, the cost of hiring people, if hey don’t want a tall building, this isn’t worth it » Péladeau said.