Borough abolishes fees for driveway greening
The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension announced last week it would abolish the penalty for those who wish to remove a parking space or a driveway to instead turn it into green space.
“The motion eliminates the costs related to the granting of a compensation fund when the withdrawal of an existing parking unit is carried out with the objective of greening the land on which it is laid out,” read a statement made by the city.
The Direction du développement du territoire is in favour of this regulatory modification as the transformation of parking spaces into green space is part of a larger green transition of the city and will better reduce the urban heat islands.
Reducing heat islands
According to the decision-making documents of the borough council, the abolition of the penalty will apply specifically to residential properties with one to eight dwellings.
Up to now, the penalty levied on property owners who wanted to make these changes was set at $3,951.
Owners who want to go forward with these greening initiatives will still have to submit an application to the borough for a transformation permit and pay the associated fees of its study. Currently, the cost is set at $9.80 per $1,000 of work, with a minimum cost of $149.
The only condition outlined for the fee to be waived is that the land in question must be greened, either by greening the space occupied by the space or the access road leading to it, read decisional documents.
Correcting mistakes
For her part, borough mayor Laurence Lavigne Lalonde was in favour of the new decision. “This corrects a certain anomaly, it also means it will encourage citizens to contribute to greening efforts in the borough,” said Lavigne Lalonde.
The measure is one of many greening initiatives in the neighbourhood, including the borough-wide ban on asphalting green spaces in front of residential properties and apartments and the implementation of ruelles vertes in Park Ex alleys.
The change will come into effect when it is adopted by the borough council at their next meeting on Mar. 8.
