Mayor keen to learn how sale of Senneville parcel fits into master park plan
Senneville Mayor Julie Brisebois says she wants to know more about the city of Montreal's vision for the Grand Parc de l'ouest project.
The city of Montreal announced last Thursday it purchased a 21,741-square-metre plot of land in Senneville to add to the park.
Brisebois said the wooded property at 245 Senneville Road was privately owned.
“They are conserving a piece of a forested area. My guess, at this point, is that it will be for conservation because it's not connected to Bois-de-la-roche or L'anse-al'orme. But (the city of Montreal) is just acting on the lots they identified and put a droit de préemption, which is basically a right of first refusal when they come up for sale.”
Brisebois said she doesn't know what Montreal plans to do with the property or how it fits into the larger park.
“I am looking forward to the (city's) explanation in more detail what the vision is of this new administration,” Brisebois said.
“What do they want to do going forward? There was a public consultation in 2020 and a report came out of that. We were supposed to meet and hear more so I'm eager to work with them on what are the next steps for the Grand Parc de l'ouest.”
Caroline Bourgeois, head of large parks on Montreal's executive committee, said the land acquisition contributes to Montreal's objective of protecting 10 per cent of the land area of the agglomeration of Montreal.
“The pandemic has allowed us to realize our great attachment to our Montreal green spaces, but also the need for more,” Bourgeois said in a statement. “The purchase of the Senneville land will allow us to protect an exceptional natural environment that will be added to the Grand Parc de l'ouest, and everyone will benefit from it.”
The property at 245 Senneville Rd. is home to a mature forest, including butternut trees, which the city said is a threatened species.
Asked what the move will mean to Senneville residents, Brisebois said: “It means (the city of Montreal is) ready to put money on the table and make some moves like that. But again, we have not been actively involved in what is the vision of Grand Parc de l'ouest. A big chunk of our territory has been put in the park limits.”
The Grand Parc de l'ouest is a patchwork of five municipal parks on the West Island — Anse-à-l'orme, Bois-de-l'îlebizard, Bois-de-la-roche, Capst-jacques and Rapides-du-cheval-blanc — and covers more than 3,000 hectares.