JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
A bylaw aimed to prevent property owners in St. Lazare from letting buildings fall into disrepair has been narrowed in scope. Originally planned to apply to all buildings in town – including sheds, barns and detached garages – this legislation will now only apply to heritage buildings, commercial and industrial buildings, multi-residential buildings and buildings that have been vacant for more than three months.
“The main complaint was that people were worried about how this would be applied and how it would affect them,” Mayor Geneviève Lachance said in an interview. “Now that we’ve removed all that, I think it will reassure people.”
The bylaw, which was adopted at the March 10 council meeting, aims to ensure the structural maintenance of these buildings. The legislation gives the town the power to inspect the buildings and require the owners to repair any damage or deteriorating features of the structure. Owners who fail to comply risk facing thousands of dollars in fines.
The original version of this bylaw, which had been tabled in February, had aimed to apply this standard to all buildings in St. Lazare, including single-family houses and any structures on private properties. Even old backyard sheds could have subjected to the requirements under this bylaw.
The Quebec government requires municipalities adopt a bylaw on maintenance of local heritage buildings by April 1, but municipal councils have the option to expand this regulation beyond maintaining purely heritage structures.
District 6 Councillor Lorraine Caron had denounced the broad scope of the initial version of the bylaw, being the only member on council to vote against it in February.
“I thought there would be a social acceptability problem to subject all buildings” to this bylaw, said Caron, who voted in favour of the revised version last week.
While she said she doesn’t perceive this issue as being especially pronounced in her district, Caron pointed to the fact that the town does not have an inventory of all buildings in the town. This, she said, would have presented an obstacle for municipal inspectors, who would have needed to investigate, verify and keep running tabs on each complaint they receive about any derelict building or structure.
“Not to mention the hassle of having an inspector come to your home and tell you, ‘Well, you need to repair your roof, you need to repair your balcony, you need to repair your walls,’ and so on,” Caron added.
A public consultation Feb. 24 saw several residents voice the same concerns as Caron. Some asked about a timeline for repairs, how low-income residents would be able to afford these repairs, and how it would be determined what qualifies as being dilapidated.
This response from residents pushed the city to amend this bylaw, Lachance said.
“We had a lot of debates internally about this to find the right solution. But I think it’s a good compromise for now.”
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