DEMOLITION REQUESTS COMMITTEE – MINUTES – 214th meeting held on April 23, 2024 at 4:33 p.m.

Demolition of a commercial building – 500, chemin McConnell – Deschênes electoral district – Caroline Murray

Questions, answers, and comments were formulated, concerning among other things:

• It is regrettable to demolish the building only to rebuild a more beautiful one, and that a wetland must be backfilled;
• The project will contribute to the commercial revitalization of a developing collector road;
• This type of business, an automobile dealership, is rather rare in the west of the City;
• The backfilling of the wetland was approved by the ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs.

R-CDD-2024-04-23/20

CONSIDERING THAT a request to demolish a detached one-story commercial building has been made for the property located at 500, chemin McConnell, in commercial zone Co-14-092;

CONSIDERING THAT the existing main building, constructed in 1992, has no recognized heritage value and is not identified in the document "Ville de Gatineau — Inventaire du patrimoine bâti — 2008";

CONSIDERING THAT no complaint file regarding the deterioration of the neighborhood's quality of life targeting the building to be demolished is active;

CONSIDERING THAT the use practiced in the building to be demolished, namely the retail sale of new and used motor vehicles, is a non-conforming use whose acquired right will be lost following the demolition of the building;

CONSIDERING THAT the preliminary program for the reuse of the cleared land provides for the construction of a two-story, detached structure building, intended to house the same use of retail sale of new and used motor vehicles currently present in the building to be demolished;

CONSIDERING THAT the construction project constituting the proposed program for the reuse of the cleared land must be approved by the council, pursuant to the Règlement relatif aux plans d’implantation et d’intégration architecturale numéro 505-2005 and pursuant to the Règlement relatif aux projets particuliers de construction, de modification ou d’occupation d’un immeuble numéro 507-2005 aimed at authorizing the proposed non-conforming use (retail sale of new and used motor vehicles);

CONSIDERING THAT the Demolition Review Committee may set the conditions necessary for the issuance of a demolition certificate;

CONSIDERING THAT before rendering its decision, the Committee took into account all the evaluation criteria listed in Article 22 of Règlement numéro 900-2021;

CONSIDERING THAT no opposition was received following the publication of the public notice of demolition on April 10, 2024;

CONSIDERING THAT this Committee is convinced of the appropriateness of the complete demolition of the building given the public interest and the interest of the parties;

CONSIDERING THAT one member registers their dissent to the project;

AND RESOLVED THAT this Committee approves, pursuant to the Règlement visant à régir la démolition d'immeubles sur le territoire de la Ville de Gatineau numéro 900-2021, the demolition of the one-story commercial building located at 500, chemin McConnell, conditionally upon:

• The approval of the preliminary program for the reuse of the cleared land by the council pursuant to the Règlement relatif aux plans d’implantation et d’intégration architecturale numéro 505-2005 and pursuant to the Règlement relatif aux projets particuliers de construction, de modification ou d'occupation d'un immeuble numéro 507-2005;
• The simultaneous issuance of the building permit for the replacement project approved by the municipal council.

ADOPTED BY MAJORITY

9. Validity of a decision

Questions, answers, and comments were formulated, concerning among other things:

• A decision applies to a property, and not to an owner;
• Currently, it is necessary to obtain authorization from the Committee again when the preliminary program for the reuse of the cleared land is replaced;
• Currently, no deadline is attached to a CDD (Demolition Committee) decision. It is proposed to give a 5-year validity to a CDD decision. The deadline for a decision is discretionary;
• A building that presents threats to safety must be stabilized;
• There is no risk of a gap between a demolition and a construction, since the Règlement visant à régir la démolition d’immeubles (Bylaw governing the demolition of buildings) requires the simultaneous issuance of an authorization certificate for demolition work and a building permit.

10. Financial guarantees

Questions, answers, and comments were formulated, concerning among other things:

• The financial guarantees currently required are $5,000 for buildings of a residential, community, or recreational use, and $10,000 for buildings of a commercial or industrial use;
• There is concern that a 20% financial guarantee would result in an amount that is too high, and that this would add to the burden imposed on the applicant. It is requested to establish a ceiling and to be less punitive;
• The City of Victoriaville is cited, which requires a security deposit of 50% up to a maximum of $100,000;
• Security deposits are paid in the form of a bank letter of guarantee, a certified cheque, or cash;
• For a security deposit to be released, all conditions must be met;
• A bank letter of guarantee for an amount of $100,000 does not cost $100,000;
• Comparisons with other municipalities are requested.