The Métis-sur-Mer Plan et Règlements d’Urbanisme 2008, in force since May 5th, 2008, aims at developing Métis-sur-Mer for a better future. During the winter, our urbanism committee examined and corrected the old version of the 1990’s. The mayor and his advisers, assisted by technical support staff, presented the new 2008 Urbanism Plan and Regulations, held April 30th, 2008 at the municipal office.
Reading over Les grandes orientations d’aménagement, best described as a mission statement, we learn that it’s the duty of the council to inform us, to consult with us, to listen of our concerns and aspirations. However, more than half of the population, in particular our summer residents, were neither consulted nor informed. They didn’t receive the pamphlets, map or other documentation on the Le Plan et Règlement d’Urbanisme 2008, which we, the local population, received in our mailboxes April 14th, 2008.
If the council had a vision statement that aligned with our needs and aspirations, and the citizens were more numerous in attending the meetings at the moment of presenting such an important document as the Plan et Règlement d’Urbanisme 2008, we would be better prepared to avoid potential problems which will be bound, sooner or later, to affect the ecology, environment and our historical buildings.
Here is a stunning example. Between February 2nd, 2007 and on April 14th, 2008, the section known as “Le Golf de la Pointe”, on the southern part of the 132, was sold to “Vive le Vent Inc.” The council rezoned the land, including that portion on the northern side of route 132, from recreational to residential, without consulting anyone with property contiguous to, or bordering on, the golf course. According to my research, none of the property owners in the zone requested such rezoning.
There is nothing wrong with changing the zone to residential, if the required research is adequately carried out. Leggatt’s Point is supplied by a tiny water-source whose aquifers provide barely enough water to support most of the dwellings in summer. As new residences are built upstream, the number of houses downstream being provided by that tiny water-source, would decrease, resulting in more water shortages for longer periods. By tampering with nature, we risk experiencing serious consequences for decades to come.
The town council received numerous letters, technical briefs, and emails on the current situation prior to Le Plan et Règlement d’Urbanisme coming into force. We were advised in no uncertain terms at the municipality: “We are not responsible for your water problems”. Depending on which Government ministry or department they were thinking of, municipalities are often responsible for the water problems of their citizens.
However, we are, in part, a cause of that problem. We don’t go to the monthly council or borough meetings. We pay our municipal taxes without mentioning a word on our problems, hopes or needs. We use the municipal office as a depot-box to accumulate our tax dollars. The result is obvious. Bringing our ideas, comments and constructive criticisms on current and important files to their attention, becomes difficult, if not impossible.
The Plan et Règlement d’Urbanisme 2008 goes a long way towards creating the Metis of tomorrow, the Metis we’ve always known and cherished. Normally, a municipality evolves while respecting the beauty of the place, by safeguarding its environment, its history and the well-being of its citizens.
As the late John F. Kennedy said, all those many years ago: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” It still holds true, even today.
Gilbert R. Bossé, a concerned citizen of Métis-sur-Mer.
