Marc Demers announced the process Laval will use to set its flood zones at the last council meeting on November 3.<\/p>\n
In the audience were several people representing 700 people whose homes lie within the official flood plain if changes aren\u2019t made.<\/p>\n
They waited four hours to hear about more meetings. Councillors will deposit the new law at a special council meeting on November 20. A public consultation will take place December 15. The city will approve the new law on December 18.<\/p>\n
Many left furious.<\/p>\n
\u00a0We question the consultative aspect of the consultation meeting being held on December 15 given the delay of only three days before the new law gets final ratification on December 18,\u201d says their blog, Comit\u00e9 des citoyens de Laval Ouest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
After the law gets ratified by the city, Quebec\u2019s environment minister will have another two months to make comments or ask for changes. If the province accepts Laval\u2019s version of the new flood zone, it could go into effect as soon as March.<\/p>\n
Note: This article appeared on page 9 of the Laval edition of The Suburban yesterday.<\/p>\n
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July 14, 2014: No new flood zone regulations yet<\/h1>\n
Despite their wishes, citizens\u2019 hopes for new flood zones in Laval will not happen before next spring.<\/p>\n
We have no authority to implement anything about Quebec\u2019s flood zones; that rests with Quebec\u201d said Fran\u00e7ois Brochu, the public relations director of Mayor Marc Demers\u2019 cabinet. \u201cOur consultant says that the information that he\u2019s collected so far indicates a very positive response, but we have no authority to implement anything yet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The consultant Brochu is referring to is Pierre Dupuis, who works for WSP Canada Inc. Laval\u2019s executive committee provided WSP Canada Inc. a contract to re-evalute the water levels in lots 1 to 5 at their meeting on April 28, 2014. Brochu says the contract was worth $75,000.<\/p>\n
Dupuis\u2019 study isn\u2019t quite finished, but he should complete his work soon. After that, the city has to change their regulations and submit them to Quebec for approval.<\/p>\n
We can only begin implementing changes after we modify our regulations properly and have them approved by Quebec,\u201d said Brochu. \u201cThe province will then have 60 days to give an opinion.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The news is a blow for citizens who had been hoping to split land, build swimming pools and construct new buildings this summer.<\/p>\n
They told us that they would have big news for us and that we would know on July 14,\u201d said a citizen, who asked not to be named. \u201cAnyone who wants to sell right now is out of luck. People are using the flood zone rules to bargain for lower prices on homes. The bank and the SHL are checking for those cases and they don\u2019t accept them now.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s for these citizens that we are working now,\u201d said Brochu. \u201cLast autumn, the Province of Quebec told us that \u2018if you don\u2019t change your zones to match our data, we\u2019ll change them for you.\u2019 We are doing it under pressure from the Minister of Environment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
July 10: Laval to announce flood zone rules July 14<\/h1>\n
Laval\u2019s new city council will announce changes to the flood plain rules at their July 14 meeting. Residents living in Laval-Ouest hope that their needs will be taken into consideration this time.<\/p>\n
What we know from the city councillors is that they don\u2019t know what the rules are going to be because the legal department is preparing them,\u201d said a Laval-Ouest resident who doesn\u2019t want his name in the paper. \u201cThey checked what happened in other cities and they\u2019re trying to apply those rules.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n