Beaconsfield mayor Georges Bourelle was before a Quebec Superior Court judge Thursday afternoon testifying in a dispute concerning the Angell Woods green space.
His city is being sued by one of the land owners.
Yale Properties claims that the city is abusing its power by intentionally maintaining an interim by-law that prohibits development.
The company said that Beaconsfield decided to delay coming up with an urban plan for the land, stopping the company from going ahead with its own.
Mayor Bourelle refutes that claim, saying that he is open to allowing limited development of the space near Elm Street.
“I don’t see any problem, but it has to respect, it has to protect, and it has to integrate the wetlands, greenspaces, and ecosystems into the development,” the mayor said.
For Yale Properties though, that’s not good enough.
The developer wants to build on 60 per cent of its land while preserving the rest for the green space, something the plaintiff is trying to achieve through its lawsuit.
“There’s 40 per cent for ecological purposes, there’s 20 per cent for roads, and then only 40 per cent to be developed,” said Alfred Belisle, the plaintiff’s lawyer.
For now, no development can go forward while the case is before the courts.
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