A long-anticipated string of public information sessions kicked off Sunday on a controversial residential project in Pierrefonds-Roxoboro, west of downtown Montreal.
The aim is for Montreal’s Office of Public Consultation (OCPM) to recommend whether the park should be developed or maintained as is.
The proposed 5,500 residence project is expected to be built in a 185-hectare area around the park.
READ MORE: Hundreds protest at Montreal City Hall to save Pierrefonds green space
Environmentalists argue it will ruin the wetlands there.
“I think the public is very concerned about the sheer size of the project,” said Sue Stacho, with Sauvons l’Anse-à-l’Orme.
The borough defended the project as a way to keep working families in Montreal.
READ MORE: Environmentalists warn l-Anse-à-l’Orme eco territory threatened by light rail project
“We’ve always believed that this sector, as it was identified way back, that it was developable,” Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said earlier this month.
“We believe that it can be done responsibly.”
READ MORE: Public consultation announced over controversial l’Anse à l’Orme Nature Park development
The next consultation is slated for April 4 and a decision may not be known until 2018.