VAUDREUIL-DORION – A body of water behind the Les Floralies du Lac development is at the centre of a brewing controversy between this South Shore city just off the West Island and a developer. The city recently ordered the developer, Ben Wygodny, to stop draining Lac Cherie on the grounds that it was a protected wetlands area that included wildlife. Wygodny says that he bought the area in 1991 with the understanding he could build on it. He has plans to build 100 single-family homes there, and contends that the city’s injunction against him is unjustified.
Residents of the development hope that Lac-Cherie stays where it is. It began as a quarry used during the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway in the late 1950s, and gradually filled up with water and became a popular swimming hole. The residents of the development don’t want Lac-Cherie to be paved over.
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“It should be left alone. It’s part of Vaudreuil,” said Vickie Maurizio, a resident who lives in front of the body of water. “We really feel it should be left alone.”
Central to the debate surrounding the area is how Lac-Cherie is classified in the eyes of the law. Put another way: is it a lake, or is it a quarry? If it’s a lake, Wygodny is limited in what he can do with it even though he owns the land, because it enjoys certain environmental protections. If it’s a quarry, he is less limited in his ability to develop the area. The province of Quebec recently issued a communiqué saying it was a lake with important species of animals in it. Wygodny says it’s a quarry, and is planning to sue over the right to develop it.
But for the residents of Les Floralies du Lac, regardless of what Lac-Cherie is, developing it would pose major issues.
“If we get the 30,000 truckloads of dirt that they’re talking about, said René Rozon, a resident. “Then we will have a problem.”
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