Residents concerned over Mansfield zoning modification

Brett Thoms
Mansfield-et-Pontfract December 3, 2022

During Nov. 23 public MRC meeting, a group of residents of Mansfield-et-Pontefract, as well as members of the municipal council from Mansfield-et-Pontefract filled the usually empty public seating at the MRC’s public meeting over a vote to approve a modification of zoning for certin lots which will allow for the construction of multiple dwellings in in a lot without subdividing it into multiple lots.
Concerned residents attended the meeting to ask questions to Mansfield’s Mayor Sandra Armstrong and the Council of Mayors concerning its approval at both the municipality and MRC level, and saw some tense exchanges between the mayor and the residents. However ultimately the modification was approved unanimously by the Council of Mayors, affirming the unanimous support it received from Mansfield’s council.
The bylaw modification that allows the construction of multiple dwellings concerns some residents as it potentially clears the way for the construction of a proposed tourism business called Gorges de la Coulonge resorts by the companies Westboro Mortgage Investment Corp and Great Blue Resorts.
The local critics say they fear the resort could see between 400-800 dwellings built on one lot, which they base on promotional material for the proposed site on the modified lot, which would be occupied seasonally.
“We’re concerned because of the density,” said Douglas Smith, one of the residents who lives near the modified area. “You’re putting the equivalent of almost the population of Mansfield in a field for six months of the year. And when we learned later who was doing it, it confirmed our suspicions about what kind of development it would be. We looked into that as far as how these were managed. And that’s the developments that are managed by Great Blue Resorts. And when we looked at some of the things going on in different locations in Ontario, read the TripAdvisor reviews and the Google reviews. There were some serious concerns that came to light. Issues with sewage, overflowing holding tanks, poor management facilities that were not managed properly, arguments with the tenants and the owners and the managers, and even to the point where there’s fights occurring and had called the police and on numerous occasions. That’s a bit of a nightmare when you think about that being in your neighbourhood.”
Smith and others fear the site could affect the wells in the area, the health of the Coulonge River and put stress on local infrastructure, among other concerns.
However the municipality cautioned that while they are supportive of the development this kind of resort would bring, as it already is located in zone allocated for tourism, critics are jumping the gun, as the future of the project is still very much in-doubt, as it hinges on support from the Quebec Ministry of the Environment.
“We’re not sure if there’s a project coming or not,” said Éric Rochon, general manager of the municipality. “[The company who owns the lot] is working on something, but there’s a lot of red tape they have to go through.”

Both the mayor and the general manager believe that using examples of problems with companies in Ontario resorts is wrong, as the Quebec Ministry of Environment is far more strict.
“You see, the Ontario environment [ministry] and Quebec environment [ministry] are two different things,” said Rouchon. “Just look at the Ottawa River. Look what’s being done on the Ontario side, and look at how it gets on that Quebec side. That’s a perfect comparison. There’s a lot on the Ontario side, right up to the water, but you see that it’s not the same game on the Quebec side. Our government is pretty tough on all kinds of development.”
Critics like Smith and others fear that the process is already in motion and these kinds of projects represent a negative thing for the area.
“This is over-development,” said Smith. “While I certainly can see the need for development, this could leave the area with irreparable consequences.”
The municipality does not agree with this sentiment and sees the potential project as a benefit to the area.
“This is not something that people are going to live there 12 months of the year,” said Rouchon. “It’s normal for a municipality to try to grow and bring better services, economic development and bring more people to our towns. It’s going to help our businesses and everyone,” said Rouchon.
Mayor Armstrong also added that this kind of development, should it proceed, would benefit not only her municipality but the entire region.
“We are the largest municipality of the MRC of Pontiac, so we’re growing and this is good not only for our municipality but for the whole Pontiac,” said Armstrong.
The critics of the modifcation tried to organize a referendum to stop the development, however that failed.
According to a timeline provided by Smith, residents learned about the impending modification in September, and had to present 12 signatures of people who lived in the affected zone by Sept. 30. The group managed to present 23 by Sept 29. The next stage of the process called for 99 signatures the bylaw included other zones from around the municipality.
The registry where these signatures could be signed was only open on one day Wednesday, October 26 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mansfield municipal office. The announcement was released on Oct. 19 and only published in the Pontiac Journal. A radio interview was also conducted on CHIP FM.
Residents opposing the modification requested an extension on the deadline required to gather the 99 signatures but were denied. The group managed to bring in 34 signatures on Oct. 26, along with 20 proxies, which were rejected, leaving the opposition to the changes short of 99 required signatures.
“This stage of the process seemed ‘designed to fail’ as one property owner stated,” wrote Smith in an email describing the process from their perspective.
Armstrong said that the process was transparent and everything was done according to the law.
“When they don’t get the 99 signatures, we take that as if it’s approved,” said Armstrong.
As of now, residents opposing the site say they will follow up with the Quebec Ministry of Environment and also continue to push the municipality to take a more active role in regulating the proposed site through building regulations.
However, Armstrong and Rouchon say that any further decisions are the responsibility of the Quebec Ministry of Environment.
“Our building inspector will be going around and checking, we’ll be controlling that too in a way. But the real laws that are written will be from the Ministry of Environment,” said Armstrong. “We will be watching closely.”
The actual existence of the site still could be four to five years as the various approvals from the ministry are required before any construction begins but as now there appears to be no municipal barriers to the site.