The city of Pointe-Claire is preparing to take legal action against the owner of a new single-family home in a designated heritage neighbourhood, claiming the project is taking too long to be completed.
Council recently mandated the Bélanger Sauvé law firm to institute proceedings in order to enforce planning and development bylaws regarding the property at 17 De Breslay Ave., which is just west of the Beaconsfield Golf Club in Pointe-Claire Village.
“The problem is this is a house where the work started probably more than two years ago,” city clerk Jean-Denis Jacob said, adding that in accordance with the city’s site planning/architectural integration bylaw, construction projects must be completed within about a year of a building permit being issued. “The works are dragging and dragging and we want these works to be completed.”
Jacob said the city is hoping the courts will force the owners of the property to complete the project based on plans approved by the city in an acceptable time frame; otherwise, the city could then complete the work and bill them for costs.
If the owners want to change parts of the plans that were originally submitted, they would need to seek the city’s approval once again, he added.
A preliminary court date hasn’t yet been set.
In March 2013, city council approved building plans submitted for 17 De Breslay Ave. that had been reviewed by the planning advisory committee. Some of the conditions set by the city include that the cedar shingles be pre-painted in-factory “green grass,” that the window accents and outlines be painted a “softer” yellow than was submitted and that landscaping work should be completed during the spring of 2013.
It was noted in the council meeting minutes that the project falls within an architectural integration program applicable to buildings of heritage interest and to Pointe-Claire’s older sectors.
Meanwhile, the city also approved architectural plans for a new house on the same property in 2010.
Richard Welsh, who co-owns the property, told The Gazette last Friday that he is surprised to hear council mandated lawyers since he did not hear anything about it from the city. He added he is continuing to work on the home and expects to be able to move in within a couple of months.
Welsh acknowledged there have been some delays, adding it has been an arduous process getting the plans approved.
“I’m doing the entire place myself,” he said. “We’re doing everything right from the foundation to the doors and windows and flooring. It’s not your typical off-the-shelf Réno-Dépôt construction,” he said.
“Everything is traditional as much as possible in terms of materials and techniques,” he continued, adding wooden shingles are being used on the facade of the house.
The former home on the site was beyond repair and was demolished about three years ago in favour of erecting a new one, Welsh said.
© 2014 Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.