(Quebec) The conflict between promoters of the GéoLAGON project and many elected officials in Charlevoix took an unusual turn in recent days when a large landowner in the region decided to close a very popular hiking trail in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François to express displeasure.
Posted at 5:00 am
“I’m not a fighter. But eventually they touch me in my wallet, then I have the money to follow and I know the Putin,” says Vital Lévesque on the phone.
Mr. Lévesque sold the land to use it for GéoLAGON, this project that envisages 120,000 square meters of short-term rentals like Airbnb.
IMAGE SUPPLIED BY LOUIS MASSICOTTE
An image of the hotel village concept developed by project promoter GéoLAGON
The MRC de Charlevoix, which has serious reservations about the project, passed a resolution on February 8 that essentially blocked large-scale housing projects in forested areas for 90 days. The elected officials said they wanted to take the time to consult with citizens. They passed a second last week to clarify the first.
“It’s a targeted, very, very targeted zoning,” plagues Vital Lévesque, who believes the decisions are aimed squarely at the GeoLAGON project.
The man explains that he sold 13 million square meters to the promoters but only received a down payment. He is afraid that the transaction will fail.
He also fears that the value of the roughly 7 million square meters of land in the forest zone he left behind in Petite-Rivière will melt like snow in the sun.
The small local elite, the hoteliers of Baie-Saint-Paul, are against it [le GéoLAGON]. Everyone fights for their cake, you know?
Vital Lévesque, who sold the land to use it for the GéoLAGON
A closed path
This retired lawyer has therefore decided to send a message: he will close the Gabrielle Roy footpath that runs through his land in Petite-Rivière. The owner has been letting hikers through for 15 years.
“There is a driving ban. We will put up a prohibition poster. It’s the only way I can be heard, otherwise it’s an injunction,” notes Mr Lévesque.
The man isn’t having his first flash of inspiration. His decision to ban the passage of snowmobiles on one of his estates in Saint-Siméon, still in Charlevoix, was challenged in court. He won against the MRC and the government in the Supreme Court, but the state took the case to the Court of Appeal.
“In Saint-Siméon, like in the 14-18 war, I made trenches with mechanical shovels. I showed them,” he says. Things promise to get trickier in Petite-Rivière: a simple sign warning of the road being closed is put up.
MRC “disappointed”
This umpteenth twist in the GéoLAGON affair was received with caution at City Hall. The mayor of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, who supports the project, refused to speak to us.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Jean-Guy Bouchard, Mayor of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François
“We let go. We agreed not to do an interview,” said Jean-Guy Bouchard. “For the project sponsor, the project is still on the table. »
Trail users said they were disappointed with Mr Lévesque’s decision. “I find it a bit ordinary. Because he disagrees with a political decision, he punishes the entire tourism community of the industry. I don’t think that’s right,” says Guillaume Néron, founding member of the Affluent cooperative, which offers a café and accommodation near the Gabrielle Roy trail.
Mr Néron believes that this demonstrates the urgency of launching a reflection on the management of pedestrian walkways on private property. “It happens everywhere. We’re starting to see it in Charlevoix, but it’s been a long time in Estrie, he says. I call on the political institutions not to give in to this pressure. »
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Pierre Tremblay, Mayor of Les Éboulements and Prefect of the MRC de Charlevoix
The MRC de Charlevoix prefect says he is “disappointed” with the decision to close the trail. “But of course it’s private land, there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Pierre Tremblay, mayor of Les Éboulements.
Regarding the decisions of the MRC limiting the construction of housing complexes in the forest zone to 90 days, he points out that they could be extended in order to organize a public consultation.
“The two resolutions were not specifically aimed at the GeoLAGON,” assures the prefect. “We have already considered revising the development plan to try to control the impact of projects like GéoLAGON, but not this one in particular. He’s the one who caused the spark. »
Many elected officials and citizens of Charlevoix have expressed significant reservations about the project in recent months. “Do we need such a project that has nothing to do with Charlevoix, with what Charlevoix is, its nature, its landscapes, its river, its lakes, its parks? asked the mayor of Saint-Urbain, Claudette Simard.