One of the challenges of Walk the Region, the 3-day journey across Montreal’s Metropolitan Region, has been finding places to spend the night that would not require too stray too far from our route.
Parc Mont-Laval was once among the top ten RV campsites in North America until a private developer bought it in 2009, shut down the campsite, and got it rezoned for residential development. But while the park has been shut down, the new development is not yet in the works, and we thought it would be a perfect place to surreptitiously pitch our tents as we traversed Laval by foot.
But we quickly scratched that idea during an advance scouting mission last weekend. Within literally 20 seconds of parking in front of the site on a Sunday afternoon, we were approached (practically run over) by a guy in an excavator who immediately began yelling at us, asking what we were doing, and telling us to get off the site immediately. He then sded off into the overgrown site and began scooping up boulders.
We fled across the street and parked in front of a suburban home to collect our wits. A little further down the road, I spotted a sign, that emphasized that trespassers on this “extremely dangerous private property” would have no legal recourse, under any circumstances, or any consideration, never ever… even if, say, one’s knees were to be run over by an excavator…
Perhaps some of the excessive security is due to the controversy surrounding the zoning change last year. Some RVs were evicted after occupying the site for 20 years. The city’s tourism bureau also defended the value of the site as a Laval tourist attraction. However, it seems that most locals supported the project. However, a neighbour stopped to chat about how the developer was now talking about building 16-story condo buildings on the site, which he seemed to find unsettling.
But given reception we got during the scouting mission, it looks like we need a plan B…
5 comments
Can’t they, like, just built it here downtown – we have space!
Plan B was camping in the backyard of an aquaintance who lives here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanahmontreal/5894278451/in/photostream
As far as I know, the sign is bullshit or many of the outdoor sports organizations in Quebec are lying: The Fédération québécoise de la montagne et de l’escalade (FQME) tells landowners that if they don’t let the FQME charge for access then climbers or the family of climbers can sue them for negligence.
But if they let the FQME control access then they’re offered liability insurance, because there’s no way to be absolved of the responsibility as a landowner.
The sign’s wording does seem like extreme overreach designed to keep any anti-highrise protesting off the site. Civil and criminal law DOES still apply on private property, doesn’t it? i.e., if someone were to charge you with an excavator, it would still constitute assault with a deadly weapon.
As a resident of the area, I would like to clarify a few points in your blog. The developer, Sylvain Chartrand of Maisons Charplexe, bought the property of Mont Laval in 2009. Local residents did not know that the property was for sale. The zoning of the area is recreo-commercial and not residential. We were all vey happy to have the camping there, it was one of the few ‘green’ areas left! There have been several votes against the zoning change by residents many of which were very heated at town hall.
Last week the developer changed his sign to building condos and penthouses… And on the same day they started digging a huge hole, I assume for a foundation. How could it be? There had not been another vote at town hall… An article in today’s “courier laval” (July 16,2011) brought light to the issue… The developer is proceeding to work on his project WITHOUT a permit from the city. He is moving forward with his residential development even though the zoning is not for homes nor high rises. So much for democracy.
All this to say I am sorry you got kicked off the site, I wish it was still a campground for all to enjoy
Karen