The Town of Sutton will not go to referendum on the proposed purchase of the Vieux-Verger

At the June 7 council meeting, the municipal council announced that the project to purchase the Vieux-Verger land had been abandoned, as the owners had decided not to pursue the sale process to the Town, as was their right, following the result of the register and the new delays involved. The Town therefore no longer has any reason to launch a referendum vote on a purchase that can no longer be made.

However, Mayor Robert Benoît reiterated the Town’s motivation for the project and its firm commitment to seeing it through.

“Despite the misinformation that circulated around the project we were presenting, we received a lot of favorable support from citizens, organizations and even potential investors,” he commented. “We were ready for a real public debate and a referendum. The choice won’t present itself, but we remain convinced that this is a good project that should increase the supply of affordable housing. That’s why we’re going to do everything in our power to ensure that the project goes ahead.”

The Town’s actions

To ensure that the site develops as much as possible in line with its vision and orientations, the Town has decided to take several actions to protect the Vieux-Verger site from any real estate development that runs counter to the interests at stake:

  • Adoption of an interim control resolution (ICR) preventing, during the transition period, the development of any project on the Vieux-Verger property that will not correspond to the Town’s vision (Resolution number 2023-06-245);
  • Imposition of a reserve for public purposes on land adjacent to Vieux-Verger, on Domaine Mon Louis Str., which is essential for the installation of infrastructures, knowing that the Town is in negotiations with its owner (Resolution number 2023-06-256);
  • Adoption in the near future of a Programme particulier d’urbanisme (PPU) in the Vieux-Verger sector, which will define requirements for detailed land use, housing density, road layout, infrastructure installation (aqueduct, sewers, electricity), parks and community facilities;

The Town remains in close contact with the owners of the Vieux-Verger property, who generally share the council’s orientations and wish to work in concert. As Director General Pascal Smith reminded us, it is now the Municipality’s duty to accompany the promoters of this construction project, as it does for any other project on the territory. 

Listen to the recording of the June 7 council meeting:
Statements by the mayor (at 29:25) and the general manager (at 1:08:59) on the Vieux-Verger project.

Read in the minutes of the June 7 council meeting (in French only):
Resolution 2023-06-255 (page 54) – Decision of the municipal council concerning borrowing by-law number 323 (Vieux-Verger) pursuant to sections 553 or 558 of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities
Resolution 2023-06-245 (page 45) – Interim control resolution concerning housing issues
Resolution 2023-06-256 (page 55) – Imposition of a reserve notice for public purposes on part of lot 4 848 095 of the cadastre of Quebec

Publications