The City of Terrebonne intends to acquire the old Boisé golf course at a cost of $ 27 million in order to transform it into a natural park. An agreement with the owner of the premises puts an end to the pursuit that he had brought against the city and the metropolitan community of Montreal (CMM).
Covering an area of 71 hectares, the former golf course had ceased its activities in 2016, and since then, the city has been trying to acquire it. Golf Le Boisé was also one of the six golf courses protected by an interim control regulations (RCI) approved by CMM cities in June 2022. This measure, which aimed to place these land at the shelter of real estate development, had earned the CMM and the cities concerned of prosecution before the courts totaling 508 million.
In November 2022, the CMM and the City of Terrebonne had filed an offer of purchase of $ 11 million for the former golf course, offers that the owner, buildings of the Moulins inc., Had refused, believing that the value of the land reached 29 million. The owner finally filed a pursuit of 98 million against the city and the CMM for disguised expropriation.
A “major turning point”
Terrebonne ended up agreeing with the owner. The city mayor, Mathieu Traversy, therefore announced Tuesday afternoon the conclusion of an agreement in principle, which was described as “major turning point in the preservation of natural areas”. This agreement is conditional to the approval of a loan regulations of 15 million by the municipality and the granting of a subsidy of 12 million granted by the CMM within the framework of the program of the Green and Blue frame, but according to the mayor, these are “formalities”.
“It follows a decade of saga around the acquisition or not of the Golf Le Boisé. I think this is excellent news for the city of Terrebonne, but also for Quebec cities, because we are not the only ones in this situation, who wish to reclaim golf courses that have been abandoned or abandoned in recent years. There are many prosecution in court and discussions between owners and municipalities, “said the mayor Traversy during a telephone interview.
The site will be transformed into a natural park, but a development plan must first be developed for the entire site.
-“The vision of the city of Terrebonne is to ensure a balance between the protection of fauna and flora and a recreational offer respectful of the natural environment, such as a covered and refrigerated skating rink as well as trails,” underlines the city.
A notice of motion for the loan regulations will be filed Tuesday evening at the Terrebonne Municipal Council and a request for financial assistance will be submitted to the CMM. The signature for the acquisition of the land should follow during the summer.
However, this acquisition does not pay for disputes in the case of other golf courses. In the wake of the adoption of the RCI in 2022, the CMM and the cities of Rosemère, Candiac, Mascouche and Terrebonne had been the target of prosecution before the courts.
In 2024, to better protect itself from judicial disputes, the CMM had relaxed its regulations so as to allow real estate construction on 30 % of the area of golf courses located on its territory following a judgment of the Superior Court in the file of the Châteauguay-Léry forest corridor.
However, the new RCI applies to ten golf courses, instead of six, with the addition of two Saint-Lambert plots which will be 100 %protected. Chambly’s municipal golf course has been withdrawn from the regulations, taking into account the agreement concluded with the owner who enabled the city of Chambly to acquire 70 % of the area of the land.
The ten golf courses total an area of 284 hectares. Recall that the CMM aims at the conservation of 30 % of its territory by 2030.
