The Beach is on private property, as are the trails leading to this popular destination 50 minutes from Montreal.
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This text is a translation of a CTV News article.
The city made the announcement Friday.
“It’s a disappointment for many families since the trails were closed on March 11,” lamented Chloé Hutchison, Mayor of Hudson.
The private land where the beach is located belongs to a developer. Concrete blocks were put in place and signage was installed to prevent people from entering.
“I think this is a good wake-up call for the city to take responsibility and make sure people respect private property,” Hutchison said.
There has been talk of development near Sandy Beach for decades. A large part of the land belongs to the company Nicanco Holdings and, recently, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment withdrew a permit for the developer to fill in part of the land.
The city said purchasing the private portion of the beach to make it public would be an expensive option.
“But the reality is that we have so much work in terms of infrastructure deficit, maintenance of public assets, roads, [et] buildings, that we can’t just put this aside for 20 years because we want to buy all the space,” said Ms. Hutchison.
The city said it wants to add a trail on public property to the beach, but that would involve crossing wetlands and complying with environmental regulations.
CTV News attempted to reach Nicanco Holdings but did not receive a response.
The mayor affirmed that she was in favor of the development of the area, provided that it was done with respect.
