In order for land to no longer be part of the agricultural zone, a request must be filed by the MRC concerned with the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Territory of Quebec (CPTAQ). This is the process that the City of Montmagny undertook in 2022 when submitting its request to exclude an area of approximately 24 hectares for the expansion of its industrial park. The area concerned was located south of Highway 20, near the current industrial park.
Towards the end of 2023, the request which had been placed by the MRC of Montmagny was finally refused. The City of Montmagny, however, decided not to abandon the project and to submit a new request with the MRC of Montmagny for a smaller portion of the initial zone. This is the space that Maisons Laprise would need for its pre-built apartment complex project.
A project to counter the housing shortage
Marc Laurin, mayor of Montmagny, mentions that this project is important for its economic value, but also for the positive impact it could have on the housing shortage in Quebec.
On the land covered by the rezoning request, Maisons Laprise would like to establish a center of expertise and technology for modular construction. A large building should be built, but the company will also need a large plot of land for storing modules.
During representations made to the CPTAQ as part of the first rezoning request, Daniel Laprise, president of the Laprise Group, affirmed that he had been working on his project for many years and that he believes he can help the housing crisis, densification in height and the lack of labor in the construction sector. Indeed, while he already builds prefabricated houses, he wants to apply this concept more to the construction of apartment complexes. Modules would be prefabricated by his company and all that would remain would be to assemble them on site, which would be quicker and more economical. The targeted area near the highway and railways would also be ideal for transporting these modules.
Inconceivable to settle elsewhere
Requests to the CPTAQ are submitted by the MRC de Montmagny and the Commission’s evaluation is done at the MRC level. In its decision on the latest rezoning request, the CPTAQ mentions spaces of sufficient size in areas that are not agricultural in other municipalities. “At the scale of the MRC and more precisely in the territory of Cap-Saint-Ignace, Saint-François as well as Bretenières, vacant spaces represent an area greatly greater than the area covered by the request,” we can read.
Mr. Laurin mentions that he understands that these analyzes are carried out on the scale of the MRC, but that it is difficult to imagine the installation of such a project in Saint-Just-de-Bretenières rather than in Montmagny , because the municipality is located high up and far from the highway, which would greatly complicate the transport of the large modules produced by Maisons Laprise. For other municipalities, the land would not have all the services or would be far from the main roads.
The mayor says he is more confident about this new request which has just been submitted by the MRC of Montmagny. He mentions that, as it concerns a project that can have many positive impacts at the provincial level, representations have been made to the offices of some ministers.
However, even if the application is accepted, the Montmagny industrial park will remain full. The City therefore plans to submit new applications in the coming years so that other entrepreneurs can obtain space.
