Information meeting regarding the purchase of Hydro-Québec lots
February 4, 2020
The municipal council unanimously adopted the acquisition of 14 lots from Hydro-Québec for a total amount of $47,426 plus taxes. These lots with a total surface area of 1,893,925.30 m2 are located on the banks of the Gatineau River between Peter's Point Road and the northern border of the municipality's territory.
Approached by Hydro-Québec, the Municipality expressed interest in purchasing lots with the primary goal of providing public access to the Gatineau River. After an in-depth analysis of each lot offered, it was decided to purchase 14 of them.
This initiative will allow us to :
- Provide safe public access to the river and take advantage of its benefits
- Carry out surveys and municipal work when required to ensure the stabilization and adequate drainage of the new community trail
- Respect the ownership of private docks by offering users of the trail public docks
Public information meeting
You are invited to a public information meeting to learn more about the acquisition process and to send us your comments and suggestions.
Date : February 17, 2020
Time : 7 p.m.
Location : Banquet Hall of the Meredith Centre (23, chemin Cecil)
During the meeting, large format plans of the lots acquired by the Municipality will be available to the citizens and a presentation explaining the different selection criteria of the Municipality will be broadcast.
Q&A
Municipal employees analyzed each lot offered by Hydro-Québec on a case-by-case basis and determined which lots met the objective of providing public access to the river while staying within budget. The acquisition will allow the Municipality:
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to plan a future safe public access to the river in order to enjoy its benefits;
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to conduct surveys and other municipal work as required to ensure the proper stabilization and drainage of the new community trail;
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to respect the ownership of private docks
Since the primary objective of the municipal council was to provide public access to the river, it was decided to invest in lots that met these criteria rather than purchase non-operable lots, for example, lots that are landlocked west of the trail, private roads, or lots that are not constructible (ravines, wetlands, lots at risk of landslides).
The municipality has received several questions from residents who have bought a parcel of land along the Gatineau River from Hydro-Québec in the 1970s to 1980s.
Today, however, they realize that these parcels do not appear in the Quebec cadastre, as if the transaction had not taken place or their parcel had disappeared.
In fact, it is possible that these parcels were mistakenly amalgamated with Hydro-Québec lots during the cadastral renovation carried out in the 2000s by the province of Quebec.
Unfortunately, the Municipality is forbidden from recognizing unofficial lots by itself when they do not appear on the Quebec cadastre or to issue construction permits on unofficial lots that do not appear on the Quebec cadastre.
Recourse you have
If you have a deed of sale:
To resolve the situation, we recommend that residents who have a deed of sale contact their notary to verify that the deed of sale formalizing their transaction has indeed been registered in the Land Register of Québec.
Their notary will confirm whether the deed of sale can constitute valid proof that the parcel should appear in the Quebec cadastre and thus that there was an error. Their notary will then explain the procedures to follow to have the Quebec cadastre corrected.
The Municipality will support you in your efforts and deliver any subdivision permit required to fix the error.
Please note, however, that the responsibility of proving that there is an error in the cadastre of Québec, in any case, lies with the residents. If there are any costs related to the procedure, they must be assumed in full by the resident.
If you do not have a deed of sale:
If no deed of sale is registered in the Land Register of Quebec, it will be more difficult for these residents to prove that a transaction took place or to have their parcel of land recognized. It is up to the resident to take the necessary steps with their notary and check whether there are legal options available to them.
The municipality will hold an information session on February 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Meredith Centre. This will be an opportunity to gather your comments and answer your questions.
Maps in large format will be displayed to allow everyone to identify their property and the 14 Hydro-Québec lots to be acquired by the Municipality. Municipal officers will also be on site to help you identify your property.
The Municipality is responsible for the protection of Quebec's waterways and therefore conducts shoreline inspections to ensure that properties in Chelsea comply with municipal and provincial regulations.
If your dock is not in compliance with current regulations, we can help you regulate it once the new policy is in effect. The applicable regulations will be the same, regardless of whether the dock is installed on a lot owned by Hydro-Québec, the municipality or a private landowner. If your dock complies, the purchase of Hydro-Québec submerged lots by the municipality should have no impact on you.
To check whether your dock is compliant, please contact the municipality at permis@chelsea.ca.
If you would like to learn more about current dock regulations, please visit:
The policy will be used to regularize the issue of existing and future docks under the shoreline protection program.
A public consultation on the dock policy will be held in the coming months. The day and exact date of this public consultation has yet to be determined and will be announced on our various platforms.
The municipality is studying this issue as part of its dock policy, but no decision has been made at this time.
A public consultation on the dock policy will be held in the coming months. The day and exact date of this public consultation has yet to be determined and will be announced on our various platforms.
The municipality is considering this issue as part of its dock policy, but no decision has been made at this time.
A public consultation on the dock policy will be held in the coming months. The day and exact date of this public consultation has yet to be determined and will be announced on our various platforms.
In the spring of 2019, Council established a committee to review the dock bylaws and create a new policy to deal with this issue.
The committee's recommendations will be submitted to the Planning and Sustainable Development Advisory Committee and will then be presented to City Council for a decision.
The draft policy and draft by-law will then be subject to public consultation to provide an opportunity for all Chelsea residents to debate the issue and submit their comments.
The exact day and date of the public consultation has yet to be determined but will take place in the coming months and will be announced on our various platforms.
Wetlands are already protected by the Municipality through its municipal by-laws. In fact, the Municipality prohibits any construction within a wetland and within a minimum 30 meters (98 feet) protective strip surrounding it.
Whether the wetland is located on private or public land is of no importance, the by-laws apply in the same way. These regulations are stricter than the provincial regulations of the Ministry of Environment, and Fight Against Climate Change.
