Earlier this week, the municipality described this bylaw as a new permitting system. It regulates the short-term rental of primary residences, which are permitted nationwide from March 25 under a new state law, and secondary residences, which remain limited to 17 tourist and commercial areas.

However, the new regulation is too permissive, says Benoît G. Bourgon, lawyer and founding member of the Vigilance Lac-Brome group. As reported in The Voice of the East, he addressed an appeal to the community. This represents a asks the Superior Court to intervene and set aside the settlement he explains.

The problem is that it’s not a zoning order, it’s an administrative regulation that basically just asks for information. So the person who wants to offer their apartment for rent only has to provide the information and the official who receives this information has no power to refuse to issue the certificate.he says.

The new statute also doesn’t set any limits for landlords, he adds.

We want the rental of second homes to be very strictly limited to certain areas and that restrictions must also apply within these areas. I’ll give you a very simple example. […] With Regulation 599-4 attacking, we can have 15, 20 people [locataires]You can park six cars in front of the main or secondary residence, there is no limit, there is no parameterregrets Benoît G. Bourgon.

” THE [17] Areas that have been identified, that’s reasonable, but within those areas, excuse the expression, it’s a free for all. […] We stay in a village. We wish to preserve the peaceful, idyllic character of the town of Lac-Brome. »

You cloaked the rules

The citizen believes that the new statute represents a way Planning to evade law enforcementhence his persecution.

They camouflaged the ordinance into an administrative regulation that is not subject to a referendum […]. So we’re asking the Superior Court to set aside the settlementhe is arguing.

All the information we had from the city about the advisory committee that had been put in place led us to believe that they would proceed with a building code bylaw and then pass it in sufficient time to allow citizens who wished to do so property by property. But they decided at the last minute to proceed with an administrative settlementhe adds.

Remember that last July the municipality abandoned the idea of ​​holding a referendum under another proposed statute that would have allowed Airbnb-type rentals throughout the Lac-Brome area. Many citizens opposed this regulation, which, however, imposed more limits on landlords.

The City of Lac-Brome declined Radio-Canada’s interview request. However, in an email, community worker Me Owen Falquero says he did well received the suit. It is in the hands of our legal advisers. We will follow up accordingly in due course..