A citizen who needed a Transformation permit in order to renovate the balconies of her property complained that citizens did not have access to sufficient information on the requirements and standards applied by the borough’s permits office and that these requirements and standards were not clear enough.
Following the analysis of her initial request, a municipal architect had, indeed, informed this citizen that the new balconies she was planning to install could not be approved because they did not recapture the shape and appearance of the existing balconies. As a result, the citizen had to pay additional fees to have her initial project modified before the permit could be granted.
Her property is located in a significant area, as defined in the Règlement d’urbanisme de l’arrondissement Rosemont – Petite-Patrie which contains various rules aiming at preserving the architectural characteristics and patrimonial value of the designated areas as well as of the buildings located therein. Under the said By-Law, therefore, all the elements being replaced on a building located in a significant area must preserve the original shape and appearance of the old ones.
It is fitting to underline that each building located in a significant area may hold architectural characteristics and patrimonial value of its own. Few people, therefore, with the exception of historians and patrimonial architecture specialists, possess the required knowledge to evaluate the architectural and patrimonial value of Plans and Estimates attached to a citizen’s request for a permit. Moreover, it would be almost impossible to specify, in writing, all of the patrimonial aspects likely to be considered, when studying such a request.
Notwithstanding this, the borough undertook to add information on its website on some aspects of the applicable regulations, namely, in regards to architectural integration and implementation plans and to the requirements regarding preservation of the architectural patrimony.
The borough’s website has since been modified accordingly. Although the relevant information cannot be detailed exhaustively, the additional information should enable citizens planning to ask for a Transformation permit to better understand the requirements they will have to satisfy.
