Arrondissement du Plateau-Mont-Royal
The citizen co-owns a duplex which has a separate double garage in the backyard. This garage has a garage door and a pedestrian door. The plaintiff has exclusive use of the section with the pedestrian door: he wants to replace it with a garage door in order to park his vehicle inside the garage.
The Borough replies that the new By-law no longer allows the development of parking spaces except underground and under the main building. It denies the requested permit. The OdM investigates:
♦ The Borough does not dispute that this garage and its interior parking space enjoy vested rights.
♦ The Règlement d’urbanisme (article 635) allows the expansion of a derogatory usage up to 100% of the area covered by that usage.
♦ Caselaw and legal doctrine establish clearly that a parking can constitute a principal or an accessory “usage”, depending on the circumstances.
♦ The change requested would not have an adverse impact on the neighbourhood and it is not likely to create a worrisome precedent. This double garage exists and it has been used as a parking space for several years. There is no need to expand its structure.
The OdM RECOMMENDS the issuance of the requested permit, subject to verifications regarding its usage.
The Borough, however, maintains that parking is not a “usage” as defined by its Règlement d’urbanisme, except for commercial parking lots. Therefore, it will not follow through with our RECOMMENDATION.
