Construction contractors criticize the City of Trois-Rivières for putting a spoke in their wheels by multiplying the administrative mazes for them.
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These entrepreneurs, who spoke to TVA Nouvelles on condition of anonymity, have several disputes with the City: “the administrative heaviness and slowness, officials who act by the book, the difficulty of obtaining permits, staff turnover and lack of experience,” they listed.
Entrepreneurs no longer have access to a fast track for managing their projects. They must use the same options as those offered to citizens and arm themselves with patience.
“We invest millions and millions of dollars and we are treated like any citizen wanting to renovate his shed,” lamented an entrepreneur.
The Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) invited the City to form a liaison committee to look for ways to lubricate the machine.
“Urban development is overly regulated. He is on the move. He is very framed. So, it becomes difficult for entrepreneurs to follow the movement and, also, with the modifications to the way of doing things of the City, it is certain that it brings difficulties”, lamented Maxime Rodrigue, director general of the APCHQ, Mauricie-Lanaudière region.
The mayor of Trois-Rivières agrees that the recent adoption of a new urban planning by-law may have complicated things.
“You have to really understand the context,” he said. The overhaul of the urban plan led us to have to tighten certain rules, in particular with regard to the environment, and that, that can seem to be an irritant, ”tempered Jean Lamarche.
A well-established entrepreneur in Trois-Rivières confided that he was overwhelmed to the point where he chose to turn away from his city and, henceforth, to invest in Quebec.
“It’s as if we were told no for the pleasure of being told no,” he denounced.