Azilda residents made it loud and clear during a public meeting at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre that they don’t want housing built on what is currently green space to the north of the centre.
“This is a terrible idea,” area resident Mike Dionne told city officials during Wednesday night’s meeting, distilling the overall sentiment expressed by the approximately 100 residents who showed up to show their opposition to the project.
“I’m willing to bet the heavy majority, if not all of us, are totally against this,” he said, answered by loud cheering from the crowd.
Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin spoke up later on in the meeting to throw her support behind residents.
“I will do everything I can to kill this,” she said, also pledging to do what she can to get the land in question zoned as park space instead of the residential zoning proposed.
At issue is a municipal effort to get affordable housing built on 4.65 hectares of land at the northern end of the Lionel E.. Lalonde property.
“Affordable housing,” city Planning Services director Kris Longston explained, is 80 per cent of average market rent, and the expectation would be that 20 to 30 per cent of units would be classified as affordable for at least 20 years.
The lands are part of a municipal land banking effort to get municipally owned properties shovel-ready for affordable housing projects to help chip away at the city’s housing shortfall, which Longston described as currently at least 600 units shy of what is currently needed.
In addition to this, he said, “to keep up with population growth we’re going to need to add another 130 units per year for the next 30 years.”
The housing shortfall has resulted in a vacancy rate that has hovered around the one-per-cent mark in recent years, whereas Longston said around five per cent is considered healthy.
During Wednesday’s meeting, city staff presented a conceptual drawing of what a housing project on the property might consist of.
The drawing included five four-storey residential buildings with 40 units apiece.
“Whether the final project is in terms of what you see there, that remains to be seen … but that’s an example of what the most amount of density could look like on that site,” Longston said, later clarifying that a private company, not the city, would build and own the development.
If successful, the lands would be declared surplus by the city, rezoned and sold off.
A key point of contention among area residents is that the housing development would be built on what’s currently greenspace, which has well-used sports fields and a circular walking track.
The proposal would retain the sports fields, city Leisure Services director Jeff Pafford told Sudbury.com, but reconfigure them to align them south of the development to help free up land.
“They’re the same fields, they’re just reoriented,” he said.
The circular track would be done away with in favour of a winding public path through the property, though Pafford clarified that the development would result in a net loss of city-owned greenspace which is currently available to the community.
Although the city determined that there is adequate water and sewer infrastructure to service the proposed development and is in proximity to area services and GOVA Transit access, area residents argued against these points, saying the site is not suitable for additional residents.
A prevailing theme throughout Wednesday night’s meeting was that area residents don’t want more people in the community and that they want Azilda to remain a small town.
“This is a bedroom community, always has been” area resident Carole Boileau said, adding that there aren’t many jobs for people in the community.
“Azilda isn’t made for that many people. There are no resources to add that many families in that small area, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Area resident Anthony Duong said that although he recognizes that there’s a housing crisis, “Azilda is not the place” for this project.
He also expressed particular concern about including affordable housing, which he said would bring increased calls for emergency services and discarded needles.
When it comes to emergency responders, he said, “You say affordable housing, we see PTSD.”
Affordable housing units should go in downtown Sudbury, he said, where there are services available.
A number of residents questioned whether the proposal is a done deal already, with some arguing that the city had already made up its mind to approve the housing development.
Not only does the city not have a developer lined up for the project, Longston said, but city council members will still need to vote on whether to declare the land surplus and whether to rezone it. The lands would remain unaffected until such time as a developer takes them over.
City Building Services director and chief building official Guido Mazza told the crowd that the project is “a number of years down the road.”
In May 2024, city council members voted to greenlight the project in principle only, directing staff to proceed with the investigation and public consultation process which Wednesday night’s meeting was part of.
There will be two rounds of public hearings, offering area residents further opportunity to weigh in on the proposal, and city communications and engagement advisor Amy Tippin told Sudbury.com that an Over to You page would be set up by to allow residents additional opportunity to weigh in. That page will go live on May 12.
Alongside Fortin, Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée, Ward 3 Coun. Michel Brabant, Ward 10 Coun. (and planning committee chair) Fern Comier and Mayor Paul Lefebvre attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Lefebvre offered closing remarks during the meeting, noting that a seniors non-profit housing complex in Coniston was a resounding success and that they’re looking to replicate the project elsewhere in Greater Sudbury.
Lefebvre also clarified that because the Azilda property has an existing recreational amenity which area residents want to retain, there are more considerations at play with this project.
“This is not done,” Lefebvre said. “This is a concept, an idea we wanted to share with the community to hear from you and understand your concerns to see if we can adjust or not.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.