Community needs to expand borders for growth, says Mayor

There was a significant decline last year in the number of building permits in the Town of Ste. Anne, and Mayor Yvan St. Vincent says that was expected. 

The 2022 report shows building permits dropped by 20 from the previous year, and the dollar value fell by more than $12.5 Million. 

“Most of our subdivisions were completed and then new subdivisions were only being finalized at the end of last year, middle of last year,” he explains. “So, we actually had already anticipated that happening, and budgeted accordingly.” 

In 2022, there were 49 building permits valued at a total of $4,602,635. The previous year logged 69 permits for a total of $17,024,262. 

“Our land is filled up quite honestly, with development, and we are now working on the boundary realignment to expand the town borders.” 

St. Vincent says changing the boundaries requires a lot of information and consideration. He expects this process could take some time. 

“We’re just exploring all options at this point because, as we've started this round of developments, we know we're quite limited after these are complete.” 

He says it could take approximately 10 years for the current developments to be finished. 

“But these things (boundary changes) take a lot of time to map out. So, that's where we're trying to think further ahead.” 

St. Vincent says this is an exciting time to be on council, helping the community grow in a balanced manner. He looks forward to seeing further growth in all areas, especially when it comes to the business community. 

“Our Community Development Corporation, our CDC, has finally got off the ground in the sense that we have some residents who have volunteered to be on that board,” he reports. “And they are very excited to join that board which is headed by councillor Einarson.” 

He says they are very excited to see what kind of employment and industry opportunities that brings to the town, now having a strong working group in that area.