A group called Friends of Meadowbrook plan to attend the Montreal city council meeting Wednesday to criticize the city's lack of response to a controversial golf course.
The nine-hole Meadowbrook Golf Club sits on 57 hectares of land – with half in Cote-St-Luc zoned as a green space, and half in Lachine side zoned for development.
Groupe Pacific bought the land for $3 million in 2007, with a plan to build a 1500-unit condo project.
"Essentially, it is the only site in all of greater southwestern Montreal that is easy to naturalize and turn into an ecological park for the community," said Patrick Asch from Friends of Meadowbrook.
Last June, an environmental commission recommended changing the re-zoning the entire course to protect the land from development.
Almost a year later, Montreal's executive committee has yet to reply to the recommendation.
Lachine borough councillor Bernard Blanchet said it will make a decision when there are firm plans for a project.
"There are a lot of projects that were discussed in Lachine haven't gone through," said Blanchet.
A spokesperson for Groupe Pacific said the project is in the works.
"Right now we own a golf course that serves very few people in the summertime, which is not as long as we wish it was, and we believe that we can give back to the community a lot more than we are perceived as taking away," said Suzanne Deschamps, vice president of development and legal affairs.
Friends of Meadowbrook want the city of Montreal to buy the land and protect it.
"It's sad to see that we have such potential here and it's not being put forward as something that would be excellent for the community," said Asch.
Groupe Pacific said it doesn't intend to sell.
But, says Cote. St Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather, the group isn't giving up.
"At a certain price, everybody sells," he said. "And the question is: what is that price?"
