The Editor,
In March 2023, Chelsea’s municipal council asked the MRC des Collines to change the recreational zoning of the Meredith Lot (ML) to residential-consolidated. The zoning change would allow residential constructions in a 34-acre mature forest located to the north of the lot. The density and type of housing would change from one recreational building per 4.6 acres to a density of one residential home to an acre, thus allowing the construction of about 20 single-residences in the forests.
Friends of the Meredith Forest (FMF) is opposed to the zoning change. It believes there is a solution for ML that could meet the municipality’s needs, the residents’ conservation concerns and the vendor’s financial interests by putting the Meredith Forest in long-term conservation under a land trust. Private, provincial and federal grants are available to support such environmental projects. FMF believes that with the experience and guidance of Action Chelsea for Respect of the Environment (ACRE) and the will of the residents and the municipality, we will be able to preserve the Meredith Forest and allow nature to reforest the quarry section so that the entire ML becomes one of Chelsea’s social, recreational and environmental achievements.
Jacques Michaud
Chelsea, QC