OCPM Believes Montréal General Hospital Expansion Should be the Last

Montréal, August 26, 2008 – The Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) announces today the publication of its report on the expansion project for the Montréal General Hospital (MUHC). Having given the Office the mandate to hold a consultation on the project, city council also requested that its impact on proposals set forth in the Mount Royal Master Protection and Enhancement Plan be examined, as the draft by-law pertaining to the hospital is, in a way, a first application of the City’s chosen approach to protecting Mount Royal. The commission on the MUHC project was led by André Beauchamp, accompanied by Hélène Morais and Peter Jacobs. The consultation was held in May and June, and sixteen briefs and oral presentations were received.

The three main components of the MUHC project on the site of the Montréal General Hospital are as follows:

• The addition of seven storeys to the building’s main pavilion (Pavilion C), primarily in order to retrofit rooms for patients;
• The construction of a six-level underground parking garage and a new five-storey building in the west yard, which would serve to restructure the emergency and operating rooms;
• The widening of Pavilions A and B on Pine Avenue, to allow the construction of a new nine-storey pavilion to house the Neurological Hospital.

Taking into account only new above-ground surfaces, the proposed expansion involves a net area of 29,896 square metres, a 30.9% increase over the existing net floor area.

At the completion of the consultation and its work, the commission believes that the expansion project for the Montréal General Hospital should be examined in the light of the required strengthening of long-term protection measures for Mount Royal.

The commission is not convinced that such an expansion at the mountain campus is justified. Along with many others, it would have preferred that the future clinical organization of the hospital take place within existing buildings, with no expansion. However, given the advanced state of the project, it understands that these decisions no longer rest in the hands of the City of Montréal, and that the mandate of the Office de consultation publique does not directly cover them.

Furthermore, it notes that if the merits of the Montréal General Hospital project were brought into question during the public consultation, it is because it involves a sizeable expansion at the very heart of the historic and natural borough of Mont-Royal. It is perceived by many of the individuals and organizations consulted as a threat to the natural and cultural heritage of the mountain.

“This expansion project follows other recent development projects. We believe, like many participants at the hearings, that the combined impact of development in recent years has been considerable, that the slopes of Mount Royal are already overcrowded, and that we must question the mountain’s capacity to hold new constructions,” says Office de consultation publique president Louise Roy.

She believes that the Montréal General Hospital expansion project only becomes legitimate and relevant if much stronger guarantees are established to ensure greater protection for Mount Royal in future. In that respect, measures applicable to institutional properties in the Mount Royal Master Protection and Enhancement Plan should be strengthened.

By the same token, the commission finds that the MUHC project is acceptable only if it provides an opportunity to better integrate the hospital into its built environment and the mountain. It believes that the following four additional conditions are essential:

• The MUHC must submit a more complete landscaping plan, incorporating re-naturalization initiatives and maintenance strategies, to promote a better integration of the Montréal General Hospital site into its natural and cultural environment. In addition to existing strategies, the plan must provide for the re-naturalization of areas located on either side of the entrance to the tiered parking facility, and the planting of trees in and around the outdoor parking lot along Pine Avenue.
• Moreover, commitments made by the MUHC under the Heritage Pact must be spelled out, and take the form of contractual agreements with the City of Montréal. Lastly, some portions of the site must be included in the network of natural spaces to be protected by the City.
• The City of Montréal must re-evaluate the visual impact of Pavilion C, to determine under what conditions the increased height might be acceptable, and thereby prevent any increase of the Montréal General’s visual mass in the landscape.
• Beyond the planned expansion, the by-law must be reviewed and tightened to ensure its power to prevent further construction on an already crowded site.
• The number of parking spaces authorized under draft By-law P-08-012 should not exceed 945. Furthermore, in the spirit of the recently released Transportation Plan, the commission supports the efforts of the MUHC in encouraging its staff to use public transportation on a more regular basis.

The commission also adds a few complementary recommendations relating to the architectural treatment of the project, and to the importance of the MUHC’s leaving room for debate, thereby allowing the public to react, as required, on aspects of the project yet to be completed.

The documentation related to the consultation, including the report, is available in electronic format on the Web site of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (www.ocpm.qc.ca) and, in print form, at the offices of the OCPM during regular business hours.

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Luc Doray
Tel.: 514 872-3568
Cell.: 514 977-8365