The Royalmount mega-mall project hit another major snag on Friday morning, as Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante stood by the agglomeration council's recommendation that the developer go back to the drawing board.
"We're not saying no, we're saying it's got to be improved," Mayor Plante said.
The Royalmount plans, as they stand, do not have Montrealers' support, according to the commission's findings, which has been holding consultation and reviewing briefs from key stakeholders and neighbouring municipalities.
"It's a good thing when an entire population says yes, we want to be behind this project," she said. "Right now, it's not the case."
The Mayor expressed a desire to sit down with the developer, the Town of Mount-Royal council, and the provincial government in order to come to a solution that satisfies the public, but she said City Hall is looking into legal avenues to force the changes if necessary.
"I'm hoping we won't have to go there," Plante said, "but ultimately, the commission has talked and the population has said that this project is not working."
In a statement given to CJAD 800, Town of Mount Royal Mayor Philippe Roy said he welcomes the idea of gathering stakeholders to sit down together and discuss how to make the Royalmount project better.
However, the threat of legal action isn't sitting well with his fellow de-merged city mayors, whom, in a joint statement, called it an attack on their jurisdictions.
Responding to questions about which body holds final authority over the project, Mayor Plante asserted that while the Royalmount project may be a private development, located in the jurisdiction of the Town of Mount-Royal, it will have regional impact, and therefore, must be coherent with the overall strategy for urban and regional development.
"We need to be creative and think how do we do urban planning in the future when one city makes decisions that have a huge impact on other cities, other boroughs, and road infrastructure?" she said.
While he disagreed with the administration's willingness to use legal measures if necessary, Ensemble Montreal leader Lionel Perez agreed that the City of Montreal should be allowed to step in.
Perez went so far as to suggest laws should be changed to give the city legal jurisdiction over major development projects.