CDN-NDG bylaw amendment will allow resident to be CCU chair

A notice of motion served during the council's Feb. 2 meeting says a new bylaw will be adopted amending the urban planning committee's status, "so as to allow a citizen to be appointed as Chair of the Committee, and to increase the number of elected officials as substitute members."

The urban planning committee, which is often referred to by its French-language acronym CCU (Comité consultatif en urbanisme), interprets the borough's sometimes complex construction and renovation regulations and mediates their application with property owners.

Because the CCU's meetings are closed to the public, it has also been the target of criticism from some residents, and even some members of the borough council. Adding to the CCU's reputation for secrecy, Applebaum insisted he should be chairman. While sources say it is Applebaum himself who initiated the amendment, they add that he is doing so to lighten his workload more than anything else.

"I think Michael Applebaum's nomination to the executive committee had something to do with his decision to step down," said Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand. Applebaum was recently appointed to the centre city executive committee with responsibility for recreation and sports.

"The problem was that there nobody else among our councillors who was able to do this, and I didn't want to do it because I don't believe in the way it's being operated," added Loyola councillor Warren Allmand, who has been a vocal critic of the way the CCU works.

"The rest of the commissions are mostly made up of citizens anyway and a citizen could be named the chair," he added. "I have no objection to that, but I told Michael I will probably vote against, because I'm against any measure that perpetuates the CCU in its present secretive mode."