A man in Blainville says he is desperate find a solution after his property tax bill jumped by almost $25,000 in three years.
He believes the goal is to force him to sell at a rock-bottom price, so he’s suing the city to get his money back.
A promotional video describes the Blainville development near where he lives as idyllic, but for some of the neighbours, it has become a nightmare.
Benoit Pinsonnault’s land sits on the edge of the Chambery development and he says it's costing him his retirement.
His tax bill for 2015 came to $30.501, almost $25,000 more than just three years ago.
The money is used to fund infrastructure for the new development, none of which is even connected to his property.
“The idea from the city is that as developers start to build they will bring all the services here,” he said.
But six years after the project was first announced, other than a few model homes and condos, quartier Chambery is essentially a road.
“I will have paid those bills for many years for someone else to benefit at the end but it will not be us,” he said.
So after years of frustration, Pinsonnault is suing Blainville. The law firm handling the case calls the situation poor planning.
“They adopted bylaws in order to impose tax for public works that will not benefit Mr. Pinsonnault, said his lawyer Mario Paul-Hus.
“Mr. Pinsonnault and his neighbours should have been excluded from the scope of the taxation,” Paul-Hus said.
The city of Blainville declined to comment for this story. Pinsonnault has tried to sell his property but hasn’t received one offer in two years. Negotiations with the city are ongoing. Pinsonnault wants to recoup every tax dollar he's spent on what may someday become someone's else's piece of paradise.
“It’s impossible to sell, so the only option is to fight for what we own to get it back,” he said.
