A List of Helpful Terminology

PMAD: The Plan métropolitain d’aménagement et de développement or, in English, the Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan. This plan was made to ensure coherent urban development throughout the CMM’s territory, with sustainable growth as its focus. The PMAD was sent to the MRCs and agglomerations, as well as to the Government of Quebec, to obtain their feedback. The second draft of the PMAD, which will serve as the basis for a public consultation, is expected in September 2024.

CMM: Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal is an organization that comprises 82 municipalities, including Montreal, Longueuil, and Laval, as well as the municipalities of the North Shore and the South Shore. The CMM acts as a planning, coordinating, and funding agency in the fields of regional planning, economic development, social housing, mass transit, and the environment.

MRC: The Municipalités régionales de comté, or the regional county municipalities and territories making up the CMM.

RCI: The Règlement de contrôle intérimaire, or Interim Control Resolution, is the current, temporary, zoning freeze adopted by Pointe-Claire in February 2022. During this freeze, no permits can be issued for the construction or conversion of a multi-residential building in the city centre sector, and no permits can be issued for the construction of a new main building on the site of identified shopping centres.

SAD: The Schéma d'aménagement et de développement is the part of the planning and development plan that brings together the rules and obligations with which municipalities must comply when developing their planning plan and regulations.

PPCMOI/SCAOPI: The Projet particulier de construction, de modification ou d'occupation d'un immeuble, or the Specific Construction, Alteration or Occupancy Proposal for an Immovable, is a tool that allows a municipality to authorize a project that deviates from the city's by-laws, without having to modify the standards for the sector or entire territory. It differs from a zoning change in that it applies to a specific lot, whereas a zoning change applies to an entire zone.

TOD: Transit-Oriented Development is an approach to city planning that locates high-density, mixed-use development within walking distance of frequent transit services. It is designed to incorporate a variety of land uses, including residential, commercial, and community amenities.

Affordable Housing: Housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of a household’s before-tax income. Affordable housing may include near-market or low-end market housing for which the cost is at or below the average price in the regional market area.

Social Housing: Refers more specifically to housing that is subsidized in some way by a level of government, provincial or municipal, and that is either owned and/or operated by a government or a non-profit housing partner. This may comprise purpose-built low-income housing developments, subsidized units in market-rate buildings, or market-rate apartments paid for in part by provincial rent supplements.

Missing Middle: Medium-density housing options across the spectrum of affordability, which include duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and bungalows. These often act as a good transition to mid-rise housing options.

15-Minute City: A neighbourhood where a person's daily needs — shops, schools, parks, leisure options, health care — are accessible within a 15-minute walk, bike, or transit ride from their home.

Active Transportation: Also known as active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, or active transport, active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means. The most common forms of active mobility include walking and cycling.