A six-month delay by Côte des Neiges-NDG to issue Kalifa a construction permit was enough to send Councillor Warren Allmand into a lengthy denunciation of the borough's Consultative Committee on Urbanism (CCU) during the borough council's public meeting earlier this month.

Kalifa, who has lived for more than 30 years on Terrebonne Avenue, says the experience opened his eyes for the first time to the highly bureaucratic — and some say secretive — nature of the CCU. Last winter when record snowfalls left a heavy accumulation on rooftops, he neglected to shovel off his carport, and by spring it had to be demolished and rebuilt.

He ran into a problem with the civic authorities that is not uncommon in cases involving carports. When the original structure was built in the 1970s, a construction permit for it had never been issued. Since the borough couldn't find any record, that contributed to the delay.

Added to that, the plans he submitted for the new structure didn't conform to the borough's strict definition of a carport. In order to be a true carport, it can't have an enclosing door on the front and must be open on three sides. So Kalifa had the plans redrawn, submitted them to the borough, and they were apparently accepted. However, that was in July.

Last week, he was still waiting for his building permit. Kalifa says his greatest surprise came on learning that his carport project was subject to the approval of the CCU, which is a consultative commission attached to the borough council. The CCU's members are citizens who usually have some professional knowledge of architecture and construction.

It is chaired by Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum. Kalifa claims that information about the CCU's workings is kept so secret, he was told he needed to make an access-to-information request if he wanted to know the names of its members.

Similar complaints are voiced from time to time about the workings of CCUs in other municipalities and boroughs. Officials often defend the fact that the commissions operate behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny, with the rationale that sensitive negotiations often take place there and discretion is necessary to protect the interests of property owners.

Still, Kalifa insists, he wishes there wasn't so much red tape. "In my particular situation, there's no need. It's not like I'm building something that wasn't there before." In an interview, Allmand acknowledged that he sympathized with Kalifa's frustration.

"Sometimes these city bylaws on zoning are too intrusive and too controlling on little things," he said. "I totally disagree with the fact that the CCU carries on its work in secret … All other commissions meet in public … This is an exception."

Allmand said he doesn't accept the usual explanation given for the CCU's secrecy. "I was told by certain people that a lot of these men on the CCU … wouldn't serve if they had to meet in public. Well, I'd say good riddance."

Reacting to Allmand's comments in the borough council, Applebaum told the Monitor, "When Mr. Allmand spoke out he didn't have all the information." Applebaum said the complicated nature of Kalifa's project made it necessary to get the CCU's approval, and that normally a permit for a carport can be issued in one or two weeks.