Developer Nader Dormani is hopping mad that Quebec environment ministry officials delayed his real estate projects in Gatineau, Quebec, for two years over concerns his development could destroy humid zones inhabited by western chorus frogs.

Dormani has long protested the construction ban and told the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec this year that the frogs were not present on his property. The environmental provincial officials sought to resolve the dispute by asking Dormani for a discharge, or a promise to not file a lawsuit, Dormani told CoStar News in an interview.

Dormani declined and the province responded within 24 hours by lifting the building ban, allowing the developer to proceed with his plan to build a pair of residential towers of up to 2,700 units on the property in the heart of Gatineau.

Earlier this week Dormani filed a lawsuit against the Quebec government seeking more than $25 million in damages associated with the construction delays.

“The problem is that everything had to be stopped because of the delay, that’s a delay on 2,000 housing units,” Dormani said. “We also had an offer from a group specialized in retirement housing. Their offer was accepted by both sides and signed. They were supposed to start building 400 units but the city couldn’t give us approval because everything was frozen.”

Dormani believes the province should adjust its standards on what it deems to constitute a wildlife habitat and a humid zone.

“There were no frogs, no endangered species on the land. It was not a natural humid zone, it was made by neighbours who left their snow there for many years," he said. "They need to change the definition of a humid zone. It’s too large and it is preventing homes from being built at a time when we need homes in the region.”

Gatineau and Ottawa have approximately 1.5 million residents. According to rentals.ca statistics from June, Gatineau had a 0.8% residential vacancy rate and is the most expensive city in Quebec for renters.

Gatineau has been supportive of his proposals, according to Dormani. The city is currently processing his application now that the permission has been granted by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP).

"Before any construction permit is issued, the file must be presented to the Urban Planning Advisory Committee (CCU) for recommendation, then submitted to the municipal council for approval," a Gatineau representative said in an email.

Dormani believes that his residential project to build 2,700 homes is environmentally beneficial because the residential densification of the area will reduce car travel.

“They are shooting themselves in the foot, working against their own mandate,” he said. The location is close to Highway 50, a shopping mall and a school. “It’s perfect there. That’s why the city wants to develop these lands. This makes sense.”

The western chorus frog is a small amphibian that rarely lives longer than a year and measures approximately 2.5 centimetres. The variety found in southwestern Ontario is not considered at risk but those in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence-Canadian Shield region have been classified at risk since 2010, according to a federal government website.

A media representative for Quebec’s Environment Ministry did not respond to a request to comment on the matter when contacted by email.