On Friday, residents read an article in the media about the developer of a property on Hopewell Avenue who, it was asserted, has put many more units into the building than he had led stakeholders to believe was his intent. The same developer has zoning permission at 404 Eden to build a multi-unit apartment building, and residents are concerned that they might see the same thing here.
Yesterday afternoon, I "lifted" delegated authority for the 404 Eden site plan from staff so that it will be required to go to a vote of Planning Committee and Council rather than be approved simply at the staff level. I believe this will give us more time to understand what protections our community can expect against an unexpected increase in units, as well as give the developer a chance to make commitments to the community in a public forum and in front of elected officials.
My thanks to staff for responding quickly to an inquiry about infill statistics I made recently. I've posted that here for quick access by residents. Click on the .pdf below.
On October 5, I held a Facebook Live session looking at infill in Kitchissippi. I'm not sure this is a format I'd use exactly again, but I do hope it was helpful for those who tuned in. The slide deck I used is available by clicking on the .pdf below.
Last winter, in the wake of the news that the Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital would re-locate to the eastern end of the Central Experimental Farm and Queen Juliana Park, I hosted a town hall for the Civic Hospital neighbourhood to begin hearing concerns. I was grateful for the attendance, in addition, of our MPP Yasir Naqvi and the hospital’s Kate Eggins.
I’m happy to say that we’ve finally collated that session into the consultation document available at the link below. (I’ve also included the hospital’s proposed consultation approach, titled Setting the Stage.)
It’s good timing. Last night, I joined the open house hosted by Councillor Brockington looking at the proposed re-zoning to accomplish the Hospital’s move. Around 75 residents attended, many from Kitchissippi. I, the City, and Hospital staff heard many of the same concerns that were raised at our town hall in February.
It's been a few months since we've discussed the proposed development at 1976 Scott St, 315 Tweedsmuir & 320 McRae. You can review our previous blog posts on this development here (October, 2016) and here (November, 2015).
The applicant has made revisions to their development proposal, and we are hosting a drop-in open house to listen to your feedback. The major changes are: the previously 19-storey tower is now being proposed at 25-storeys, the 9-storey component is now being proposed at 6-storeys, and the 3-storey component is staying the same. The increase in density changes the unit count from 183 units to 240 units.
The applicant has not resubmitted the application yet, but as soon as the information is available on DevApps we will make sure to circulate that information.
Today, Queen’s Park has announced a series of reforms to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). For years, residents have justifiably railed at the OMB’s role in land-planning in the province. Arguably, it systemically favours developers in the face of local land-planning decisions. It is prohibitively expensive and time consuming, and is a de facto spur to the abdication of accountability for local Councils.
Last fall, several Ottawa councillors including myself wrote to Queen’s Park in response to its consultation to urge some key reforms: the end to de novo hearings (treating each appeal as a fresh case), and the implementation of public interest funding to help residents even the playing field.
The reforms announced today accomplish both of these. It will take a few days to digest the reform package, but on an early basis I’m encouraged.
