The City is consulting on how it should spend more than $450,000 that's accumulated in the vehicle-for-hire accessibilty fund. The fund was set up when the City approved the operation of companies such as Uber. Here's the details:
For immediate release:
January 8, 2018
Give feedback on the Vehicle-for-Hire Accessibility Fund
Ottawa – Tell the City how you think it should allocate more than $450,000 in the Vehicle-for-Hire Accessibility Fund.
I wanted to take this opportunity to remind residents that comments are due January 9 for the Mastercraft Starwood application to continue to use their vacant lot at 115 Champagne to store Otto’s BMWs.
I haven’t yet submitted my own formal comments, but have had a discussion with staff to express my opposition.
By way of a quick re-cap, the developer has been renting the lot for which they have planning approval to build a second phase of condos to Otto’s for around a year and a half.
In May 2017, residents will remember that the development application to build two six-storey buildings on the back portion of the property at 190 Richmond Rd. (the Superstore site) was approved. Since the approval, the applicant has been working through their site plan control application for the development. That site plan was also approved and the notice of decision will be provided shortly. The developer is eager to get the project underway.
There are two potential changes being proposed:
I won't have a newsletter out for another week, but it's worth a peek at the Kitchissippi items coming up on the January 17 agenda of the Committee of Adjustment (CoA). The full details including plans are here.
(Don't subscribe to the newsletter and wondering what the CoA is? I've got a handy draft primer up here.)
For several years, those of us with concerns about housing affordability have been anticipating the granting of power by Queen’s Park to municipalities to force developers to include a proportion of new housing developments as affordable housing. Dubbed “inclusionary zoning” by the sector, it’s a potentially important way to address the shortage of affordable housing in Ottawa, and to mitigate the effect of gentrification in our most popular neighbourhoods.
Kitchissippi is very much one of the city’s most popular neighbourhoods.
It has been a remarkable 2017 in Ottawa! It's a joy to think back on so many exciting moments like La Machine and the Juno awards, as well as the many smaller events here in the ward to which so many contributed. Even as we continued to grapple with the growth in the ward, Kitchissippi's volunteers and community leaders worked hard to build our capacity and a more equitable, inclusive, just and prosperous Ottawa.
Please join us on Saturday, December 16 at 4:00pm as we light up the tree at Roy Duncan Park!
Alongside the Westboro Beach Community Association and Van Lang Tenants Association, we will be serving some hot chocolate, roasting some marshmellows over a fire pit, and stringing some lights. All are welcome to join and participate, consider bringing your own mug for hot coco!
Ashcroft Homes is proposing an adaptive re-use of Les Soeurs de la Visitation Convent at their 114 Richmond Rd site, which would see the building partially demolished and encapsulated in glass, combining heritage and modern elements. The refreshed convent would see office tenants and mixed commercial. We invite you to come and learn more about this proposed development during a community open house:
There will be an open house on December 11 at Tom Brown arena (141 Bayview) from 6-8:30 to look at the proposed changes to Scott Street when the buses come off the detour. Unfortunately, City staff are still modifying the diagrams, but I'm told they will be up in time for the event.
We wanted to let you all know that a zoning study is underway which would allow amendments to the Zoning By-Law to permit small-scale, low-impact industrial uses, including mico-breweries, micro-distilleries, small-scale manufacturing and small-scale food processing associated with restaurants in commercial areas.