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Weekly newsletter video digest
With a relatively light newsletter, and a very busy weekend, there's no video version of this newsletter this week.
Committee of Adjustment July 5
On July 5, the Committee will hear several Kitchissippi and other applications. For details including plans and the specific variance sought on the following, visit here.
- At 240 Carleton, the owner is seeking to sever, demolish, and build a two-storey semi. They're seeking variances associated with reduced lot width and area, as well as rear yard setback and area.
- At 129 Smirle, the owner is seeking variances required to allow a third unit that include reduced lot width, reduced lot area and reduced interior side-yard setback. This is another after-the-fact application - the third unit has essentially been built. I have met with the architect to express my strong opposition to this application, and will be meeting with staff this week to do the same.
- At 15 Ladouceur, the owner is seeking to demolish, sever and build a semi with multiple variances required, including allowing front yard parking. This one has been well-discussed with neighbours and the community, and I've made comments of non-opposition to the City's planners. My thanks go to the owner for extensive work with neighbours to develop the property sensitively.
Last week, the proposal for 219 Wesley was approved unanimously by the Committee. That had been deferred from a previous meeting in order to re-work the height. I expressed my strong opposition to the owner to a height variance, City planners also expressed their concern. The owner brought the height down to 8.2m rather than the original 8.99m with some re-working. While I reiterated my opposition, and City planners continued to express their concern with respect to any variance in the height, the owners determined to proceed, and now have
their permissions. Eyeballing it, at least the new proposal will be significantly more sensitive to the streetscape than the previous iteration.
Pop-up office hours June 26
My next pop-up office hours are on Monday, June 26 from 4-7 at the Bridgehead at the corner of Fairmont and Wellington West. Following those, my next will be July 13 at Equator Coffee, 412 Churchill, from 10-1. Come by, no appointment needed, to chat all things City and Kitchissippi! My pop-ups will slow down for a couple of months as we head into the summer break.
809 Richmond Rd. proposal (Kristy's)
I've been getting a number of notes with respect to the 809 Richmond Rd. development proposed just abutting our ward. At 24 storeys, it is generating significant concern. This week, I supplied my comments to the City opposing the current proposal. Previous lower versions, while still uncomfortable for residents, were more palatable in terms of establishing a height more consistent with the Continental to the east. Various planning considerations coming largely from the City sent the developer back to the drawing board. My request is that the City and developer re-visit the earlier, lower
proposal. While denser with 19- and 9-storey towers, it would set a much better context for the mid-rise traditional mainstreet being planned for the corridor. The new streetscape, though, is an improvement that should be retained.
OC Transpo changes
I am finally in a position to post OC Transpo's proposed route changes in our ward as they re-work the system to focus on LRT post-2018. There is a key change to the number 14, which will now be split to end at Tunney's with a new route serving Carlington. I and Councillor Brockington have engaged OC on some of the concerns we've heard from the community, and I look forward to hearing your feedback. See the proposed changes here.
Pontiac closure
We are finally in a position to begin closing off the portion of Pontiac between Cowley and Carleton to car traffic after months of discussions with the City. Sometime in early July, planters will go in to block off the road and we'll work with the NCC to bring down their fence quickly after to join the NCC and City parks. It's still uncertain when we can de-pave the stretch, and we're working with the community association on that, as well as some parking restrictions in the area to
deal with Tunney's Pasture parkers.
979 Wellington changes and open house
The owners at 979 Wellington - the Beament Green building - have made some key changes to their proposal and we are tentatively scheduled to host another open house during the evening of July 4. Please mark that in your calendar with details to follow. While the proposed height remains 9 storeys, the Armstrong face has been changed to be much more sensitive to my and the community's stepback expectations. A large architectural feature on the front of the building has been removed to de-emphasize
the height, and a previously blank wall gussied up.
Hintonburg 5k registration is open
Registration for the Cyclelogik Hintonburg 5k, July 9, and Newswest 1k Fun Run is now open. Of note this year, as usual the first 300 participants will get a tee - but this year it's a tech shirt! Sweet. Get all the details here.
Parkdale Pops
There will be some new programming at Parkdale Park (behind the Market) this summer. Starting July 8, there will be Saturday morning yoga at 9:45 am. On Sunday, July 9, beside the Hintonburg 5k there will also be a Market anniversary celebration, and on September 9, Porchfest will host a party in the park.
At City Hall
In theory, things are slowing down but it sure doesn't feel like it. I am hoping to take a good break between mid-July and mid-August, but we'll see how that goes.
Committee meetings
On Tuesday, Planning Committee has a fairly substantial agenda. The Wellington Diner patio re-zoning will be debated as a key Kitchissippi planning file. After being deferred to discuss proposed refinements to the coach house rules, those look set to be passed this week. The large re-development of Elmvale Acres is also on the agenda, modified from the original proposal by Riocan.
One very interesting item on the agenda is a motion being brought by Councillor Fleury to compel the City to appear at an Ontario Municipal Board hearing with respect to 368 Chapel Street, and to hire external planners to oppose the development. That proposal was rejected by the Committee of Adjustment, and appealed to the Board by the developer. At the CoA, the City did not oppose the variances sought. The motion raises a number of questions in my mind about the interaction between the City, Committee of Adjustment, staff and politicians. I'll need to have a few conversations with colleagues
before determining whether to support this or not. We've had in this ward occasion in this term of Council to wish that the City was more forceful in opposing variances, but it's not certain that having Council dictate a position to staff or independent planners is appropriate.
You can read the Planning Committee agenda here.
At City Council on Wednesday, we have a fairly light agenda. Various committee recommendations are up for debate, including passage of the new Urban Forest Management Plan that I and multiple Kitchissippi residents and groups have worked to achieve, as well as critical stakeholders such as Ecology Ottawa. The Auditor General's reports are also on the agenda, including how the Giver 150 park at Mooney's Bay was handled. While the AG determined no rules were broken, residents clearly expect us to do better with respect to transparency in dealing with files like these. I agree with
the AG's recommendations.
Council's agenda is here.
Team Kitchissippi
Next week continues to be busy, though our calendar opens up quite a lot after Canada Day. I have various stakeholder meetings with respect to things like the music strategy file, Prince of Wales bridge, stage 2 LRT detours, the City's response to proposed OMB reform, as well as the usual development, event and construction files.
Social media
As residents using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram probably know, I'm a big fan of social media. When I have the time, I enjoy engaging with residents as well as simply relaxing with it as just another user. I also rely on it to distribute alerts, treating it as a broadcast media. Last week, I missed a couple of important notifications as well as struggled to incorporate some items into my day.
On any given day, I can be buried with notifications and am usually trying to focus on several things at once. If I'm out of the office, tweets and FB messages become very hard to pay attention to. Anything you send to jeff.leiper@ottawa.ca is seen by four people in my office, and I'm in pretty constant communication with the team. They'll help me ensure we're following up on issues or adjusting my schedule on the fly.
I do have that presence on multiple social media, but as a rule of thumb, if you're sending me something of which I need to take note, consider using email as the best way to ensure we follow up.
Have a great Canada Day, Kitchissippi!
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