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Covid-19 updates
It is getting tougher to keep up with the evolving vaccination and re-opening news. On Friday the Province allowed limited re-openings for many businesses including restaurant patio service and admission into non-essential retail stores with occupancy limits. We are in step one of the re-opening, and I'd recommend consulting the web site here for details of what that means.
Older residents are currently able to re-book their second dose to an earlier appointment where there is availability through the Provincial booking system, and yesterday we learned that the interval between doses for those who received the Astra Zeneca vaccine has been shortened to eight weeks. To find out if you're eligible to re-book an earlier appointment through a City clinic, visit the Provincial booking system here. Contact your pharmacy if
you're seeking to book a first or second dose or an earlier second dose appointment through them.
The availability of appointments for re-booking to an earlier date still depends on the number of vaccines that the Province sends to Ottawa Public Health. The City has a tremendous capacity to vaccinate people in its multiple clinics, but we need the doses to begin with.
It's important to keep in mind that while businesses are re-opening and vaccination rates in Ottawa are climbing rapidly, everyone still needs to exercise caution. If you feel sick, get tested. Wear masks. Be cautious about close contacts. We are not out of the woods yet and the poop meter (here) is showing a climb in the level of virus in the community.
Find all the latest news about the pandemic, including special statements by Dr. Vera Etches and other officials here, and sign up for the vaccination newsletter offered by the City here.
Pop-up office hours June 8
My next pop-up office hours will be Thursday, June 17 from 9-11 am. Send me an email for the link to join us one-on-one with no appointment during those hours to chat about whatever's on your mind. We're still doing pop-ups virtually until everyone is comfortable with in-person meetings.
Committee of Adjustment June 16
The Committee of Adjustment will hear three applications in our ward on June 2, in addition to the resumption of one adjourned hearing. Find the details of those here.
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At 1960 Scott and 315/317 McRae, the tower at the former Trailhead and the buildings already on the Farm Boy site, the owners are seeking to permit a reciprocal agreement for access through the connected parking garages so vehicles of all buildings can enter/exit to Scott.
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At 86 Hamilton, the owner is seeking to sub-divide her property into two separate parcels of land to create a new lot for a proposed two-storey long semi and the existing two-storey detached which is to remain. They're seeking a conveyance to provide parking for the new semi behind the single. They're seeking variances for lot width and area as well as a reduced northerly side-yard setback on the semi (0.05m instead of 0.6), and permission for that non-accessory parking use.
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At 147 & 159 Forward the owner Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corp. is seeking to demolish the existing two-unit, three-storey building to construct a 49-unit, four-storey low-rise apartment buiding with seven surface parking spaces and 27 bike parking spaces. They're seeking multiple variances.
With my apologies, it also appears that some Kitchissippi hearings are still being scheduled on the agenda of Panel 2, including these also on June 16. I missed these last week. Find the details of these here.
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At 187 Carleton the owner is seeking to subdivide the property in order to establish separate ownerships for a proposed semi-detached building where the existing detached building would be demolished. They're seeking variances for lot width and area.
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At 264/270 Breezehill, the owner is seeking to subdivde the property to create separate ownerships for each of the long semis that were approved by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
I also now have the decisions from the June 2 hearing. At 544(542) Kirkwood, the Committee approved the subdivision while the application for variances was withdrawn and the zoning by-law will be adhered to. At 230/232 Holland, the subdivision was granted subject to a few conditions.
18-storey Parkdale/Wellington open house June 17
I'm hosting a pre-application meeting for residents to get more information about a proposal for a mixed-use, 18-storey tower at the corner of Parkdale and Wellington that would replace the Rexall and Apostolic Church in the former Elmdale Theatre. Visit here for more details.
Official Plan What We Heard
The city has released a what-we-heard document that outlines the feedback received on the first draft of the new Official Plan. I haven't done more than scan it at this point, but there has been some significant media looking at its high-level findings. The report outlines what residents have said about the draft, and changes in direction from the first draft that residents can expect when it's presented for a vote this fall. There will be public meetings for different parts of the city later this month. Find the details of those as well as the full report here. I am still expecting a ward-specific reports that will form the basis of a public meeting I intend to hold for Kitchissippi residents once that's available.
This winter, I wrote about some of my high-level thoughts about the first draft of the plan here, and in March provided some specific technical feedback to the City here. I know that some of my concerns have been addressed, but from my scan of the materials it's not clear that the new directions outlined will result in the equitable application of intensification approaches across the city. My fundamental concern is that a
"15-minute neighbourhood" be treated as a 15-minute neighbourhood whether it is in Kitchissippi, Kanata or Orleans. While I've expressed my view that we know largely what to expect with respect to the implications of the plan for R4 and R3 neighbourhoods such as Hintonburg or Westboro, it's still not clear to me what the implications are for R2 and R1 neighbourhoods such as McKellar Park or parts of Civic Hospital. Density requirements have been eliminated, and staff have made clear that they're not recommending a prohibition against singles replacing singles, but I do not know if the direction of the Official Plan would open the door to allowing, for example, semi-detached homes in some R1 neighbourhoods where
currently only singles are allowed.
The work continues.
Laroche Park to close Monday
The project so many of us have been waiting for is finally underway to refresh Laroche Park. The entire park will be fenced off starting as soon as tomorrow to build a new community building, remediate the environmental issues, and construct a new playground, gazebo, basketall court, pathways, benches, and more. Find more details about that here.
Roosevelt pedestrian bridge to be removed this week
The pedestrian/cycling bridge that crosses the Transitway at the foot of Roosevelt is scheduled to be removed on June 19 and 20 as LRT construction continues. Crossing the Transitway will now need to be done at Dominion station or on Churchill, and signage will be in place. The bridge will be replaced for the duration of LRT construction with a temporary bridge for buses to accommodate the bus detour out of the trench while that's converted to rail. When the project is done, the area will be re-landscaped, bus infrastructure removed, and a new pedestrian/cycling bridge installed. There will be some construction noise associated
with this week's work, mostly associated with the crane.
Temporary cycling lanes on Carling, Sherwood to Cambridge
Working with Councillors Menard and McKenney, I'm pleased to say that we'll be able to implement cycling lanes on Carling between Sherwood and Cambridge in the coming days. I expect that these will be well-used by the cyclists who use Sherwood and Kenilworth to hook in to the routes in our ward leading to Island Park Drive and beyond tied in to the Jacquelin Holzman bridge. Find more details on that here.
Kenilworth trial closure at Sherwood/Fairmont
The City has been consulting for months on Sherwood traffic calming, and one of the issues that has unearthed is the confusion sometimes present at the five corners of Sherwood/Kenilworth/Fairmont. To gather data on impacts, they're conducting a trial closure expected to start June 21 and in place for the remainder of the summer of Kenilworth at Fairmont; local residents have been receiving notices of that this week. Find more details on that here. I'm supportive of the trial and interested to see what their
traffic counts show.
Join my Run For Women team!
Thank you so much to everyone who has generously donated to my Run For Women team! We've raised $675 for the Royal. Consider joining my 5k run/walk team, WalkABitRunABit, here or making a donation. As the run approaches, organizers are offering $5 off the registration fee for anyone who signs up and joins a team. Use the code RFWIMPACT for the next two weeks. The proceeds will go directly to The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre's women's mental health program
that is doing such critical work across the city right here in our ward. The event, of course, is virtual and participants will take part any time between July 4-11. Thank you to everyone who has made generous donations to the effort so far!
At City Hall
Information Technology Sub-Committee
The Information Technology Sub-Committeee meets on Monday, June 14 with an agenda that includes an update on the 2021 work plan progress. We'll move in camera for a portion of that meeting related to the security and digital risk program. Find the full agenda of that meeting here.
Transit Commission
Transit Commission meets on Wednesday, June 16 with a verbal update on bus and train service, as well as a much-anticipated report on acquiring new zero-emission buses borrowing from a new federal infrastructure fund established for that purpose. The funding would pay for the difference between acquiring diesel and zero-emission buses moving forward. The Commission will also receive the Q1 financial numbers. Year to date operating revenues are obviously still well down. See the full agenda here.
Community and Protective Services
The Community and Protective Services Committee meets on Thursday, June 17. It will receive a report on supports for the child care sector and Children's Services work plan, and municipal child care centre review. There are also several updates attached to the committee agenda including the long-term care homes capital plan for 2021, a slight increase to the vehicle-for-hire accessibility surcharge, and report on the use of delegated authority by staff within the committee's purview. See the full agenda here.
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