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Covid-19 updates
Yesterday, Queen's Park announced an acceleration in second doses for Covid-19 vaccination. Last night I sent a summary of what that means including a link to the City's memo to Council here, and I'd encourage residents to take a look at my email yesterday evening for more details.
Otherwise, case counts continue to steadily fall and it's gratifying to see the poop meter showing consistently dropping levels of the virus in our community. I missed noting last week that the ward-level virus case mapping has been updated to reflect numbers up until May 17. It was great to see that while our ward has consistently had some of the lowest
case numbers and counts throughout the pandemic, as of May 17 for the first time we had the lowest absolute case counts in the City in the prior seven days. Well done, K-Ward!
The order requiring masks to be worn in the vicinity of play equipment has been lifted, but Dr. Etches continues to encourage people to wear those.
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 1
My next pop-up office hours will be Tuesday, June 1 from 3-5 pm. 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.
Committee of Adjustment June 2
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 230 (232) Holland, the owner is seeking to sub-divide their property to create separate ownerships for either half of the existing semi.
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At 544 (542) Kirkwood, the owner wants to demolish the existing dwelling and detached shed in order to subdivide the property into two separate parcels of land and establish separate ownerships for a proposed two-storey semi-detached dwelling. I don't see any zoning variances associated with the proposed semi.
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The hearing for 81 Pinhey will resume after it was adjourned. The owners want to subdivide their property into two separate parcels of land. The existing detached dwelling would remain on one parcel and a two-storey detached dwelling is proposed to be constructed on the other parcel.
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At 304 Lanark, the owner has applied for a "change of condition". I was made aware of this yesterday and will be seeking guidance on how to advise residents. As I understand it this morning, the owner is asserting that as a result of changes to the zoning that arose from the comprehensive review of infill regulations citywide a few months ago, and subsequent updating of the zoning table for the R3EE zone, the variances required for those long semis are no longer required. The severance they received for this project was originally made conditional on the finalization of
variances, and residents have appealed those. The owner is now asserting that since the variances aren't actually required, the severance should no longer be conditional on the outcome of the appeal.
I've also received the decisions received from the May 19 meeting. Applications at 51 Garrison (variances and severance to demolish a garage and build a second detached dwelling), 17 Gwynne (re-application for subdivision after the initial permission expired), and 42 Young (subdivision to establish separate ownerships for each half of an existing two-storey semi) were all granted.
Official Plan open house for renters June 3
Several councillors and I are hosting an open house to explore the new Official Plan and its implications for renters. It will be held on the evening of June 3. See more details of that here.
Hospital site plan application
The anticipated site plan application for The Ottawa Hospital project at Dow's Lake has now been filed. Find details of that here.
52 Garland site plan application
A site plan application has been re-submitted for the property at 52 Garland for a four-storey mixed-use building with one unit of ground floor retail and 12 dwelling units. The building would be built largely within the zoning, although I note the owner intends to apply for variances from the Committee of Adjustment to reduce the front- and rear-yard setbacks. See the details here.
1655 Carling revised site plan
The owners of the 1655 Carling property have slightly modified their proposed site plan in the wake of the recently approved zoning. We don't see any major changes, but a new grade-separated bike lane is now proposed to be constructed to tie into the works that the City has planned at Churchill/Carling. See the details of that here.
Ward forum
We've scheduled a ward forum for the evening of May 31. It'll be an opportunity to get neighbourhood updates, participate in a Q&A/open forum, and hear from our special guest Ian Douglas who is a water quality engineer at the City and will be speaking to how Ottawa protects its water supply. Get more details on that and sign up here.
Weekly Top 40 week of May 27, 1967
Party tunes dominated the mid-1967 pop charts as artists checked their earnestness to run the table with good vibes. For the week ending May 27, The Young Rascals’ laid-back Groovin’ set the tone at number one that week. Aretha Franklin was taking a hard run at the spot with her soon-to-be iconic Respect; she would topple the Rascals the following week. Englebert Humperdinck was the narc at the love-in with his version of Eddie Miller’s Release Me. Some standout records were sprinkled amid the bubblegum
pop though. Neil Diamond peaked at number 10 with his lush rumba Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon. Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody to Love (17) was a Haight-Ashbury happening sandwiched between Beatles imposters The Easybeats (Friday on My Mind at 16) and Peaches and Herb’s soulful Close Your Eyes (18). Tommy James and the Shondells I Think We’re Alone Now (23) was a pre-punk hand grenade thrown into a chart that still had room for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’ Casino Royale (27). Dionne Warwick charted a soaring
second Bacharach-by-the-numbers movie tie-in track that week, Alfie, at 37. The Mamas and The Papas' Creeque Alley climbed into the eighth spot as the summer of love got underway in earnest. See the full chart here.
Join my Run For Women team!
I'm really pleased to join the annual Run For Women 5k/10k event, this year as a team captain. Consider joining my 5k run/walk team, WalkABitRunABit, here or making a donation. Thanks David Lewis for signing up! 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!
Walkable Ottawa workshops
A grassroots organizaton called Walkable Ottawa has been doing some significant work looking at how to ensure our neighbourhoods are complete as the intensification thrust continues. The next will be on June 2 when they offer a workshop Growing Community Step by Step. They'll explore how walkable communities might change our social interaction and understanding of community. Get all the info on this and upcoming sessions here.
At City Hall
Finance and Economic Development Committee
The Finance and Economic Development Committee meets on June 1 with a long-ish agenda. Kitchissippi residents will be interested in the item on a residential vacant unit tax. Committee members will receive a preliminary report and likely direct staff to begin developing a vacant unit tax with public consultation and in time for 2023 billing. There will also be a report on BIA governance standardizing some practices city-wide. A brownfield grant application for 2070 Scott will also likely move forward. There is a status report on the City's operating and capital budget, as well as progress update on the work of the
anti-racism secretariat. View the full agenda here.
Transportation Committee
The Transportation Committee meets on June 2 with a workaday agenda of fiddly speed reductions and stop signs, including the reduction of the speed limit to 40 km/h on Sherbourne Ave. being brought by my colleague Councillor Kavanagh (the street is Kitchissippi ward on the east side, Bay on the west; I'm supportive, of course). Parking services will bring its annual report to the meeting, and the Bruce Timmermans Award for cycling advocacy will be awarded. See the full committee agenda and materials here.
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