Ottawa's Official Plan Update

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

We all know that developers mostly only care about money. Hence the proposals for building over the golf course in Kanata after getting premiums when they sold the surrounding homes in the first place.

We better be careful that we don't give developers too much free rein. We should not want to destroy the character of our neighbourhoods that make them distinctive and attractive.

I have seen so many cases of attractive old houses being torn down for modern high rises that have aged poorly. This has happened all across the city. The opposite has also been true (crappy houses replaced with something better), but it is far from universal.

What I worry about is developer block busting to push the rest of the homeowners out because of the behemoths that they have created. I have seen out of scale housing built in my own neighbourhood that don't enhance the area.

The temptation here is to increase density without providing additional amenities, so what exists only becomes more taxed over time. More congestion, more noise, more crime, the same parks, the same library, the same school (with more portables) etc. Who is really benefiting?

Visions of UP!