Ottawa's Official Plan Update

[Richard Eade]

Wow, this could be quite significant.

The idea of an official Plan update every 10 years instead of every five years will, I hope, come with a defined minimum planning horizon. I think that the City of Ottawa has coasted with the current 2031 limit (which is essentially the 2021 horizon pushed back 10 years as they realized that their growth projections were way out of whack) for far too long. A long-range vision of only 15 years isn't very long range at all.

I wonder if the clarification of ‘Minor Variances’ on zoning will prevent episodes like the EY Centre? As I have heard it, the property was zoned for a hotel with an integrated meeting space – with a ‘minor variance’ eliminating the need for the hotel portion. A blatant abuse of the process.