General Ottawa Planning Issues

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

The rural communities are in Ottawa are booming right now, but I'm really curious to see what will happen once the feds and other sectors return to the office full time. When traffic is backed up on the 417 and there are no public transit options, the commute from Almonte or Embrun is much less appealing. I remember the winter before the pandemic friends had commented how often the 417 was stop and go from Anderson or Boundary Road, and the backup in the West end was very consistent.

I know that there is a commuter bus from Rockland that is a private entity and it heads to federal government buildings in Ottawa and Gatineau (?). Pretty limited schedule. I imagine that a lot of people who live that far out and have a good setup at home aren't going to be excited about the commute again.

In speaking with City staff, many are hoping to work from home as much as they can especially those who commute by OC Transpo or have a long car journey.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

The rural communities are in Ottawa are booming right now, but I'm really curious to see what will happen once the feds and other sectors return to the office full time. When traffic is backed up on the 417 and there are no public transit options, the commute from Almonte or Embrun is much less appealing. I remember the winter before the pandemic friends had commented how often the 417 was stop and go from Anderson or Boundary Road, and the backup in the West end was very consistent.

Teleworking is here to stay. At my job, it is expected to get into the office once every two weeks. I moved in the country like many others, knowing that. Our main office is cutting 3/4 of its office space.

[silvergate]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Just because governments want us to live in big cities doesn't mean we should
Politicians constantly seek to make cities more livable. But perhaps the best policy would be to enable greater choice in the types of communities people inhabit

Tasha Kheiriddin
Publishing date: Mar 16, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 3 minute read

I have always been a city person. As a child, I suffered from hay fever, lasted less than a week at summer camp and caught cold any time I slept in a tent. By adulthood, I had become hardwired to crave the restaurants, shopping, nightlife and general buzz of the urban environment. As the saying goes, you can’t plug a hairdryer into a tree.

In the past year, however, two events have radically changed my perspective. The first was the pandemic. Suddenly, the city was the worst place to be. Downtown neighbourhoods were overrun with apartment dwellers desperate to escape their four walls. Every trip to the store felt fraught with virus anxiety.

The second event was a concussion. In mid-February, I slipped on an icy sidewalk and into a nightmare. For the first week, I sported sunglasses everywhere, unable to tolerate light. The second week featured prescribed short bursts of activity — reading a book, talking on the phone, going for walks. Week three: driving for a grand total of 10 minutes. Bone-weary exhaustion and dizziness invariably followed the next day.

It is true that concussion recovery takes a long time. But it seemed as though every foray outdoors made things worse. The sight, sound and smell of traffic, people, buildings, lights and signs assailed my brain. The city, which had always been my friend, seemed to conspire against me. So I decided to get out of town.

As luck would have it, late last year, with our locked-down family climbing the walls, we did what I had vowed never to do and bought a cottage. The place is the antithesis of city life: a converted century-old log cabin, two hours outside of Toronto, on a dirt road amidst 25 acres of trees. On cloudless nights the sky blazes with millions of stars. It is wild and remote and beautiful and, I hoped, a place my injured brain could heal.

A family friend drove my car up, masks all around, me with my eyes covered, terrified about what the trip would do to my head. But the next morning the dizziness and fatigue were absent. Encouraged, I went outside. Watched birds. Contemplated trees. Slept in complete silence. And over the course of the week resumed driving, reading emails and viewing news articles online for set periods of time. I knew things were on the right track when watching a Netflix show with my daughter produced no noticeable ill effects.

The country is not a cure-all, butscientific research shows a correlation (with debate over causation) between urban environments and adverse mental health. People who live or are raised in cities exhibit a 39 per cent greater incidence of mood disorders, 21 per cent greater incidence of anxiety and double the risk of schizophrenia as their rural counterparts. Density may be great for the tax base, but may not be so good for our brains.

It’s also not good for affordable housing. The more people you pack into our cities, the greater the demand for shelter that can never be built fast enough. Conversely, with hundreds of thousands of fewer people pouring into our metropolises due to the pandemic, vacancies have soared and rents have plunged.

Politicians constantly seek to make cities more livable. Usually that translates to more parks, more transit, social housing and “pedestrian only” streets. But maybe the best policy would be to enable greater choice in the types of communities people can live. The ability to work remotely has already enabled thousands of (predominantly middle-class) urbanites to move to smaller communities. More would take the plunge if policy-makers addressed the remaining hurdles: the lack of broadband internet, high level health care and accessible schools.

Cities will always be crucial engines of economic growth, intellectual capital and creative development. But the time may be right for a rural renaissance, especially where our brains are concerned. I’m not fully recovered yet. But as I have learned this year, to get out of the woods, you just might have to go into them.

Tasha Kheiriddin is a Postmedia columnist and principal with Navigator Ltd.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/tasha-...wcm/351d26db-aa6a-4514-9a47-c87a7c2b6726

"Enabling millions of people to move to the country will have no adverse impacts" - "if everyone in the city just got a concussion and also owned a cottage they too would understand" - I'm paraphrasing but ... This was a chance to call on municipal governments to improve city living for all, and instead they're saying it's broken why bother fixing it.

[waterloowarrior]

Interesting... for my workplace we've been in the office since last July and most people were eager to go back as soon as possible. But most people have a short commute and want the separation from work and home. For all the federal public servants that have been leaving at 6:30 to beat traffic I can see why they will push management to allow WFH going forward.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

I know that there is a commuter bus from Rockland that is a private entity and it heads to federal government buildings in Ottawa and Gatineau (?). Pretty limited schedule.

AFAIK that bus starts at the Terrasses complex in Gatineau and serves other federal buildings along the way. I imagine the trip to Rockland takes forever.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Interesting... for my workplace we've been in the office since last July and most people were eager to go back as soon as possible. But most people have a short commute and want the separation from work and home. For all the federal public servants that have been leaving at 6:30 to beat traffic I can see why they will push management to allow WFH going forward.

We're not in the office, but the longer this goes, the more people are clamoring to get back in. I also suspect that there is a strong correlation between commute distance and the desire to go back to in person work.

[DarkArconio]

While here we've decided to turn our office into conference spaces for periodic team meetings and make everyone stay remote the rest of the time.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by le calmar

AFAIK that bus starts at the Terrasses complex in Gatineau and serves other federal buildings along the way. I imagine the trip to Rockland takes forever.

I think it's offered under contract between the municipality of Clarence-Rockland and one of the local coach operators (417 Bus Line or Leduc).

It always seems to be teetering on the brink of cancellation as it has few riders apparently.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

The rural communities are in Ottawa are booming right now, but I'm really curious to see what will happen once the feds and other sectors return to the office full time. When traffic is backed up on the 417 and there are no public transit options, the commute from Almonte or Embrun is much less appealing. I remember the winter before the pandemic friends had commented how often the 417 was stop and go from Anderson or Boundary Road, and the backup in the West end was very consistent.

The pandemic may have accentuated things but they were all booming before in my observation.

This will just push things further along I suppose.

[J.OT13]

Kate Porter
@KatePorterCBC

Jan Harder opens planning committee saying Kanata North business park will be the pilot for #ottcity trying out something called a "community planning permit".

It merges development applications into one to speed things up.

(https://ontario.ca/page/community-planning-permit-system)

9:52 AM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter Web App

Kate Porter
@KatePorterCBC

Coun. Jenna Sudds says the large Kanata North business park is from the '70s, and many property owners want to make it more "live, work play." #kanata

The new permit system wouldn't be in place until after the new Official Plan is approved.

9:52 AM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/KatePorterCBC/status/1375083122367328257

[rocketphish]

No rubber stamp in planning department when it comes to development applications: staff
"There might be times where we're not saying no to an application, but almost every application changes from the time they enter and we receive them."

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Mar 25, 2021 • 3 hours ago • 4 minute read

Construction-hungry developers aren’t cakewalking through the city’s planning department on the way to putting shovels in the ground, planning bosses said Thursday, rebuffing public perceptions the application process is a rubber-stamp exercise.

Coun. Riley Brockington prompted planning managers to address the public “misconception” during a planning committee meeting where the year-end report for 2020 was on the agenda. Brockington has told staff about the importance of tracking data so council members can tell the public how many planning applications have gone through significant changes.

Good point, said Stephen Willis, the general manager of planning, infrastructure and economic development.

The problem is, the planning department doesn’t yet have the hard numbers to brush away the falsehoods.

Data on how much a planning application might change between the time it’s filed at city hall to the time it lands on the agenda of planning committee hasn’t been available.

Willis said new land management software will soon roll out and help the city better track planning applications.

“We get a lot of people who kick the tires on ideas and I think only a portion of them ever proceed to planning applications,” Willis said, estimating that 60 per cent of those turn into actual development applications and the rest either go away or come back substantially modified.

“Through the planning application process, there are lot of modifications between the point people apply and the point reports are before (planning committee) for approval because of the work of staff and that happens in almost every file,” Willis said. “There’s some sort of modification.”

Willis also said out of all the building permit applications the city approves, only about 10 per cent require planning amendments. That means nearly all proposals comply with zoning already in place for a property.

The city received 1,137 planning applications in 2020, not including those initiated by the municipal government. The volume of applications was a nine per cent decrease from 2019, but it was a six per cent increase from the 2018 volume.

A report published by the planning department shows that staff in some cases struggled to meet targets for processing times on planning applications during the first year of COVID-19. Staff ran into challenges working from home, such as connectivity problems, and the planning department’s plan to fill vacant positions was set aside because of budget tightening related to the pandemic.

Lee Ann Snedden, director of planning services, told the committee the applications coming into the planning department have been complex requiring additional time.

“Almost every application that comes in doesn’t end up being the outcome of that application,” Snedden said. “There might be times where we’re not saying no to an application, but almost every application changes from the time they enter and we receive them.”

All rezoning applications on the planning committee’s agenda Thursday came with staff approvals and none was held by councillor for further debate. No members of the public signed up to address the projects in opposition.

The approvals included a 26-storey complex at 320 McRae Ave. and 315 Tweedsmuir Ave. across from Westboro Station and a two-tower development of 18 and 16 storeys at 1619-1655 Carling Ave., just west of Churchill Avenue.

The owner of Merivale Mall at 1642 Merivale Rd. received the committee’s OK to build a 12-storey mixed-use building at the southeastern part of the site, following earlier council approval for a seven-storey building also along the southern edge of the mall site. The Harvey’s restaurant will be relocated to the northeastern part of the site and there are no changes being proposed to the mall.

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli appeared at the meeting held by videoconference and told colleagues it will be a “big change” for the low-rise community near the mall, noting residents feel the development isn’t warranted when there are traffic studies happening on Viewmount Drive.

Council will consider planning committee’s recommendations on April 14.

Race for pools drives work for planning department

Ottawa residents flooded the planning department with pool enclosure applications in 2020 as they tried to stay cool during the first summer of COVID-19.

There were 1,383 applications for pool enclosure permits in 2020, compared to 769 in 2019 and 702 in 2018.

The city’s pool enclosure bylaw requires owners of outdoor pools to install an enclosure so small kids can’t access the pool. Yard fences around pools also require permits to ensure they meet the safety requirements.

Willis said the pandemic has prompted more homeowners to install pools, but the higher number of permit applications in 2020 is also tied to pool enclosures being restored after the tornadoes tore through Ottawa in September 2018.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...-comes-to-development-applications-staff

[Proof Sheet]

https://bulldogottawa.com/try-democracy-planners-you-might-like-it/

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

https://bulldogottawa.com/try-democracy-planners-you-might-like-it/

I'd ask if he realized that it was democracy that lead to the policy that required 60% of growth through infill. As it is that policy and the estimated growth (which some argue is underestimated) that leads to the requirements outlined in the new OP. Policy as put forth by the elected council.

But then again, like most contrarian whether left or right winged the only democratic opinion worth anything is theirs. They view opposition as undemocratic, so they'll sling mud at those that don't do what they want. Like for example saying they are bought by developers......

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

I'd ask if he realized that it was democracy that lead to the policy that required 60% of growth through infill. As it is that policy and the estimated growth (which some argue is underestimated) that leads to the requirements outlined in the new OP. Policy as put forth by the elected council.

But then again, like most contrarian whether left or right winged the only democratic opinion worth anything is theirs. They view opposition as undemocratic, so they'll sling mud at those that don't do what they want. Like for example saying they are bought by developers......

Don't worry..every Councillor will be replaced next year as the electorate are all fed up with all Councillors...except those that aren't in the developers pockets.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Don't worry..every Councillor will be replaced next year as the electorate are all fed up with all Councillors...except those that aren't in the developers pockets.

Eh option UC is 100% growth through Density, which means more density that these Nimbys don't want.

Like seriously the choices are growth through infill, expanding the urban boundary, or the city getting even more unaffordable.

And I'd rather Ottawa not go down the Toronto route of never ended sprawl and yellow belts. All made possible by massive park and rides at heavily subsidized commuter rail stations. Also known as the Doucet development plan.

[J.OT13]

I did not listen to the Committee, so I'm unsure why B&Bs or Air B&Bs are not allowed in a few patches of rural areas and the entirety of Rockliffe Park.

Replying to
@KatePorterCBC

There are areas in #ottcity where bed and breakfasts aren't allowed in certain agricultural areas and in Rockcliffe. Permits for short-term rentals won't be issued in those areas.


10:20 AM · Apr 22, 2021·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/KatePorterCBC/status/1385237014186971142

[RogueNacho]

...and the entirety of Rockliffe Park

Oh, I think we could guess why...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by RogueNacho

Oh, I think we could guess why...

That's the assumption, but they may have mentioned a more sound reasoning during the meeting...

[rocketphish]

Rules to regulate Airbnb rentals pass committee; council to vote Wednesday

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Apr 22, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 2 minute read

Regulations on short-term rentals, including those often advertised on Airbnb, are one step away from becoming a municipal law in Ottawa for at least three years.

Councillors who sit on the planning committee and community and protective services committee, making up a large majority of council, unanimously endorsed the staff-recommended regime during a joint meeting on Thursday.

It’s the second part of a two-stop process by city council to put restrictions on the short-term rental market, seen at city hall as a source of public nuisance and a major barrier to creating long-term housing for people.

Council already endorsed the move in November 2019 and sent staff away to create the bylaw and zoning rules required to give the new policy teeth.

The proposed regulations will go to council for approval on Wednesday.

The centrepiece of the new regime puts restrictions on which properties can be used for short-term rentals, targeting investors scooping up multiple homes and condo units to run solely as short-term rentals.

Short-term rentals are considered to be anything less than 30 consecutive nights.

Under the proposed regulations, only principal residences can be used for this purpose, with one exception being in some rural areas outside of villages where vacation rentals like cottages have been common.

People who want to use their principle residences as short-term rentals would have to buy a “host permit” from the city, which also plans to establish a parallel host permit system for rural vacation homes and cottages. A two-year host permit would be $110.

Condo corporations and landlords would be able to block the issuance of host permits in their buildings.

Platforms that operate in the short-term rental market, such as Airbnb, would need to register with the city and share data. It must also allow the city to charge the municipal accommodations tax.

Nathan Rotman, a policy staffer from Airbnb, failed to convince councillors that the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the time to bring in new restrictions on people who count on revenue from short-term rentals. At least delay implementation of the regulations until winter 2022 to take advantage of economic recovery, Rotman said.

The city is suggesting a three-year trial period so staff can gather data and tweak the regulations, if necessary.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...pass-committee-council-to-vote-wednesday

[rocketphish]

Former Toronto planning chief says Ottawa 'needs to take ownership of its future'
"You're not going to get a walkable city if you're sprawling at the edges. You've got to connect those dots."

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Apr 28, 2021 • 27 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Jennifer Keesmaat believes Ottawa’s population hitting one million signals the moment in which the city should be bold in its land-use planning, a timely observation since the city is getting closer to having a new official plan.

“Growth is a gift,” Keesmaat, an urban planner and former chief planner for the City of Toronto, said in an interview ahead of a scheduled keynote address at the City Building Summit on Friday hosted virtually by the Ottawa Board of Trade.

But she added a warning.

“You can’t continue to grow in the same way as the past,” Keesmaat said. “If you use the same approach to growth from when you were 300,000 people to when you’re one million people, you’re going to see phenomenal challenges emerge. Ottawa is at that moment where it needs to take ownership over its future. It needs to embrace a very forward-looking future and every sector needs to take ownership of driving forward that change.”

Keesmaat said people often talk about wanting a sustainable, walkable, transit-orientated and inclusive city, but governance doesn’t always match the aspirations, and she used land-use planning as a prime example.

“You’re not going to get a walkable city if you’re sprawling at the edges,” Keesmaat said. “You’ve got to connect those dots.”

Keesmaat said Ottawa has arrived at an important moment when it must decide if it’s going to be a sprawling city or a city “that embraces sufficient density that is carefully executed and carefully planned,” creating a transit-orientated, walkable city with varied housing options.

Ottawa city council has decided the next official plan will call for 51 per cent of all new homes to be built in existing communities through intensification over a 28-year period that started in 2018. The intensification rate would increase to 60 per cent for the years between 2041 and 2046.

To accommodate the projected population growth, the city would have to accept some residential sprawl in what it has called a “balanced scenario” requiring 1,281 gross hectares of greenfield land for development.

The city has trumpeted its future intensification targets as one of the highest intensification targets in North America for cities not built to their urban boundaries.

Keesmaat, on the other hand, said she doesn’t consider an intensification target of 50-60 per cent very bold for Ottawa, though she acknowledged that she hasn’t been deeply engaged in the due diligence that went into setting the targets.

Still, she believes all new growth should be directed to built-up areas.

It might be the biggest planning conundrum for Ottawa’s municipal government.

Fear and anger over what more intensification will bring to communities have dominated the dialogue in recent months as Ottawa develops its new official plan.

Keesmaat said the concerns are legitimate because municipalities have done a poor job of managing intensification in the past, but she believes incremental density — filling the so-called “missing middle” of housing that doesn’t tower over communities — is key to the future of cities.

Keesmaat, whose keynote address is called Own Your City, said cities are becoming more sustainable and inclusive places, thanks to global attention to climate change and social justice movements, and citizens can be at the centre of the change.

When Keesmaat talks about connecting the dots, the largest span between two dots might be between citizens eager to embrace the ideals and electing council members who will take action.

“It’s probably the most important question,” said Keesmaat, who finished a distant second behind John Tory in Toronto’s 2018 mayoral race.

“The city isn’t something that happens to us. It’s actually something that we create through our actions, through our political choices and so if you want to see a progressive vision in your city, a more inclusive city, it’s really critical to build constituencies to support that change and advocate for that change,” Keesmaat said.

“People used to complain to me when I was chief planner about the politicians all the time and I would look them straight in the eye and say they are your politicians. They didn’t drop out of the sky. You elected them. So if you want to see something different, get engaged in your city.”

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...wa-needs-to-take-ownership-of-its-future