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New Edinburgh News
FÉVRIER 2002
What’s Coming for Ottawa in 2002?
The short answer is that many aspects of amalgamation must still
be addressed.
First of all, however, will be a piece of regular business,
-setting the City’s first real budget. Last year’s exercise did
not allow for the regular process. Our staff did not have time to
assess the needs of the new City and propose options for Council’s
consideration. The 2001 budget was effectively inherited from the
Transition Board. The coming budget will follow a more usual
process, including the opportunity for public participation.
Already, indications are that difficult choices will have to be
faced by the public and Council. Everyone should remember that the
City will be facing not only amalgamation-related issues (e.g. the
Library acquisitions budget and new branch requirements) and
‘regular’ issues (e.g. Police, OC Transpo, support for the Arts
requirements) but also issues related to downloading of important
responsibilities from the Province (e.g. Ambulance and Public
Housing). As if that is not enough, we all know that pressure is
already coming from a file that is fully within the Province’s
purview. I am speaking about the very difficult situation facing
our local hospitals. Draft budget documents will be released on
February 13. I will be hosting a public information session on
February 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the small gymnasium of the Rockcliffe
Public School. Mr. Kent Kirkpatrick, General Manager, Corporate
Services and Mr. Tom Fedec, Budget Account Manager, will be
present that evening.
Amalgamation-related topics to come up in 2002 include:
• The City’s new Official Plan. The ‘Smart Growth Summit’ last
June launched the review of the Official Plan for the new city.
Ottawa is geographically the largest municipality in the province,
which has significant implications for the way we as a community
set our goals. The manner in which a city grows has the most
important consequences for future tax rates and quality of life
issues. It has implications for the vigour of our economy, for our
transportation network (mass transit and bridges), for the
vitality of the Arts, for the availability of recreational
facilities as well as for the health and safety of our society
along with the affordability of all of the above. The Mayor is
correct that this is a decision that must be taken with the
greatest possible community consensus. To this end, consultations
are being scheduled throughout the City. Residents of
Rideau-Rockcliffe are invited to the previously mentioned public
information session at the Rockcliffe Public School on February
14. Planning staff will be present to answer questions and to
receive your views. Documents will be on hand. Information is also
available at www.ottawa2020.com, reachable through
Rideau-Rockcliffe’s very own web site (details below).
• Harmonising bylaws. We are still living with the patchwork
legacy of bylaws inherited from the previous 30+ year history of
two-tier municipal government. These will include noise by-laws,
pet-related by-laws and pesticide by-laws to mention a few.
Harmonising should not mean uniformity. Bylaws in such a large and
diverse City will need to recognise and accommodate the nature of
our various communities and business sectors.
Housing
This year will see big changes in public housing. Last year
Council decided to amalgamate City Living and Ottawa Housing,
creating an organisation with some 14,600 housing units. A new
Board will come into existence in April. A new general manager
will have been hired. There is also a review of the current
practice of housing seniors and non-seniors with developmental
difficulties in the same buildings. This last issue arose out of a
change, which was proposed for 540 Thomson last fall to address
the serious problems that had surfaced at that residence in recent
years. The proposal was to officially reconvert that building back
to the status of a seniors-only residence that it had enjoyed
prior to 1996. That issue was successfully resolved (twice!) at
the Board of Ottawa Housing. Thomson will now accept only seniors
as vacancies occur. No one will face eviction as a result of that
policy change. The review will examine whether that practise
should continue for other buildings in the portfolio.
CFB Rockcliffe
It is expected that the lands of the former CFB Rockcliffe will be
examined in the coming year. If so, you can expect that it will be
the subject of extensive and intensive discussions. Those lands
form one of the largest redevelopable parcels within the urban
core of Ottawa. It will be very important that the best options
(in the Smart Growth sense) are considered if DND and the Federal
authorities decide that the lands are no longer required for their
purposes. Some may have heard that a ‘visioning’ exercise had been
planned by Canada Lands Company for late February. That exercise
has now been postponed. Stay tuned for updates.
La révision des quartiers de la ville
Le Conseil a créé un groupe de travail composer de trois ‘sages’
dont, Mme Katherine Graham, M. David Bartlett et M. Pierre de
Blois (de notre quartier). Le groupe est chargé d'étudier les
avantages des limites actuelles et de déterminer s'il était
possible d'établir un meilleur équilibre et une plus grande équité
dans la délimitation des quartiers. Il y aura une réunion publique
le 4 février 2002 à 16h30 à l’hôtel de ville d’Ottawa. La date
limite pour tous commentaires est fixée pour le 28 février 2002.
The Pond
Many have been anxiously awaiting news about this rather unique
piece of our natural environment. I believe that our staff has
found a way in which this area can continue to be enjoyed by all,
as had been the case in the recent past. Those interested should
plan to attend a public meeting on February 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the
gymnasium of the Manor Park Public School. Mr. Daniel Chenier,
District Manager of Community Services and Mr. Jerald Bellomo,
Director of the City’s Legal Services will be on hand.
Web Site
Rideau-Rockcliffe now has its very own web site. I invite
constituents to visit
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com. It is hoped that this will enhance
your ability to be aware of what’s happening in your ward and your
city as well as providing a modern vehicle for citizen
interaction. Your comments are eagerly awaited.
You can communicate with me at (please include a telephone
number):
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 580-2483, Fax: 580-2523
e-mail:
jacques.legendre@city.ottawa.on.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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