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Rockcliffe
park newsletter
octobRE
2007
Princess Road Reconstruction Public Meeting
New Edinburgh residents may be wondering why road works are
underway to build a roundabout where Princess meets the
Rockcliffe Parkway yet nothing appears to happening on Princess
itself. The two projects were to have proceeded together. The
answer is that the land constraints in that corridor are very
tight. The former Village of Rockcliffe Park is a designated
Heritage Conservation District and residents wished to maintain
a rural look to that part of Princess from the roundabout to
Lisgar. The NCC has an interest in protecting the fence
surrounding Government House, principally from snow bank
accumulations. There have been many detailed discussions with
the NCC and much difficult design work by City staff.
It would now appear that a solution may have been found which
will satisfy the various constraints. To this end a public
meeting has been scheduled for Monday, October 22nd, 7:30 pm in
the Small Gym of the Rockcliffe Public School.
A New Drainage By-law Will Now Apply on Private Property
Property owners, when improving their properties, may change the
grades on their property through landscaping or the installation
of decks, sheds and swimming pools. These alterations disrupt
the original drainage pattern and cause rain water or snow melt
to accumulate or be redirected towards adjacent properties. This
results in approximately 4,000 complaints and inquiries each
year! To date the City has managed and resolved some of these
drainage complaints through investigation of the problem and the
offer of constructive solutions. However, residents do not
always cooperate and many problems remain unresolved. Moreover,
currently the Wastewater and Drainage Services Division is too
under resourced to be effective. In the absence of an effective
by-law, staff could only assist with the resolution of drainage
problems if there is cooperation between the residents.
Drainage by-laws existed in the some of the former
(pre-amalgamation) municipalities. In one case, the by-law
allowed the City to order corrections, but required that Council
pass a specific by-law for each case. In another case, the
by-law provided staff with the ability to order corrections but
only provided for limited fines in the case of non-compliance.
The City has the authority under the Municipal Act to pass a
by-law that would empower staff to impose corrections on
landowners who disrupt drainage systems by issuing an order to
discontinue an activity or to do work to correct the
contravention, and to enter onto private property to make those
corrections at the landowner’s expense. Although it has the
authority, the City has no legal obligation to resolve drainage
problems on private property. The City could take the position
that a drainage problem caused by the actions of another
landowner is a civil matter and the residents must resort to the
Courts for resolution. In taking this position, the City would
only get involved if there were a threat to public safety or the
City’s infrastructure.
City Council has decided on a pro-active approach recommended by
staff and make use of the powers granted under the Municipal
Act. The new by-law makes it an offence to alter or obstruct a
drain (including a ditch) or lot grade.
The Director of the department will now have expanded authority
to take remedial action and may now issue an order to include
the situation where the alteration or the obstruction affects
private property. If compliance with the requirements of the
notice is not forthcoming, the Director may cause the work to be
done at the expense of the offending owner. The total cost of
the work will include an administration fee in the amount of 15%
of the cost of the work.
The By-law will allow the City to make corrections quickly in
cases where there is imminent and significant risk to public
health, public safety or private property.
The general approach would be to first use persuasion and
education and only apply the provisions of the By-law if this
fails to have the required effect.
Minor Complaints: The City will not respond or attempt to
address complaints where the resident is expecting an
unreasonable level of service. Examples include cases where the
residents are in dispute and drainage is being used by one as an
excuse to harass the other; where the water disappears soon
after the rain event ends; or where there are small amounts of
standing water in a ditch or swale during the spring melt
because of snow and ice blockage. Naturally, the By-law does not
apply in cases where changes which actually improve the historic
drainage situation have occurred.
2008 Budget Tabling – November 14th
As usual, following budget tabling, there will be an opportunity
for constituents in Rideau-Rockcliffe to learn of the budget
proposals directly from the City Manager, Mr. Kent Kirkpatrick,
and other senior staff members. I have organized the
consultation this year in partnership with my colleague
Councillor Georges Bédard and your neighbours in Rideau-Vanier.
The evening will allow for an extensive question and comment
period. This is always an excellent opportunity for you to
communicate your thoughts on City priorities as reflected in the
proposed budget.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, November 15, 2007, at the
ST. LAURENT COMPLEX (525 Côté Street) at 7:00 PM in the
Courtyard Room. I look forward to seeing you then and to a
fruitful dialogue on the City’s expenditures.
Jacques Legendre
Councillor, Rideau-Rockcliffe
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@ottawa.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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