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Rockcliffe
park newsletter
DECEMBER
2006 Election 2006
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for
expressing your confidence in me once again. I pledge that I
will continue to keep you informed, partly through the ‘News’,
and to work on your behalf and in the interest of the greater
public good. THANK YOU.
100 Landry
Regrettably, City Council has just given its approval for the
development at this site in the former Vanier. Its proximity to
New Edinburgh will likely lead to spillover effects in the
community. The impact of this decision however extends well
beyond the bounds of the ‘east end’ of Ottawa.
The decision, if allowed to stand at a presumed upcoming OMB
hearing, will mean that the City of Ottawa’s Official Plan
(Ottawa 20/20), adopted in 2003, contains a flaw that will have
major consequences for the way that Ottawa will intensify.
Make no mistake, intensification is important. It is a crucial
element of containing urban sprawl – of ‘growing in, not out’ as
the RMOC’s last Official Plan (1997) put it just prior to
amalgamation. We hear constantly about the need to control City
spending and checking tax increases, however, the economic (and
tax) benefits of properly conceived intensification are too
often ignored. Yet there is probably no more important single
factor responsible for the cost of local government, driving the
expenditure of 100’s of millions of dollars in our budget
discussions. We usually end up wringing our hands over
expenditures in the 10’s of millions of dollars (or less!) and
yet the really ‘big stuff’, and what has led to the need for
those costs, is given little attention and none at all once the
budget is decided! To be very clear, intensification is the way
to make Ottawa and its quality of life affordable and keep it
affordable in the long term. The result of properly conceived
intensification ought to be a higher quality of life – public
parks, public institutions (libraries, pools) and other services
become more affordable, the Transit system and other
infrastructure would be more cost-effective, business districts
more vibrant. Effectively, everybody wins. This is what Ottawa
20/20 was supposed to mean. It would appear, if this decision is
allowed to stand, that the sections of Ottawa 20/20,
(e.g. 2.5.1 Compatibility of Development
The City's growth management strategy includes
intensification of development in the urban area over the
next 20 years …. Introducing new development in existing
areas that have developed over a long period of time
requires a sensitive approach to differences between the new
development and the established area, in terms of building
heights, setbacks, and other characteristics. This Plan
provides guidance on measures that will mitigate these
differences and help achieve compatibility of form and
function. – emphasis added)
intended to put some constraints on
intensification, are not stated with sufficient strength or
clarity. I fear that this approach to intensification, ‘without
reasonable’ constraints, will eventually drive us to abandon the
concept entirely. What ought to happen is that a clearer and
more reasonable definition of intensification needs to be
incorporated within our Official Plan.
I encourage my constituents and all citizens of Ottawa to think
on the issue because it is so very important that we arrive at a
collective acceptance of the limits of a reasoned approach
before it is too late.
CFB Rockcliffe
The appropriate redevelopment of CFB Rockcliffe, by far the
largest parcel of land within the urban core, is certainly
driving some of my pre-occupation with getting ‘intensification’
right. By the time that this article appears, the Canada Lands
Corporation (CLC), the crown agency charged with developing an
urban renewal plan for the site, will have held its second open
house and public consultation session on November 29th. The
first public meeting, at the end of June, was attended by
approximately 500 very interested residents. (The power-point
presentations, first by CLC and its consulting team then by
CARAD – Community Action for Rockcliffe Airbase Development-
and, finally, a video recording of the first ½ hour of the Q&A
period that evening, can be found at www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
for those who missed the June meeting. I will endeavour to post
similar elements of the second meeting for those who could not
attend on November 29th). Since the June meeting, terms of
reference for the ‘Community Design Plan’ were developed and
accepted by City Council. They are posted on CLC’s web-site (www.clc.ca).
The intervening months have also seen the formation of a Public
Advisory Committee (PAC), chaired by Professor Caroline Andrew
of the University of Ottawa’s School of Political Studies. The
full membership can be found on CLC’s web site. The PAC
membership, in addition to representatives of the surrounding
communities, also includes representatives of groups with
citywide interests and mandates such as various housing groups,
Ottawa’s Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee, and
Transport 2000.
Season's Greetings
I also take this opportunity, on behalf of my family and myself,
to extend to all, Best Wishes for Health, Prosperity and
Personal Serenity in 2007.
Meilleurs vœux
Je profite de cette occasion pour vous souhaiter mes meilleurs
vœux pour une année de santé, prospérité et sérénité.
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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