Public meetings on possible purchase of parkland at Les Soeurs de la Visitation

Councillor Katherine Hobbs is inviting residents to have their say on the possible purchase of parkland at the former Les Soeurs de la Visitation site (114 Richmond Rd).

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

March 1, 2011
7 – 9 P.M.
Hintonburg Community Centre
1064 Wellington Street West

March 2, 2011
7:30 – 9 P.M.
Broadview Public School
590 Broadview

March 5, 2011
3 – 5 P.M.
Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre
345 Richmond Rd.

March 6, 2011
3 – 5 P.M.
Ottawa Civic Hospital
Amphitheatre (Main building access from Ruskin St.)

March 6, 2011
7 - 9 P.M.
Champlain Park
140 Carleton (Field House)

Public packs meeting on infill development

City staff made a presentation on infill development at Connaught Public School on February 17^th and asked residents to provide feedback relating to their survey findings and possible solutions. You can see the “Visual Survey Findings” at: http://ottawa.ca/residents/public_consult/infill/findings_en.html. This meeting was one in a series of meetings being held throughout the city. Staff hopes to have their report done in April.

CHNA comments on Central Experimental Farm Maple Drive Entrance Relocation

CHNA sent the following comments to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as part of the consultation process for a proposed relocation of the Central Experimental Farm entrance on Carling Avenue at Maple Drive to Melrose Avenue:

On behalf of the membership of the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Traffic Committee, I would like you to take the following comments into consideration for any future planning on this issue. Many of our members attended the meeting of Jan. 24th, myself included, and are generally opposed to the whole notion.

• Justification for closing Maple Drive appears frivolous (an approximate one block move) and without regard for the neighborhood
• The cost for unnecessary roadway modifications in a time of budget constraints is unwarranted
• The full traffic study CEF conducted was only made available to the public very late in the process (a few days before the public meeting); after brief review by some we are not in agreement with some of its methodology or assumptions and we strongly object to the witholding of this informaiton in the first place
• Signalizing an intersection will have an impact on traffic and the results of which are unknown
• Another set of lights in a heavily signalized corridor (Irving to Holland) will cause more cut-through traffic in north-south residential streets
• It appears from the meeting and other sources that some of the Ag-Can employees are opposed to the idea and are concerned about possible effects on their research
• Melrose Avenue in particular is already heavily utilized by outside traffic gaining access to/from the Ottawa Civic Hospital; it seems unfair to ask them to accept extra traffic

Thanks in advance for your consideration of our opinions and please keep us listed as an interested stakeholder in the process for any future discussion of this issue.

Peter Eady

Chair, CHNA Traffic Committee (CHNA-TC)

169 Hickory Street

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada

K1Y 3T7

City holds public meetings on Infill Housing

In the spring of 2010 a number of community associations and individual community members expressed their concerns to the City that recent, small-scale, infill housing projects in their neighbourhoods were incompatible with the character of the neighbourhood and were making a negative contribution to the community. They asked what the City could do to prevent this pattern from continuing.

To better understand the issue in these neighbourhoods, staff from the Community Planning and Urban Design Unit assembled a list of building permits issued for infill detached, semi-detached, multiple attached dwellings and stacked dwellings between January 2005 and the end of June, 2010 in Wards 12, 14, 15 and 17. These wards were selected because they are seeing the largest amount of small-scale infill. Many of the neighbourhoods in these wards were developed pre-war, are well established and have a distinctive character. Over 400 properties were studied during the summer of 2010.

The purpose of the survey was to:

• determine how the new home fits within the specific context of the street and neighbourhood in which it is built
• characterize the infill in order to understand how it contributes to or detracts from the street and neighbourhood
• determine if there are any trends in infill construction
• determine if steps need to be taken to improve the nature of infill development

Based on the survey findings, the Planning and Growth Management Department has been working with other City Branches and Departments to explore possible solutions to address types and patterns of infill housing that appear to have a negative impact on neighbourhoods.

Public Meetings

The public is invited to attend one of the following public meetings and provide input on possible solutions:

Monday, February 7,
7 to 9 pm
St. Bartholomew’s Church,
125 MacKay Street

Thursday, February 17,
7 to 9 pm
Connaught Public School (Gym),
1149 Gladstone Avenue

Tuesday, February 22,
7:15 to 9:15 pm
St. Mathew’s Anglican Church (Main Hall),
217 First Avenue

Thursday, February 24,
7 to 9 pm
Ottawa City Hall, Festival Control Plaza (First Floor, Laurier Entrance),
110 Laurier Avenue West

* Note that the same content will be presented at each of these meetings.

Following these meetings, the public input will be analysed and evaluated and the City anticipates hosting one final consultation session at a later date. A report on the issue will be brought to Planning Committee in the spring of 2011.

For more information, contact:

Selma Hassan, Planner
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability Department
110 Laurier Ave. West
City of Ottawa
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 613-580-2424, ext 25192
Fax: 613-580-2576
E-mail: selma.hassan@ottawa.ca

Councillor Hobbs responds to CHNA's questions

Councillor Katherine Hobbs sent the following response to CHNA's letter dated February 1, 2011 (see blog posting below):

February 5, 2011

Hello Katherine, et al at the CHNA

Following please find responses for your questions in the letter you sent me. Please let me know if there is any other information I can provide.

Thanks,
Katherine

Councillor - Kitchissippi Ward
613-580-2485

Councillor's Responses:

Q: 855 Carling (Arnon): It is our understanding that Arnon can potentially request an increase in the height of its buildings at 855 Carling now that Mastercraft Starwood has been allowed to build a 16 and a 20 story building. The CHNA does not support a further increase and would like to know your position on this issue.

A: In our meeting we discussed how generally each building needs to be considered individually in terms of its neighbourhood and planning rationale context. You stated that your concern regarding the height increase was on the grounds of the Official Plan's principle of graduated height. As a result we would have to consult with staff, the community and the developer on what is appropriate for the sight. I remain convinced that we must give serious consideration to height: where to put it and what it means for the community. As such, it would not be possible to make a judgment of an individual development without so much as a concept plan.

Q: Humane Society site: This site is right next to Ev Tremblay Park and at the edge of a low-rise residential area. Any development on this site should be fairly low-rise as the Humane society site is the transition point between what will be high-rise buildings and a very low-rise neighbourhood. This site is not appropriate for anything other than a two or three story building. Anything more will cast a shadow on the swimming pool which is just a few feet away. As our ward councillor, we would like to know what you think is appropriate and inappropriate on this site - well before we get a zoning proposal.

A: As you may know, the Official Plan calls for transition from mixed-use to residential areas to within the mixed-use centre. Therefore, your assertion that this sight be transitional is correct. In terms of specific height restrictions, I would seek from the developer and staff that any proposal be sensitive to shadowing effects on Ev Tremblay Park and other impacts on its programming. I intend to push for appropriate development of this site.

Q: Hickory between Champagne and Loretta: We have reason to believe that developers may be interested in this strip of land. Our position on the Hickory Street land between Champagne and Loretta is similar to our position on the Humane Society site. Anything that is developed should be fairly low-rise as this area is the transition point between what will be high rise buildings and a very low-rise neighbourhood. This site is not appropriate for anything other than a two or three story building. We would like to know your position on this stretch of land as well.

A: As with the Humane Society site, I would seek for the transition from mixed-use to residential areas to be in keeping with the provisions of the transition to be in the mixed-use area as in keeping with the Official Plan. I intend to push for appropriate development of this site.

Q: 125 Hickory (Mastercraft Starwood): The former ward Councillor for Kitchissippi removed site plan approval authority from staff because of the number of concerns expressed by residents and CHNA. We would like to know if this is still the case. As you know, the CHNA is meeting with the planning department on possible improvements to local roadways as part of the 125 Hickory Street site plan process. We will take a close look at the various options once they are provided by the City and contact you if we have questions and concerns.

A: Delegated authority remains lifted to the Councillor.

Q: Parkdale: We have heard that Parkdale, which is a very narrow residential road, may have been converted from a major collector to an arterial. We would appreciate your help in determining if this is true.

A: Parkdale is defined in the Official Plan as an Urban Arterial.

Letter to Katherine Hobbs

February 1, 2011

Councillor Katherine Hobbs
Ward 15- Kitchissippi
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J1

Dear Councillor Hobbs:

I would like to thank you and Geoffrey, on behalf of the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association (CHNA), for meeting with CHNA representatives on January 26^th. We appreciated the opportunity to introduce ourselves and outline some of the concerns facing residents in our community. We also appreciated your willingness to meet with us in the evening plus your time and input.

I am also writing to reiterate our overall concerns and follow-up on number of specific issues and questions that were raised at our meeting.

Overall concerns

Civic Hospital Campus and Heart Institute: The Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital (CC-TOH) is a highly valued part of our community, as is the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI), which is located on the Civic campus. Of course, we are affected by the presence and evolution of the hospital and heart institute, such as plans for UOHI expansion and a new parking structure. We are also affected by the hundreds of thousands of inpatients, outpatients and visitors who travel to and from the hospital each year, most of them by car.

We hope to keep you up to date on issues relating to the CC-TOH and UOHI and work with you with a view to maintaining a healthy community, hospital and heart institute.

Traffic: Traffic has been a concern for many years, in part, because many of our streets are used as north-south arterials because Ottawa does not have one. In fact, there are few issues that concern residents in our area more than traffic. People regularly contact the CHNA about traffic issues and there are more than a dozen residents who have signed up to work with our association’s traffic committee.

As we indicated at our meeting, we have a number of traffic priorities and hope to work with you to manage traffic and maintain the livability of our streets.

New developments: While we have been open to development in our area, we do have concerns. We are concerned that development is occurring without proper planning (the Community Design Plan for the land near the Carling O-Train stop has not even started) without critical investments in infrastructure and without recognition of the impact that the various developments will have on our neighbourhood, especially with regard to traffic.

All told, the new developments underway near the Carling O-Train stop will add 1260 additional vehicles to our streets and about 1000 additional people.

As far as we know, no other area in the city is undergoing the kind of intensive development that our area is. We believe that it is critical that the City work with the CHNA to strike the right balance between sustaining our neighbourhood, supporting intensive development and dealing with the spike in traffic that goes with it. The additional traffic is an especially serious matter as many of our streets were built during the 1930s and 40s and were not exactly designed to accommodate the volume of traffic we see today.

Specific questions and concerns

As I indicated at the meeting, the CHNA has a number of specific questions and concerns.

855 Carling (Arnon): It is our understanding that Arnon can potentially request an increase in the height of its buildings at 855 Carling now that Mastercraft Starwood has been allowed to build a 16 and a 20 story building. The CHNA does not support a further increase and would like to know your position on this issue

Humane Society site: This site is right next to Ev Tremblay Park and at the edge of a low-rise residential area. Any development on this site should be fairly low-rise as the Humane society site is the transition point between what will be high-rise buildings and a very low-rise neighbourhood. This site is not appropriate for anything other than a two or three story building. Anything more will cast a shadow on the swimming pool which is just a few feet away. As our ward councillor, we would like to know what you think is appropriate and inappropriate on this site – well before we get a zoning proposal.

Hickory between Champagne and Loretta: We have reason to believe that developers may be interested in this strip of land. Our position on the Hickory Street land between Champagne and Loretta is similar to our position on the Humane Society site. Anything that is developed should be fairly low-rise as this area is the transition point between what will be high rise buildings and a very low-rise neighbourhood. This site is not appropriate for anything other than a two or three story building. We would like to know your position on this stretch of land as well.

125 Hickory (Mastercraft Starwood): The former ward Councillor for Kitchissippi removed site plan approval authority from staff because of the number of concerns expressed by residents and CHNA. We would like to know if this is still the case.

As you know, the CHNA is meeting with the planning department on possible improvements to local roadways as part of the 125 Hickory Street site plan process. We will take a close look at the various options once they are provided by the City and contact you if we have questions and concerns.

Parkdale: We have heard that Parkdale, which is a very narrow residential road, may have been converted from a major collector to an arterial. We would appreciate your help in determining if this is true.

Clarification

The document we provided at our meeting (called Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association: Community Overview and Current Issues) indicated that “Using a focused prioritization exercise, our top objectives are: Traffic calming and diversion measures to divert cut through traffic off neighbourhood streets and to ease pressure on Parkdale ramp by better utilizing Carling Avenue.”

The document should have said “Using a focused prioritization exercise, our top objectives are: Traffic calming and diversion measures to encourage use of Carling Avenue and to lessen impact of through traffic on residential streets.”

In closing, we would like to reiterate our thanks for the meeting. We think it was a very good start to a dialogue aimed at dealing with traffic, development, infrastructure and other issues in the CHNA catchment area. We look forward to working with you on immediate steps such as a signed and enforced 40 kilometres/hour speed limit throughout the area, signage encouraging the use of the Westgate Queensway ramp and no entry during rush hour signs for the area near the Carling O-Train stop.

Yours truly,

Katherine Steinhoff

Vice President

Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association