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