Minutes of Meeting 3 MAY 1999

Attendees:

Regional Councillor, Wendy Stewart, submitted a report on the following:

Southern Corridor:

Fred Mclennan said that Jim Bickford promised to meet Ted Robinson, Commissioner of Urban Planning, City of Ottawa.

Jim Bickford met with Ted Robinson, and Bob Spicer is here to answer questions on behalf of the City.

Bob Spicer wants to get the Neighbourhood Study off the shelf, to keep as much value as possible from the work that was done. He presented three options: first is do nothing which is simply to ignore the Neighbourhood Study, the second is to zone the McCarthy Woods as an Environmentally Sensitive Area and the remainder of the southern corridor as L3-h Community Leisure, and the third is to zone the remainder as an Urban Reserve. Option two and three basically defer the planning of the land. Option 2 is a holding designation and option 3 says that the land is to be used for housing but that the planning is deferred. Until a new plan is approved, the land could only be used for very limited purposes such as a cemetery, a community centre, a municipal office or a retirement home.

Anne Brandel said that everybody wants to keep the southern corridor as it is. She asked if the NCC could appeal a City decision to preserve the southern corridor to the Ontario Municipal Board(OMB)?

Bob Spicer said that the NCC as the property owner could appeal a City decision to the OMB.

Shelley Parlow said that if the Neighbourhood Plan with the L3-h were approved, the holding designation basically means that the land is still up for grabs.

Kathy Ablett asked where does the community gain by options 2 and 3?

Bob Spicer answered that the threat of immediate zoning change would be removed but that the threat of eventual zoning change would remain. But even then the Neighbourhood Plan can establish criteria that any future plan should satisfy.

Kathy Ablett asked how the plans presented in the draft Neighbourhood Study could be abandoned?

Bob Spicer said that there was no consensus in the community and the NCC supports a deferral. The NCC was in the process of completing a Municipal Environmental Evaluation Report (MEER) but didn't finish.

Brian Gifford asked what would it take in a legal sense to zone the entire southern corridor as environmentally sensitive?

Bob Spicer answered that not only would the City and Regional Councils have to pass the zoning but that the NCC would have to concur. The NCC could appeal any decision to the OMB and has done this in other cases.

Kathy Ablett asked Jim Bickford if the City Council has the political will to pass zoning that would totally preserve the southern corridor?

Jim Bickford replied that his sense from his first two weeks at City Councillor, is that the political will does not exist.

Kathy Ablett said that the Neighbourhood Study never adequately dealt with traffic concerns. Is there going to be any better traffic studies?

Bob Spicer said that there is nothing on the books for this year and that further studies would require the approval of City Council.

Andre Grushman said there should be a fourth option which would be to zone the entire southern corridor as environmentally sensitive.

Alan Asselstine asked: do we as a community continue with the Neighbourhood Study?

Shelley Parlow asked: what do we lose by dropping the Neighbourhood Study?

Bob Spicer said that the existing draft Neighbourhood Study does have value without touching the southern corridor and a revised Study could set out criteria which future plans for the southern corridor would have to satisfy.

Andre Grushman said that the Neighbourhood Study is an opportunity to look at the community as a whole.

Fred McLennan thanked Bob Spicer for his professional input.

Other issues:

April minutes were approved.

Wendy Stewart presented her report: Regional Staff have asked that their proposal to remove the bus bays on Riverside Drive be removed itself. There is a proposal to locate the Friendship Windmill in Mooney's Bay Park. The proposed windmill is seven stories high and would cost at least $3 million. Comments at the meeting questioned its value. Lansdowne Park has been saved because the Region and the City have been able to save money by having the Region take over the operation of the City's storm sewers.

Nancy Seaby attended the memorial service at the Corel Centre for the men killed at O/C Transpo.

Art Miskew said that May 29 would be the day for the annual cleanup of the southern corridor. He also raised the issue of cars illegally passing school buses on Paul Anka Drive.

Wendy Stewart took note and said that the police would check it out.

Next meeting: Mon 7 Jun 1999 at 7:30pm