River Ward City Councillor Maria McRae's Report to Hunt Club Community Organization 6 June 2005

Community Association and Volunteers

As you wind down for the Summer, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the Hunt Club Community Organization and community volunteers who work very hard on behalf of our community. It is a pleasure to work with Fred McLennan and the HCCO Executive in making Hunt Club a great place to call home.

New 311 Service for City of Ottawa

The City of Ottawa is implementing a 3-1-1 telephone system to provide residents with easier access to non-emergency municipal services. Beginning in Summer 2005, dialing 3-1-1 will connect residents to the City's "one-stop" call centre.

Already a leader in providing easy access to municipal services, the City's current 580-2400 number will be replaced with the easy-to-remember 3-1 -1. The advantages of 3-1 -1 will become more significant in June 2006 when Ottawa residents will be required by Bell Canada to dial 10-digits to place a local call. Additional benefits to adopting 3-1-1 include improved tracking of service requests through to completion, better integrated Web site and call centre information, and a reduction in the number of non-emergency calls to the 9-1-1 service.

Dialing 3-1-1 will connect residents to the City's "one-stop" call centre providing information and non-emergency service 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and urgent service after hours. The City of Ottawa is moving to 3-1-1 to make it easier and more convenient for residents to access non-emergency municipal services. There is no need to search through the City phone numbers listed in the phone book; call centre staff provide friendly, efficient service in both official languages. In fact, last year the City's call centre received over 900,000 calls and wait times averaged only 20 to 49 seconds per call. Everything you need to know about your City is at your fingertips and in about the same time it takes to find and open the phone book.

The 3-1-1 service is new in Canada but has been operating in the United States since 1997. Many Canadian cities are planning to adopt the 3-1-1 system including Calgary, Windsor and Gatineau. Unlike many of these cities, Ottawa's move to a central contact point in 2001 means that all systems are in place for the launch of 3-1-1. There will be no additional charge on your phone bill for using this number. The City will retain the 580-2400 number and calls will be re-routed to 3-1-1.

2006 Budget Timetable

City Council recently approved the streamlined 2006 Budget timetable, including a consultation process that meets the objectives of:

The proposed dates and events are summarized in the following chart.
Budget Directions at CSEDC July 5
Budget Directions at Council July 13
Tabling of draft operating and capital budgets at Council November 9
Councillor-led public consultation meetings Nov 10 to Dec 2
Public delegations to Committee of the Whole Dec 5 to Dec 7
Budget deliberations in Committee of the Whole Dec 12 to Dec 15

Light Rail

As you may be aware, the Honourable John Godfrey, federal Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities), David McGuinty, Member of Parliament for Ottawa South, the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario Minister of Culture and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, Phil McNeely, Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa-Orleans, and His Worship Bob Chiarelli, Mayor of Ottawa signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the north-south corridor of the Ottawa Light Rail Transit proj ect. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reaffirms each partner's financial commitments, outlines the policies and activities that Ottawa will undertake to support the project, and provides the City's forecasted project schedule. The MOU also confirms that the tendering process will be competitive, open and transparent.

The governments of Canada and Ontario will each contribute up to $200 million to this project. The City of Ottawa will match this funding and invest the balance of the project's estimated cost of $650 million to $700 million.

The MOU builds on the project that was proposed in May 2004, when federal and provincial funding was first announced. The project is projected to run west from the Rideau Centre through downtown Ottawa to LeBreton Flats, turning south to the area of Leitrim Road, then west through the city's Riverside South Community and across the Rideau River, to end at Woodroffe Avenue in the community of South Nepean. The project also includes construction of the new Strandherd- Armstrong train/car bridge that will connect communities on the east and west sides of the Rideau River. jcJ^

In accordance with federal and provincial requirements, the City of Ottawa must meet applicable federal and provincial conditions, including environmental assessments, a detailed ridership study, a business case and the negotiation of a formal contribution agreement. The City is targeting construction on the north-south Light Rail Transit corridor to start in summer 2006, with service beginning in the Fall of 2009.

In support of the New Deal for Cities and Communities, the Government of Canada works with provinces, territories and municipal governments, as well as the private sector, to meet strategic infrastructure needs throughout the country. The federal contribution will come from the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, which supports large-scale strategic infrastructure projects that improve quality of life and further sustainable growth.

Light Rail Open Houses

The City of Ottawa will be hosting its fourth set of public open houses for the North-South Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project Environmental Assessment Study. These open houses will allow the public to review information and comment on the recommended plan along with a suggested staging plan for this project. The open houses will take place at the following times and locations:
Monday, June 6, 2005 4:30 -8 p.m. Jean Pigott Hall - Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 4:30 -8 p.m. Rideauview Community Centre, 4310 Shoreline Drive
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 4:30 - 8 p.m. Walter Baker Sports Centre, Food Court, 2nd Floor, 100 Malvern Drive
Thursday, June 9, 2005 4:30 - 8 p.m. Ellwood Hall - Jim Durrell Sports Centre, 1265 Walkley Road

For more information on the North-South Corridor LRT Project, visit the City's Web site at ottawa.ca/lrt.

City Park Curfew

With summer fast approaching, I want to remind all residents about By-Law No. 2004-76, known as the Parks and Facilities By-law. Specifically, hours of operation as follows:

I hope all residents will abide with this By-Law pertaining to curfew hours and permitted uses in our City Parks. Infractions of this By-Law are subject to penalties and I have asked Ottawa Police and City of Ottawa By-Law Staff to strictly enforce these and other applicable rules.

Curfew for Youth Under 16 Years to be Enforced

Ottawa Police Service Officers will place more emphasis on enforcing the curfew provisions of the Child and Family Services Act. Under this Act, no parent of a child less than 16 years of age shall permit the child to loiter in a public place between midnight and 6 a.m. Officers have been directed to issue warnings and charges to parents who breach this section of the Act. It is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine.

CahillPark

I met last week with Superintendent Charles Bordeleau, Constables Mark Cartwright and Claude Pepin of the Ottawa Police; City of Ottawa Bylaw Coordinator for the Central District Paul Hutt, Luc Lavictoire, Area Manager for Parks and Recreation and Bob Gauvreau, Manager of Corporate Security to discuss the ongoing drug use and other assorted problems at Cahill Park.

The Neighbourhood Watch group has been updating my office and the Police Service in regard to late hour activities at Cahill Park. The Police Service acknowledged that they are receiving more information from the community and have increased their patrols. They have been conducting surveillance with the Neighbourhood officers. They have also re-educated their platoons about community concerns. The Police Service is working with City Bylaw Officers on addressing the problems at Cahill Park. Youth-on-the-Move, a program of the Ottawa Police is starting up again at the end of this week, the Bike Patrols are out The Police pointed out that Cahill Park is their #1 park in terms of surveillance and enforcement.

I am happy to report that with repeated pressure on City of Ottawa Parks and Recreation staff and on Hydro Ottawa, the lights at Cahill Park have now been energized. The City of Ottawa will be placing signs at the forest entrance and at the Twyford entrance of the park advising of the park curfew. Violators will be charged with trespassing if they are in the park between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The Police Service will provide Bob Gauvreau with incident reports and he will work with them to get letters of trespassing out to the violators. Other actions include uniform enforcement, paired with bylaw officers.

Southern Corridor Lands

As you know, preserving as much greenspace as possible in the Southern Corridor has been a priority of mine since I was elected in 2003. However, I do not favour using taxpayer money for costly litigation to resolve this issue and I pledge to work with all stakeholders and the community to reach a resolution that will protect all of McCarthy Woods and additional Greenspace in the Southern Corridor. Below is information that was presented at the May 24, 2005 Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) meeting as it relates to the Southern Corridor lands.
  1. Greenspace Appeals
    At the May 24, 2005 Planning & Environment Committee meeting, members of committee considered a report tabled by City of Ottawa staff dealing with National Capital Commission (NCC) appeals of greenspace. There were two specific recommendations in the report that referenced land in the Southern Corridor, which supported changing the Official Plan designation of the land from Major Open Space to General Urban Area (which would allow housing and other development): Although I am not a member of the Planning & Environment Committee, I addressed the committee to bring forward some concerns that I had. Given that some of the land recommended as a General Urban Area was also being identified in a separate report (see UNAEES below) as being environmentally significant, I believed that the staff report supporting the appeal was premature. Furthermore, I firmly believe that a plan dealing with the entire Southern Corridor area in River Ward, which includes input from all stakeholders, is necessary. I also spoke to the fact that my discussions with the NCC and other stakeholders were positive, ongoing and should continue.
     
    Committee rejected the above-mentioned staff recommendations, which is now subject to City Council approval. If approved by Council, this issue may proceed to a trial before the Ontario Municipal Board. However, as I have stated many times, I am opposed to letting an outside body determine the future of the Southern Corridor. I favour a local solution for this local issue and I will continue to work towards a solution. Taxpayers should not foot the bill for costly litigation if consensus can be reached before going to trial.
  2. Urban Natural Areas Environmental Evaluation Study (UNAEES)
    Also, at the PEC meeting, staff presented a report regarding the Urban Natural Areas Environmental Evaluation Study (UNAEES). This study was undertaken to identify and to assess the relative environmental value of natural areas across the entire urban area, to establish priorities for protection and make recommendations for management of these lands. A total of 187 urban natural areas such as woodlands, wetlands, vegetated ravine systems were identified for study. A total of 114 sites were assessed through the review of existing information and field visits. The 114 sites were carried forward for evaluation applying the nine evaluation criteria developed for the study. A total of 29 sites rated high, 41 sites rated moderate and 44 sites rated low for environmental value. A total of seventy-three (73) sites were not evaluated either because access to the sites was not granted by the landowner or due to time limitations imposed by the summer/fall field season requirements. Fieldwork will be pursued this summer for the remaining unevaluated sites.

    Two sites in the Southern Corridor received ranking. Land east of McCarthy Road received a moderate rating and a large piece of land east of Riverside Drive and west of McCarthy Woods received the highest rating. Committee approved the findings of this study but the results may be subject to appeal and further analysis by the NCC, who have formally inquired about the study referencing the land ranked highest - west of McCarthy Woods.

The implementation of the UNAEES study recommendations is a component of the Greenspace Master Plan and the sites recommended for protection by designation change will be included in the Official Plan Amendment. Public consultation will be undertaken in early June in the form of six open houses accompanied by staff presentations. The Draft Official Plan amendment will be finalized after consultation. Both the Greenspace Master Plan and the Official Plan Amendment will then return to Committee and Council in the Fall.

The City of Ottawa may be required to acquire many of the new Urban Natural Features and staff will identify the financial implications of the recommendations, particularly the recommended land acquisition budgets. However, if consensus can be reached between the NCC and the City, buying the land may not be necessary. This is another reason why I will continue to work towards finding a solution for the entire Southern Corridor.

The NCC did not bring any motions to the OMB pre-Hearing today. They could have insisted on a Hearing date, but did not. We will continue to work together on this issue in good faith.

Open Houses of Greenspace Master Plan

The City's Official Plan identified the need to undertake a Greenspace Master Plan to confirm and/or refine the City's policies in respect to Greenspace. Like the Transportation and the Infrastructure Master Plans, the Greenspace Master Plan will play a role in implementing the City's Growth Strategy. The purpose of the Greenspace Master Plan is to: 1) identify the lands that contribute to Ottawa's Greenspaces; 2) develop strategies that will ensure that the residents of and visitors to Ottawa continue to have universal access to a variety of attractive, high quality, interconnected and sustainable natural and open space recreation areas; and 3) further the identification and protection of natural features and areas that are critical for viable habitats and natural processes in our new City.

The open houses will provide an opportunity for public review and comment on maps showing the inventory of Ottawa's greenspaces and their roles, draft copies of the proposed Greenspace Network for the City and the Draft Greenspace Strategic Directions. A proposed greenspace amendment to the City's Official Plan will also be available for review and comment. Your feedback is an important part of the development of this Master Plan and determining the City's direction for the protection and the provision of Greenspace now and in the future. You are invited to attend one of the six Open Houses to view the information, attend the presentation and ask questions of staff. If you cannot attend one of these Open Houses, you can submit comments by regular mail, fax or email using the contact information provided below. The deadline for receiving comments is August 26, 2005. If you have additional questions regarding this project, please contact: Bruce Finlay, Planner Planning and Growth Management Department City of Ottawa 110 Laurier Avenue West, 4th Floor, Ottawa, ON Kl P 1J1 613-580-2424, ext. 21850 Fax: 613-580-2459 E-mail: bruce.finlay@ottawa.ca