Subject: Fwd: FCA Planning and Zoning Newsletter Updates March 4, 2016
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:37:01 -0400
From: Heather Pearl <hpearl2012@gmail.com>

Coach Houses: City of Ottawa proposal

Please see item #4 in the attached FCA Planning and Zoning Newsletter. For many reasons, Community Associations throughout Ottawa are not pleased with the City’s current Coach House proposal. The proposal is “one size fits all”. There is no regard for individual community character, the character of surrounding properties or even other existing By-laws. Coach Houses might be a good fit in some locations, but this has not been addressed. This proposal has been rushed through. It needs to be reconsidered.

Every single and semi-detached house already is legally entitled to have a secondary dwelling unit. One needs to ask, “What problem are we trying to solve with this proposal?” In Champlain Park, small, older, single-family homes, many containing affordable secondary dwelling units, are being razed and replaced by very large single family and semi-detached houses. These new houses have ample room for interior secondary dwelling units. Installing them would be a viable response to the need for affordable housing and would not be likely to create new problems. Adding a detached house in the limited space remaining in their rear yards, however, will infringe on the privacy of neighbours and leave little to no room for greenspace and trees. (Note: Coach Houses would need to be only one metre from the rear and side-yard lot lines.)

The number of responses to the survey were miniscule in relation to the number of properties to which this proposed By-law will apply. The diagrams provided in the survey document showed significantly less lot coverage (by houses and garages) than is usual in the urban area. The diagrams could lead people to believe that there is plenty of room to build Coach Houses in our urban rear yards.

Most Community Associations in Ottawa were completely unaware of this proposal. (Note that the survey and proposal were posted on the CPCA web site, because I asked to receive these kinds of communications.) Post-survey, the City did not consult with communities or individual respondents, as they developed the proposal. They presented the proposal as a fete-accompli with a limited time allowed for comment. I am told that this contrasts with the approach taken in Toronto and Vancouver, where consultation was extensive on less all-encompassing By-laws.

The Coach House proposal seems to have been drafted in a vacuum. Urban properties are not blank spaces; they have neighbours and they contain vegetation which is part of the urban ecosystem. Protection of the urban tree canopy is not considered. Therefore:

• The proposal conflicts with the intent of the rear yard provisions in the new infill II By-law. This By-law is still under OMB appeal.
• The proposal does not consider the Urban Tree Conservation By-law.
• The proposal does not consider the project now underway to develop an Urban Forest Management Plan.
• The proposal is not consistent with City policies in its Official and Management Plans, that reference the means to promote environmental sustainability.

The CPCA Executive believes that this proposal needs significantly more work. Prior to the cut-off date, I wrote directly to the Planning and Growth Management Department to state our opposition and reiterate the need for broad-based consultation.

Ottawa’s CAs have put in thousands of volunteer hours, working to make infill developers have regard both for community character and the local environment. As a result, building footprints have been somewhat reduced through the introduction of new By-law provisions on front, rear and side yard set backs. This Coach House proposal, if adopted as is, will render the protections for rear yards useless. It will make it even more difficult to protect the tiny bit of urban forest that remains.

Last week the FCA (Federation of Citizens Associations, the umbrella organisation for Ottawa’s community associations) approved a motion stating that this proposal should be put on hold until a full and open consultative process can be undertaken and the issues responded to. As noted at the top of this message, please see item #4 in the attached FCA Planning and Zoning Newsletter.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,
Heather Pearl
CPCA Co-chair
CPCA Planning and Zoning Committee member
613-725-1422

Greetings all FCA Planning and Zoning Committee Representatives:

Please find attached updates and notes for you to circulate to your Community Association Representatives, following our General Meeting held on March 3, 2016.
These updates are intended to keep everyone informed of Planning and Zoning issues and our work with City of Ottawa consultation.

Best regards,
Sheila Perry,
VP and Liaison,
Planning and Zoning,
FCA

Home Page

FCA.PZ.NewsletterMarch.2016.sp.pdf

Not new news, but it looks like the old agreement for rules governing the type of buildings along Island Park Drive, made in 1922, is going to expire in a few years. It’s been most recently been mentioned by CBC. I see that the agreement was made with Robert Henry Cowley, our history page shows his connection with our neighbourhood.

http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/robert-henry-cowley-and-ottawa-board-improvement
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/island-park-drive-100-year-development-plan-nearing-expiry-1.3254509

From: Krista.Libman@ottawa.ca
To: Jeff.Leiper@ottawa.ca
Subject: Community Heads Up: OPA – Rochester Field
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2015 19:23:27 +0000

Good afternoon,

I am writing to advise you of an upcoming City-initiated Official Plan Amendment (OPA) in Ward 15.

As part of the 100 Day Working Group on Stage 2 Light Rail Transit, the City agreed to settle an Ontario Municipal Board appeal by the National Capital Commission to the City’s 2003 Official Plan relating to Rochester Field by amending the Official Plan.

The proposed OPA will maintain the Major Open Space designation on one third of the property, and will redesignate the easternmost two-thirds of the land as General Urban Area, from Major Open Space. The NCC will then produce a Concept Plan for the area to determine the exact area of redesignation as well as the appropriate zoning for the area designated General Urban Area.

The expected Planning Committee date for this Official Plan Amendment is Tuesday, December 3, 2015.

A full circulation including the draft OPA will follow, but if you have any preliminary questions or comments please feel free to be in touch with me.

Krista

Krista Libman, MCIP RPP
Planner / Urbaniste
Policy Development and Urban Design / Élaboration des politiques et Design urbain
City of Ottawa | Ville d’Ottawa
613.580.2424 ext./poste 27893
http://ottawa.ca/planning / http://ottawa.ca/urbanisme

André Thériault of Thériault Design, invites Champlain Park residents to view and discuss the proposal to build a semi-detached house at 251 Carleton Avenue.

Location: Champlain Park Field House
Date: Monday, August 24, 2015
Time: 7:00 PM

Members of the Champlain Park Community Association Executive will attend this meeting.

Agenda:
Design Presentation
Question and Answer

Champlain Park Community Association Contacts:
Heather Pearl 613-725-1522 hpearl2012@gmail.com
Duncan Bury 613-729-0499 la.db@sympatico.ca
CoChair1 champlainpark@gmail.com

Meeting Notice 251 Carleton.pdf

Subject: Adjournment Request: 251 Carleton Avenue, 2015 08 05
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2015 13:34:05 -0400
From: Pearhea@aol.com

Secretary Treasurer
Committee of Adjustment (COA)
101 Centrepointe Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K2G 5K7
cofa@ottawa.ca

Re:
COA Public Hearing August 5, 2015, Panel 1
251 (253) Carleton Avenue (Kitchissippi)
R2D (2159) Residential Second Density Zone
File no: D08-01-15/B-00255 and B-00256 (Consent to Subdivide)
File no: D08-02-15/A-00246 and A-00247 (Minor Variances)

The Owners have filed consent and minor variance applications for this property.

Dear Secretary Treasurer:

A signed copy of our submission, in support of the Owner’s request to adjourn this application, is attached.

The Applicants are c.c.-ed.

Sincerely,
Heather Pearl
Co-chair
Champlain Park Community Association

CPCAtoCOA 251 Carleton 150805b.pdf