Schedule “A” – Planning Committee Report – Judy Forrest Briefing note for CCCA Board on OMB appeal 20 November 2013 The CCCA filed an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) opposing certain aspects of OPA 117 (the Official Plan amendment which accompanied the Community Design Plan) which City Council approved in May 2013. The grounds for our appeal were: 1. ‘Residential Mixed Use’ A primary goal for this study was to determine how to accommodate an additional 10,000 residents, not jobs. Changing the zoning for a significant section of the Mid-Centretown area to mixed use will diminish the likelihood of further residential development. New commercial growth should be focused on the existing commercial areas where it will strengthen the Traditional Mainstreets such as Bank Street and Elgin Street, and the Secondary Mainstreets such as parts of Somerset Street and Gladstone Avenue. Diffusing commercial uses throughout the residential side streets will undermine the viability of the existing commercial streets which are already struggling in some areas. The Official Plan policies state that new employment growth should be directed to the major employment centres such as the Central Area north of Gloucester Street. Centretown is unlike any other Ottawa residential neighbhourhood as it abuts the Central Area, which is comprised primarily of office and commercial uses. No one living in the proposed Residential Mixed Use (RMU) zone is more than a five minute walk from a large business district and major employment node for the whole City. Although there are already many non-conforming non-residential uses on the streets in the RMU zone, they primarily date from prior to the passage of the original Centretown Secondary Plan. There has been little market interest in the past few decades in non-residential development in this area. All of the streets within the proposed RMU zone are located within no more than 1.5 blocks of existing commercial areas - Bank and Elgin Streets, and therefore more than adequately served by a wide range of nearby commercial amenities. 2. ‘Tall Landmark Buildings’ Very tall buildings are already permitted within the Northern and Southern Character Areas (as specified on Centretown Secondary Plan Schedule H1 Building Heights) where there is capacity for considerable intensification. Very tall buildings are undesirable and out of context in the mid-rise areas where Tall Landmark Buildings are proposed to be permitted on certain street frontages, because they would visually overwhelm the abutting low and medium profile streetscapes. Additionally the mid-rise areas where Tall Landmark Buildings are to be permitted have the greatest number of ranked Category 1 and 2 heritage building clusters, and their historic character and architectural significance could be irrevocably harmed by the intrusion of disproportional Tall Landmark Buildings. Building Heights in the mid-rise areas should be limited to 9 stories. (CCCA supported the former 7 storey which the consultants proposed) 2. Secondary Mainstreet for Somerset between O’Connor and Elgin These two blocks have been zoned residential for decades and are primarily residential. Changing the zoning to incorporate commercial will encourage the redevelopment of these blocks into commercial uses and jeopardize the viability of the existing residential uses. As indicated in the points regarding the RMU, there is no need for additional opportunities for commercial development. Our existing commercial streets need support, not competition. There are eight other appellants – 2 individuals, the CCOC, and 5 developers and/or individual property owners. On 17 October 2013, there was a meeting to sort out procedural matters regarding the hearing. (Judy Forrest represented the CCCA at this meeting which was attended by other CCCA members as well.) To our surprise, we learned that the City was asking for the hearing to be in September 2014, far beyond a date that we would have anticipated. This was approved except for one of the appellants (the bus station property) who requested a separate and earlier hearing which was granted. (separate report on this appeal) The city then issued a Procedure Order which was distributed to the Board in draft. The final has now been issued and is attached. You will note that the City identified two areas where there was not consensus and that the OMB has asked all parties to try to resolve these issues by 6 December 2013. JF is trying to sort out what actions, if any, are required by CCCA at this point. As was done for the CCCA’s appeal on 96 Nepean, it is recommended that an appeal committee be established and that it report directly to the Board rather than through the PC. Several CCCA members have expressed an interest in being involved in this committee but it would be good to have additional board members involved. JF is willing to coordinate a meeting of the committee in late December/early January to begin planning our preparation for the September hearing. MOTION: That the CCCA establish an OPA 117 appeal committee which will report directly to the Board for the purpose of preparing for and participating in the September 2014 OMB hearing. Judy Forrest Co-Chair CCCA PC Schedule “B” – Planning Committee – Rob Dekker CCCA Planning Committee Meeting Report Monday November 4 2013 Casey Craig from the CCOC joined us for the CCCA PC meeting in November. 1. Committee Chair(s) Selection was deferred to December as notice of the Planning Committee meeting was not posted. There was discussion that perhaps the email distribution list had not been updated since the AGM. 2. OPA Appeal Committee There are several appellants. There will be one appeal heard in the Spring of 2014 from the owner of the Bus Station and the others are expected to be heard in Fall 2014. The PC agreed that an Appeal Committee be struck from the Board as was done for the 96 Nepean OMB Appeal. 3. Official Plan meeting at City Hall. The CCCA submitted comments, and Joan attended the meeting hoping to speak. (See Document 7 of the Link # i. for responses) 4. City of Ottawa Infill Study Clarity from the City is needed on this issue. The OMB has given the City until the end of 2013 to have an infill policy in place. The CCCA does not have specific guideline in place for infill developments 5. WEP Theatre Update: A brief update was given; the CCCA passed a motion in September to support a group seeking to keep the theatres open. Landmark Theatres is now operating the theatres, but the lease expires December 31st. Supporters are asked to contact FEDCO to deny a request from the World Exchange Plaza to change the designation of the movie theatre that would see the theatres closed. Landmark is prepared to operate the theatres long term, provided the WEP will offer them a lease. 6. Museum of Nature Parking Lot Update The Planning Committee felt that the CCCA should send letters to the Minister of Heritage and the Minister responsible for the National Capital Region outlining our desire to see the parking reduced and possibly placed underground as planned as soon as possible. MOTION: Whereas the Museum of Nature has deferred the construction of the underground parking and Whereas the Museum of Nature has decided to reduce the number of parking spaces on the West Lawn and Whereas the CCCA has stated on numerous occasions that the use of the West Lawn should be dedicated to green space The CCCA should send letters supporting our positions to both the Minister of Heritage and the Minister responsible for the National Capital Region. MOVED SECONDED 7. Section 37 Sub-Committee Update: Anyone interested in working with Lauren or Rob on this file was asked to contact them. 8. 625-627-629 MacLaren and Committee of Adjustment Hearing (CoA) According to the application, the applicant sought a reduction in parking from 9 spaces to zero. The CofA had approved a previous application in 2012 for converting a rooming house to apartments. Currently, the site accommodates the 3 row houses with 18 rooms and 6 bachelor units. 9 parking spaces are required with none being provided at the moment. The applicant is proposing 15 bachelor and 3 one-bedroom units. The targeted tenants are single graduate students and / or young professionals. Only the parking reduction was at issue. Based on past CCCA policy statements in relation both to the CDP and several CofA applications, it was agreed that we should oppose the reduction in parking. Co-Chair Rob Dekker sent an e-mail on November 5 to the Committee and Planning Committee member Daniel Mulally presented on behalf of the CCCA at the hearing on November 6. The Committee members appeared to be sympathetic to the CCCA concerns about parking (as they had been in August on a similar application which we opposed). The 5 member committee deliberated for almost 10 minutes and on a divided 3-2 vote approved the application mainly on the grounds that they had already approved the proposed development there is in fact no room for parking on the site, there being no rear access. Proposed Motion Based on past PC discussions and taking into account the discussions at both the August and November 6 hearings, it is proposed that the CCCA write to the Committee of Adjustment and the City Planning Department on the following issues: the need for the CCCA (and other CAs) to receive CofA, zoning amendment applications and development applications by e-mail as soon as they are ready rather than getting them only by post the importance of having essential information related to the application included in the CofA notice of Public Hearing; notices do not provide adequate information and the owners at both the August and November hearings corrected or changes significant elements of their applications proposals during the hearing itself the flaws in the City’s assumption that Centretowners will not own cars because they prefer in larger numbers than in other parts of the City to walk, cycle or take public transportation to work and other destinations.