By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, May 28, 2020
The City of Ottawa will grow out, and continue to grow up, over the next 26
years.
More than 1,000 hectares of homebuilding land will be added to the outer edges
of Ottawa’s suburbs and high-density developments will be encouraged in
existing neighbourhoods now that city council has endorsed a growth plan to
accommodate 402,000 more residents.
Council voted 15-6 on Wednesday to add between 1,350 and 1,650 hectares of
development land inside the urban boundary and to set a residential
intensification goal of 51 per cent between July 2018 and July 2046. That
means the city will attempt to establish more than half of all new homes in
established communities, with the intensification goal climbing to 60 per cent
between 2041 and 2046.
The residential land added inside the urban boundary would make up 1,281
hectares and the rest would be for employment land, with the exact amount of
employment land determined after a staff study.
(...)On the other side of the vote, Coun. Rawlson King said the city needs a
“clean break” from past planning practices and concentrate more on
intensification, especially since there’s no city data informing council how
much it will cost taxpayers to expand the suburbs.
Adding expanses of land for development on the fringes of the suburbs would
usually draw demonstrations at city hall, particularly from environmentalists.
But the COVID-19 era has thwarted any mass protests, except for internet
rallies, social media posts and a petition with 3,720 names of people
demanding council freeze the urban boundary.
(...)Several public delegates criticized the city for backing an expansion of
the urban boundary, fearing urban sprawl will damage the environment, increase
car dependence and fuel property tax increases.
