Ottawa City Council's Final Session of the Term

Ottawa City Council's final session of the term combined farewell remarks from three departing councillors with decisions on 311 service reforms, infrastructure, zoning, transportation safety and community programs. Council approved development and property measures, lowered residential speed limits in part of Carlington, supported ending seasonal time changes in Ontario and directed staff to expand tree dedications to include Canadian Armed Forces veterans.

Topics Discussed

COUNCIL TURNOVER: Gower, Leiper and Hubley Depart

Council recognized Coun. Glen Gower, Coun. Jeff Leiper and Coun. Allan Hubley, who are leaving after a combined 36 years on council. Gower has represented Stittsville since 2018, Leiper has represented Kitchissippi since 2014 and Hubley has represented Kanata South for 16 years.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe described the councillor's role as one that is "so close to constituents," with files that directly affect residents' daily lives. He also said, "There is no other job like city councillor," because of the expectation that councillors remain present and responsive.

Gower reviewed issues from his time on council, including LRT construction and Stage 1 problems, the New Official Plan, the Transportation Master Plan, the new zoning bylaw, pandemic emergency response, the 2022 convoy, tornadoes and the derecho.

Chelsea Walton was welcomed as the incoming representative for Stittsville. Leiper introduced Johann as his successor in Kitchissippi.

311 SERVICE AND CITY OPERATIONS

Council approved an audit of the 311 service and CX360 customer-experience program under Audit Committee Report No. 19, item 12.5. Staff were directed to implement the audit recommendations, reassess email-based service requests, track recurring issues and compare customer-service standards with those of other municipalities.

The Ward 12 discussion identified the ward as having the city's highest number of 311 calls and noted the follow-up workload created for the councillor's office.

Council also approved the expropriation of land needed for the Brian Coburn Boulevard expansion, a request for proposals for the Maple Grove Health Hub and the disposal of city-owned properties at 3547 and 511 Rideau Street.

DEVELOPMENT, ZONING AND PARKLAND

Council approved zoning changes for 2175 Prince of Wales Drive, including a direction that future development provide non-emergency vehicle access through Waterbend Lane. It also approved zoning amendments for 3400 and 3428 Woodroffe Avenue and 475 Terry Fox Drive.

Council directed staff to negotiate temporary public access to green space in a Phase 9 development parcel and adopted a motion on the feasibility of a park project.

A motion concerning 175 Terence Matthews Crescent in Kanata South was carried with registered disagreement. The motion exempts the development from cash-in-lieu parkland payments under Section 11 regulations, following a review of the original business-park agreement. The supplied highlights do not identify the councillors who registered disagreement.

ROAD SAFETY AND TIME CHANGES

Council approved a motion to reduce residential speed limits in Carlington West from 40 km/h to 30 km/h. The area is bounded by Carling Avenue, Caldwell Avenue and Clyde Avenue, excluding major arterial roads. The motion builds on an earlier measure covering eastern Carlington.

Coun. Shawn Menard brought forward a motion urging Ontario to end seasonal time changes. Mayor Sutcliffe supported it, saying Ottawa and Gatineau are "two cities in two provinces but only one economic region" and should remain on the same time schedule.

Sutcliffe also outlined plans to address dangerous intersections and missing pedestrian connections. He said, "We have to move forward with our plan to resolve the worst Ottawa intersections. Then fix the links missing, still missing for pedestrians, paths, sidewalks."

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, HOMELESSNESS AND HEALTHCARE

Council unanimously approved a motion directing staff to update the municipal tree-dedication program to explicitly include Canadian Armed Forces veterans. Coun. Steve Desroches said "As national capital, Ottawa has a special responsibility to honor those who served the country. We are the municipality that has the largest number of trees dedicated to veterans in Canada and it is truly an honor for the city."

The meeting materials identify youth homelessness as a focus of the planned 2026 budget, including a goal to eliminate homelessness among young people.

Coun. Riley Brockington submitted an inquiry to the provincial Ministry of Health about reports that the projected cost of the new Ottawa Hospital campus at Carling Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive had increased fivefold. The supplied highlights do not report a council decision on the hospital's budget.

Motions

Passed or Adopted

• Audit of 311 Service and CX360 Program / Audit Committee Report No. 19 — Item 12.5.
• Brian Coburn Boulevard expropriation — Item 14.6.
• Maple Grove Health Hub request for proposals — Item 14.4.
• Disposal of city-owned properties at 3547 and 511 Rideau Street — Item 13.2.
• Zoning amendments for 2175 Prince of Wales Drive — Item 15.5, including non-emergency vehicle access through Waterbend Lane.
• Temporary public access to Phase 9 green space — Item 15.6.
• Zoning amendments for 3400 and 3428 Woodroffe Avenue — Item 15.3.
• Zoning amendments for 475 Terry Fox Drive — Item 15.4.
• Feasibility of a park project — Item 20.1.
• Expansion of the municipal tree-dedication program to include Canadian Armed Forces veterans — approved unanimously.
• Extension of Coun. Laura Dudas's appointment to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Board of Directors through late 2026.
• Carlington West residential speed-limit reduction to 30 km/h — seconded by Coun. Rawlson King.
• Request to Ontario to end seasonal daylight-saving-time changes — brought forward by Coun. Shawn Menard.
• Development-fee exemption for 175 Terence Matthews Crescent — carried with registered disagreement.

Rejected

• No rejected motions were identified in the supplied meeting highlights.

Deferred

• No deferred motions were identified in the supplied meeting highlights.

Attendees

The supplied highlights identify the following councillors and officials as present or participating:

• Mayor Mark Sutcliffe
• Coun. Glen Gower
• Coun. Jeff Leiper
• Coun. Allan Hubley
• Coun. Riley Brockington
• Coun. Rawlson King
• Coun. Shawn Menard
• Coun. Laura Dudas
• Coun. Steve Desroches
• Chelsea Walton, incoming Stittsville councillor
• Johann, incoming Kitchissippi councillor