Planning and Housing Committee Reviews Development and Zoning Matters

The Planning and Housing Committee reviewed several development and zoning matters, including a proposed 30-storey, 401-unit tower on St. Laurent Boulevard and a six-storey, 26-unit infill project at 342 Roosevelt Avenue. The committee advanced the St. Laurent proposal and approved the Roosevelt Avenue rezoning. Residents raised concerns about traffic, parking, tree removal, setbacks and public consultation. The committee deferred a separate St. Laurent Boulevard/Mountaineer Private rezoning after the proposal's building heights increased and postponed decisions on proposed parkland and fee reductions.

Topics Discussed

ST. LAURENT BOULEVARD TOWER

The committee considered Official Plan and zoning amendments for 1052, 1060 and 1064 St. Laurent Blvd. The proposal would replace an auto body shop, commercial building and restaurant with a 30-storey mixed-use building containing 401 residential units, ground-floor retail, 201 to 231 vehicle parking spaces and approximately 440 to 447 bicycle spaces.

The site is about 900 metres from St. Laurent O-Train station. Resident Rob McCalpine said, "On our side of St. Laurent it's residential buildings, bungalows, two-story, three-story family homes... nothing of this scale."

Residents also raised concerns about parking overflow, traffic diversions and U-turns on Alistair Street, Queen Mary Street, Donald Street and Wolfdale Crescent. Staff said traffic-calming measures and an updated Transportation Impact Assessment could be considered during the site-plan process, but cautioned that the applicant would not be responsible for existing road-design problems.

The applicant removed rear-facing balconies, increased the separation from the low-rise neighbourhood to 20 metres and proposed rear landscaping and tree buffers. Councillor Rawlson King said, "Big buildings belong on big priority transit corridors beside our biggest transit investment." He added that the scale and form of the project must fit the established neighbourhood and that existing residents should not carry a disproportionate share of its impacts.

342 ROOSEVELT AVENUE

The committee considered a zoning amendment for a six-storey, 26-unit building at 342 Roosevelt Ave., near the future Kìchì Sìbì station. The proposal includes 14 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units, no three-bedroom units, no designated affordable units, no vehicle parking and one bicycle parking space per unit.

Residents objected to reduced setbacks, including a proposed rear setback of 1.2 metres beside land identified as future parkland. They also raised concerns about delivery vehicles stopping on Roosevelt Avenue and the effect on traffic and street parking.

A major issue was a mature bur oak that residents estimated to be more than 100 years old. The developer said retaining the tree would be "extremely difficult and not feasible" because its root zone and canopy extend into the proposed building area. A separate tree-removal permit would be required during the site-plan process.

Councillor Theresa Kavanagh criticized the approach to tree retention: "I feel like things are done backwards where you're designing a building and then oh the tree has to go rather than the tree must stay. What can we do to design it so that the tree can stay there?"

The committee also corrected an error in the staff report about public submissions. Staff initially reported that three of four submissions supported the project, then confirmed that the record contained approximately 44 submissions, including three in support.

PARKLAND DEDICATION AND DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES

The committee debated a proposal to temporarily reduce required physical parkland dedication from 15% to 10% for certain developments near transit corridors. The proposed period would run until April 7, 2027, and was linked to the Housing Acceleration Plan and a proposed Claridge development at 1500 Merivale Road.

Councillors questioned the reduction for a site bordered by Baseline Road, Merivale Road and Clyde Avenue. Councillor Mark Johnson described the area as being surrounded by "three highways in the middle of an outer urban area" and questioned whether children and seniors could safely reach other parks.

Members also questioned refunds of development charges and parkland fees for projects already at the site-plan stage. The committee converted the parkland-reduction proposal and related fee-refund questions into notices of motion rather than making immediate decisions.

OTHER ZONING AMENDMENTS

The committee approved zoning amendments for 1767 and 1773 Baseline Road, 560 Hazeldean Road and lands in the 2701 Mer-Bleue Road/Prince of Wales Road area. The items were carried as recommended without registered delegations or public opposition at the meeting.

The committee also considered a rezoning application for 1740, 1754 and 1760 St. Laurent Blvd. and 700 Mountaineer Private. Vice Chair Glen Gower said revisions submitted during the review included increased building heights and called for "transparency and meaningful opportunities for public participation." The committee deferred the matter to its Nov. 4 meeting.

PLANNING, TRANSIT AND THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM

Gower submitted an inquiry requesting an update on discussions among the City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The inquiry asks how transit-corridor expansion and local development can be balanced with the protection of research and agricultural activities at the Central Experimental Farm.

Planning staff said work to harmonize older secondary plans with the city's Official Plan is not expected to resume until at least late 2027, pending provincial decisions about the future of secondary plans.

Motions

• 1052, 1060 and 1064 St. Laurent Blvd. — Official Plan and zoning amendments: Advanced by the committee for the next stages of consideration.
• 1740, 1754 and 1760 St. Laurent Blvd. and 700 Mountaineer Private — zoning bylaw amendment: Deferred to the Nov. 4 Planning and Housing Committee meeting because of revisions, including increased building heights.
• 342 Roosevelt Avenue — zoning bylaw amendment: Approved, with the vote reported as approximately 8–2. Councillors Cathy Curry and Ariel Troster opposed.
• 1767 and 1773 Baseline Road — zoning bylaw amendment: Carried as recommended.
• 560 Hazeldean Road — zoning bylaw amendment: Carried as recommended.
• 2701 Mer-Bleue Road/Prince of Wales Road area — zoning bylaw amendment: Carried as recommended.
• Permanent Signs on Private Property Bylaw, Item/File 26326: Technical amendment carried to correct errors and align the bylaw with the comprehensive zoning bylaw.
• Temporary reduction of physical parkland dedication from 15% to 10%: Converted to a notice of motion; discussion was deferred for two weeks.
• Housing Accelerator Fund-related development-charge and parkland-fee refunds: Postponed and referred to a notice of motion.
• Central Experimental Farm, transit and development inquiry: Submitted by Gower for a staff update.

Attendees

Councillors identified as present or participating included:

• Jeff Leiper, Chair
• Glen Gower, Vice Chair
• Rawlson King
• Cathy Curry
• Theresa Kavanagh
• Riley Brockington
• Laura Dudas
• Wilson Lo
• Matthew Luloff
• Catherine Kitts
• Tim Tierney
• Allan Hubley
• David Hill
• Ariel Troster
• Mark Johnson