Councillor’s Corner

by Scott Moffatt

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]Coming up next week is our April 5th meeting of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee comes up on Thursday, April 5th at Ben Franklin Place. One of the key items on the agenda will be the Official Plan and Zoning By-Law Amendment for 6341 Perth Street. This is the former Hyde Park development, now knows as Samara Square and owned by Silver Maple Developments.

The item before Committee is a recommendation to partially approve an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment that would allow the previously stalled Hyde Park Development, now known as Samara Square, to move forward. The original plan called for the entire property to be served by a private water system. Under the current proposal, the property would be split into multiple parcels serviced by the one water system. Since that is not permitted under City policy, the applicant was required to seek an Official Plan Amendment. Due to the unique nature of this property and its stage of development, staff are recommending approval.

The zoning aspect of the proposal would see the under construction and undeveloped portions of the property be rezoned from Institutional to Residential Apartments. This will result in the completed building to seek occupancy with construction also to resume on the other two buildings. While all three were initially proposed to be retirement complexes, the completed building will consist of apartments but will still be targeted to seniors.

During the public meeting that we held on this report in the fall, concerns were raised regarding traffic, pedestrian safety and the future phasing of the undeveloped portion of the property. Originally, the proposal saw two additional accesses onto Talos Circle in addition to the previously approved access directly onto Cedarstone. The applicant removed the northernmost access following the meeting, as well as the commercial pads, while I have requested that the second access only be temporary and be removed following the construction phase on the existing three buildings.

I have also been working with staff to ensure that pedestrian safety concerns are addressed with the addition of a sidewalk extending from Cedarstone and down Nixon Farm Drive. Both Planning and Transportation staff are supportive of this and will work toward implementing this change. As for phase 3B, the vacant parcel to the north, it will be open to future discussion and consultation. There is no construction of that phase currently being proposed and it will be contingent on further review. Much consideration will need to go into that final phase, including exploring opportunities to connect to Huntley Road.

Following the ARAC meeting, the item will rise to Council for a vote. After that, there is much work to do including prioritizing existing Hyde Park residents and working collaboratively toward a solution that works for the existing life-lease holders.

Please contact me for the full report or visit Ottawa.ca to find the Agenda for the April 5th ARAC meeting.

Green Bin Program

Earlier this week, Environment Committee approved an update to the green bin program that will permit organic waste in plastic bags as well dog waste to be permitted in green bins starting in mid-2019. This is something that many residents have requested in the past to make using the bin more attractive.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at Scott.Moffatt@ottawa.ca or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.