Our Mayor's Vision for Ottawa
How is it that Lansdowne, with its $500m price tag, doesn't crack his top 5 list?
Ottawa in 2034
What will Ottawa look like in a decade’s time?
In his December Mayor’s Breakfast address, Mark Sutcliffe described his 10-year vision for Ottawa:
We’ll have a new Civic hospital, which will drive innovation, jobs and prosperity.
There is the potential for a new downtown Senators arena.
The new central library branch, Ādisōke, will be up and running.
Once we have a functioning LRT, it will have considerable value for the region.
Downtown revitalization is an opportunity for the city, and as the federal government reduces its footprint, we could have more people living downtown and we should be targeting a major new attraction.
That’s it. Less of a vision, and more of a catalogue of what’s already in the works.
It is concerning, however, that he plans to spend half a billion on Lansdowne but doesn’t consider that as one of the important developments that will shape the City. Is that because Lansdowne is less about building for the future and more about bailing out a failing partnership?
Official Plan
Of course, Ottawa has an Official Plan that lays out how we see the City evolving over the next 25 years. That might be a better place to start when framing a vision for the city.
Our Official Plan asks what Ottawa would need to do to become “the most liveable mid-sized city in North America”.
That is a smart, ambitious and achievable goal.
Our Official Plan, noting that Ottawa’s population will grow by about 40% to 1.4 million by 2046, identifies five big policy moves required for Ottawa to become the most liveable mid-sized city in North America:
Provide significant new housing primarily through intensifying existing neighbourhoods, with 60% of new homes as in-fills.
Take half of all trips by sustainable modes of travel — transit, walking, biking and car pooling.
Design for more inclusive and vibrant 15-minute neighbourhoods.
Integrate our 2050 net-zero climate goals into planning frameworks.
Embed our economic development goals into planning frameworks.
You can argue with whether these should the top priorities for action by City Hall, but they are what is supposed to be guiding how we plan the city.
Did this Council get the memo?
Ottawa’s Official Plan was developed and signed-off by the previous City Council, in late 2021.
The provincial government officially approved the Plan in mid-2022, and then updated it in late 2023 (to undo some embarrassing urban boundary decisions).
Some members of the 2022-26 Council seem to think that the Official Plan only applies when they agree.
For example, Council is amending the Plan for the Lansdowne 2.0 proposal, which violates the principles that are supposed to guide how the Lansdowne Special District could be further developed. Lansdowne will lose considerable greenspace to a new hockey arena, despite Section 6.6.2.4 4h of the Official Plan stating:
“Focus development on existing built areas, avoiding or maintaining the established areas of greenspace and public space”
Also, the Mayor’s lobbying that the Queen Elizabeth Driveway prioritize commuter traffic is in contrast to Section 6.6.2.2 1f which states:
“Re-imagine Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive to reduce the roads’ importance as a commuter route in favour of pedestrian activity and greenspace connections with consideration of Canal crossings. This may include limiting vehicular access and reducing traffic speed”
Champion of the status quo
If the Mayor and certain councillors think that the Official Plan only applies selectively, then we have to ask if the Plan really means anything to them.
Does this Council share the ambition that Ottawa could become the most liveable mid-sized city in North America? Or is the status quo just fine?
Watching his actions over the past year, I suspect the Mayor thinks that the status quo is working just fine, and that the Official Plan is little more than a technical document that we can effectively ignore.