City Council approves zoning amendments for proposed four tower development near Petrie Island

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The Ottawa City Council has approved a zoning amendment that would allow up to four 35-story residential towers to be built near Petrie Island in Orleans.

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The Tweddle Road property proposal is currently Up to 4 towers with height between 20 and 20 It has 35 floors, each on a podium between 4 and 6 floors. The tower is within walking distance of t.LRT Trim Road station.

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The promoter of this project is a numbered company in Quebec. According to the plan, Property includes accessible spaces offering views of the Ottawa River Opportunity to connect public spaces to Tweddle Road It is intended to create a “gateway” for pedestrians and cyclists.

The city received nearly 120 comments from the public on the proposal to allow up to four towers, including concerns about the scale of the project, potential flooding and landslides, and concerns about damage to the Ottawa River and its ecosystem. .

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The site is located just 30 meters from the border of an important wetland in the state, Petrie Island, home to wildlife including the endangered Blanding Turtle.

In a joint open letter to the Council, Community Association for Environmental Sustainability, EKorology OttBubbles Greater Avalon Community Association and The Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital has asked its trustees to decline to approve the proposed amendment.

“Development of this site Appropriate recreation for all of Ottawa as a nature reserve and protected wetlands use is a better move forward–We are looking for alternatives that benefit all of Ottawa,” they said.

Orleans county. Matthew Ruloff said the application has been ongoing for him for more than two years. He said he received many emails about the site containing “a lot of false information.”

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“The staff has set very high standards for this application,” he told the council.

“The requested zoning was to match the property with the official plan and the Orléans secondary plan, the latter of which, by the way, was unanimously passed by this council. was identified in the secondary plan of

Members of the city’s planning committee, which voted in favor of the zoning amendment on October 27, also expressed concern.

River Ward County. Riley Brockington said the delegation raised several legitimate concerns, including flood risk.

“Obviously, we don’t want to be in the water when there’s a major development here and then a fresh set in the spring,” said Brockington.

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Capital Word Count. Sean Menard, who is also on the planning committee, told the council that he had heard concerns about flooding, landslide hazards and disturbances to wildlife.

Menard submitted a motion to Congress that passed and the landslide risk assessment was updated to the satisfaction of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

According to the city Landlords indicate that apartments can be rented at market prices, but city officials We will continue to discuss affordable housing opportunities. Part of the site plan control approval process.

City officials say the site is 30 feet above the existing floodplain line. The height of the building follows the Orleans Cloister quadratic p.run.All urban development stays off environmentally considered land Important including forests and wetlands.

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Paul Yohannis, chairman of the Green Space Alliance in the Canadian capital, said Wednesday’s council decision had some small wins.

The Greenspace Alliance has proposed that the city propose a land exchange, with the proponents of the project exchanging land on Tweddle Road along the river for the city’s workshops near Boulevard Jeanne d’Arc, It now contains road salt storage. The city site will need restoration because of the salt, but the tower will no longer be a river, it said.

Although there was no reaction to the proposal, Johannis hopes the new mayor and council will see things differently.

“Maybe the issue will be reopened,” said Johannis.

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One of Johanis’ concerns is the growing number of proposed apartment complexes. When we first heard about the project, he said that there were two proposed towers of his and then a third tower was added. He said he only learned about the fourth tower nine days before the planning committee meeting on Oct. 27.

Ruloff said no buildings were approved Wednesday and no buildings would be approved until the site plan review.

“And they are approved only if the applicant meets or exceeds the requirements set by law and by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority,” he said.