27 Sep Community Updates from Councillor Brockington – September 2019
Each month I attend the various community association meetings in River Ward and provide a Councillor’s update. Below are the links to the specific updates per association that I attended in September. Please review them for items of interest to your specific neighbourhood. City-wide information is also shared both with the attachments and listed below. Your feedback is always encouraged and appreciated. Email me at Riley.Brockington@Ottawa.ca.
Around the City of Ottawa
I wanted to provide local residents an update on some City of Ottawa initiatives and upcoming community events that are taking place over the next several weeks. There is also information on some City-wide initiatives that I would invite residents to participate in.
Older Adult Summit
On Friday, Oct 4, I am hosting my annual Older Adult Summit at the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre, located at 3320 Paul Anka Drive. The morning consists of a continental breakfast, interesting presentations on topics such as Brain Health, Downsizing and Fitness to Drive as We Age, followed by a light lunch. The event runs from 8:30am to 1pm and is free to attend. Please RSVP to reserve your seat by calling my office at 613-580-2486.
2020 City of Ottawa Budget Consultations
Save the date: I am cohosting a City of Ottawa Budget Consultation on Tuesday, October 22 from 6:00pm-8:00pm in the Elwood Hall at the Jim Durrell Arena, 1265 Walkley Road. I will be joined by my colleagues Carol Anne Meehan, Jean Cloutier, and Shawn Menard. Please attend if you are available to share your feedback on items that you may want to see in the City Budget. If you are unable to attend but would like to share your feedback regarding budget priorities, please send an email to Riley.Brockington@Ottawa.ca.
Airport Parkway Pedestrian Bridge Naming
I am pleased to announce a proposal to officially name the Airport Parkway Pedestrian Bridge to the Juno Beach Memorial Bridge, in honour and memory of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 was approved today by City Council. As the bridge is not proposed to be named after a person, the process is different than the commemorative naming process. I gave advanced notice at City Council on September 11 and the item was considered and approved on September 25. The Juno Beach Association and Canadian Legion are supportive of this proposal. A ceremony will be held during Veterans week.
Rental Housing Regulatory Review
Over the last several months, the City of Ottawa has been undertaking the Rental Housing Regulatory Review. The goal of the study is to conduct a review of regulations governing private sector rental properties to address public health and safety, consumer protection, community nuisances and other areas of municipal concern. This review includes a review of policy options to address housing conditions, student housing, rooming houses and shared accommodations.
The consultant reports from Maclaren Municipal Consulting are currently being finalized, and will include their recommendations along with a summary of the consultations conducted to date. The consultant report is expected to be published online for review in the coming two weeks.
A special Community and Protective Services Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 15, 2019 at 9:30am at Ottawa City Hall to consider the staff report which will be released to City Council on November 4. The City staff report will include recommended policy frameworks for the regulation of rental housing and short-term rental accommodations as well as recommendations concerning additional hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast regulation.
In advance of the special committee meeting, one final round of consultations lead by City staff will occur prior to the release of the staff report. This will include an online survey, available on ottawa.ca from October 4 to October 18 and two public meetings:
Rental Housing: Ben Franklin Place, October 22, 6-8 pm
Short-Term Rental Accommodations (Air BnB): Nepean Sportsplex, October 23, 6-8 pm
I invite all residents to participate.
City Offering Rebate for Homeowners to Replace Lead Water Pipes
The City of Ottawa approved a rebate to the Lead Pipe Replacement Program. Homeowners whose homes were built before 1955 could potentially have lead water pipes that connect to non-lead City pipes and could be eligible for a new rebate of up to $1,000, about 20 per cent of the total replacement cost. The City would continue to offer loans for properties where both the private and City portions of the water pipes are made of lead. As a stop-gap measure, homeowners with confirmed lead levels that exceed Health Canada’s recently updated guideline, or who are awaiting pipe replacement under the program, could get a year’s worth of free water filters to remove lead from their tap water.
To have your water tested for lead, call 3-1-1 to make an appointment.
New Chief of Police
On Monday, August 26, the Ottawa Police Services Board announced that it has selected Peter Sloly as the new Chief of Police for the Ottawa Police Service (OPS). Mr. Sloly is a former Deputy Chief from the Toronto Police Service and he is slated to begin his new role as Chief of Police on October 28, 2019.
Engage Ottawa – 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan Refresh
The City of Ottawa released the Ten Year Plan: A Home for Everyone 2014-2024 in 2014. The City is now updating the plan, in consultation with Ottawa residents, as part of a required provincial mid-point review. This review allows cities to revise their plans so that they remain responsive to the changing needs of residents and the housing environment.
The Engage Ottawa website for the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan review has been launched. Engage Ottawa provides an opportunity for residents to give feedback on housing initiatives and keeps them informed as the City updates the plan. We encourage residents to register for the site to stay updated on the progress of the 10-Year Plan review and to answer specific questions that will help the
City decide on new strategies and initiatives to help increase the supply of affordable and supportive housing, create more affordability for residents, and help the City achieve our goal of ending chronic homelessness.
For more information on the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan please visit https://engage.ottawa.ca/ .
Official Plan Review
On August 22, the City’s Planning Committee, in a joint session with the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, received a staff report outlining preliminary policy directions for the new Official Plan.
City Staff presented the policy directions, which would address the challenges our maturing, mid-sized city will face over the next 25 years. The high-level direction touches on five key themes:
Growth – The City would encourage more growth through intensification, in areas that are already built up, than through expansion into new or undeveloped areas.
Mobility – The City would aim for more than half of all trips to be made by sustainable transportation, including public transit, carpooling, walking and cycling.
Neighbourhoods – The City would improve community planning and design, with a focus on neighbourhoods, expanding the total area where residents could function without a car.
Natural Systems – The City would better integrate public health, energy and environmental resiliency considerations in planning matters.
Economic Development – The City would look to embed economic development considerations in planning matters.
The City is in the process of developing a completely new Official Plan to ensure Ottawa continues to adapt to current and emerging needs, opportunities and challenges. Staff are working to produce a final draft of a new Official Plan by the end of 2021. Staff aim to start public consultations in the coming months, to ask residents about this high-level policy direction.
“Paint the Town Orange” – Liberation 75 Campaign
Ottawa residents are invited to participate in the Liberation75 Campaign by purchasing and planting special tulips commemorating the 75th anniversary liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian-led troops in the Second World War.
The goal of the Liberation75 planting initiative is to see 1.1 million brilliant orange, exclusively named Liberation75 tulips blooming across Canada next spring. The 1.1 million figure represents one bloom for each Canadian who served in the Second World War. In May of 2020, the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the Netherlands Liberation Day, which took place on May 5, 1945.
If you are interested in participating, please visit www.liberation75.ca.
Christmas Social I am hosting my annual Christmas Social on Monday, December 9 at 7:00pm at the Carleton Heights Community Centre, 1665 Apeldoorn Ave. All are welcome.