Peace and Environment News* April 1996
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Peace and Environment News * April 1996 |
by David Gladstone
Many readers of the Peace and Environment News have already seen the City of Ottawa's draft 2020Z zoning bylaw, and perhaps even tried to read it. If so, you will have quickly discovered that despite its claims to the contrary, it is not user friendly. Nor, to the dismay of many, including City Councillors, does it maintain the zoning status quo. Community associations and residents have discovered many upzonings nestled within it.
However, there are more fundamental objections to the draft bylaw. In claiming to implement Ottawa's award-winning "green" Official Plan (OP), as implied in its subtitle "Implementing the Vision," 2020Z takes an almost Orwellian approach to language. In fact, the aim is to effectively ignore the "green" ethos of the OP, on the traditional grounds that maintaining the urban forest, encouraging alternative modes of transportation, etc., are distinct from building development.
Let's look at some examples of 2020Z's steps in the wrong direction: the current zoning bylaw (Z-2K) has as a core term "landscaped open space," defined in some detail as land primarily covered in vegetation. 2020Z changes this key term to "landscaped area," with the emphasis shifted from vegetation to the space being open. The only reference to trees in Z-2K is removed in 2020Z's implementation of the "vision"!
Z-2K contains detailed descriptions of requirements for car parking, including the number of spaces for various building types and parking space dimensions. 2020Z expands these provisions and provides no mechanisms for dealing with conflicts between greenspace and car parking requirements, nor any design provisions, e.g. for maintaining soft surfaces, such as treed areas, on a given lot. While bicycle parking requirements are introduced, these are in addition to the car parking requirements. Also, no design requirements are specified, and front-yard parking of bicycles is allowed.
The OP calls for more infill and mixed-use development, which are to respect the character of established neighbourhoods. 2020Z "implements" these provisions by defining neighbourhood character as being lot size and frontage, by introducing a new zoning designation, CG, for mixed-use zones in residential areas, and by allowing "convenience stores" in apartment buildings (defined as four units or more). While there will always be friction over infill development, I don't see 2020Z's provisions as encouraging responsible infill development in Ottawa's older neighbourhoods, where the continual challenge is keeping commercial development restricted to streets with the proper infrastructure, and keeping infill developments sensitive to the architectural character of our neighbourhoods.
2020Z follows the legalistic formulation of Z-2K in prescribing land-use requirements without describing how they are actually implemented. The building permit process is not described, nor are the roles of the Committee of Adjustment, City Council, and the Ontario Municipal Board, in changing the zoning requirements described in the bylaw. For the uninitiated, 2020Z, as it currently stands, is a highly misleading document, as it gives the false impression of describing firm land-use requirements. In fact, its provisions are only the basis for land-use decisions by other bodies, such as the Committee of Adjustment, which is mandated by law to rule on applications for zoning bylaw variances where the intent of the zoning requirements in light of the OP is the core issue.
The good news is that 2020Z is still very much in the draft stage. We all have an opportunity to lobby the 2020Z team and our Councillors to ensure that the City of Ottawa has a zoning bylaw that truly implements the OP, one that helps, rather than hinders, Ottawa developing the way we want. This could be accomplished by amending the current zoning bylaw, rather than developing a new one, at a considerable saving in time and money for all involved, effort that could better be devoted to "greening" Ottawa.
David Gladstone works with the Centretown Community Association.
Converted April 11, 2000 - Lg
To follow up on this article, contact the author or the organizations/individuals mentioned; do not contact the Peace and Environment Resource Centre - we cannot provide follow up or contact information. This article is an archival copy of the printed one in the Peace and Environment News (PEN). Viewpoints expressed should not be taken to represent the opinions of the Peace and Environment Resource Centre, the PEN, or our supporters.
