Peace and Environment News* March 2002
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Peace and Environment News * March 2002 |
by Steffan Hammonds
The National Capital Commission's plans to re-zone 24 hectares of Ottawa's Greenbelt has met with protests from local groups. One of these groups is the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital. The parcel of land in question, between Uplands Drive and the Airport Parkway, is currently zoned for government institutional use, though the federal government has no immediate use for it. A residents' meeting was held on January 22, at the Hunt Club-Riverside Community Centre.
The proposal would allow the development of a business park with about 74,000 square metres (800,000 sq. ft.) of floor area in one- and two-story buildings. High technology and business/government offices are intended. The proposal will include a substantial buffer between the development and the Windsor Park community, as well as substantial vegetated screening along the Airport Parkway. A number of technical studies have been prepared in support of this proposal.
The NCC's Greenbelt Master Plan designates these lands as Buildable Site Area, permitting commercial and institutional uses in a green, open setting, and Rural Landscape. The Greenbelt Master Plan would require a refinement to accommodate this proposal, so that the appropriate boundaries of the Buildable Site Area are better defined. A refinement to the NCC's Plan for Canada's Capital would also be required to reflect the boundaries of this development area. The Official Plan of the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton designates these lands as part of Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, which permits business park uses.
The Official Plan of the former City of Gloucester designates these lands as Greenbelt, and the former City's zoning by-law zones these lands "Ig" (Institutional Government Zone). Both of these designations require amendments to permit the present proposal.
Since these lands are within the Greenbelt, they may be leased only, not sold, and future development will be subject to strict NCC design controls. The process to obtain approval of the needed changes will require additional public consultation.
According to NCC spokeswoman Laurie Peters, the section of land in question is to be re-zoned for "leased commercial" use. This, according to Gloucester-Southgate Councillor Diane Deans, means a business park—medium sized office building with big lawns. This site has been zoned for some kind of use for many years, and is marked as such on city, regional and NCC official plans, and according to Ms. Deans, the zoning change the commission is seeking is essentially a technical point.
Bill Royds, vice-chairman of Ottawa's Greenspace Alliance, says the land was zoned as Greenbelt by both the city and the regional government. He further claims that the NCC, being a planning agency, feels that it has the right to apply its own zoning.
The land, mostly scrubland which was hit hard by the 1998 ice storm, is part of the Sawmill Creek watershed, which according to Ms. Peters was identified as a sensitive wetland in 1994. Many environmental assessments have been performed on this watershed.
The public meeting, which was held on January 22nd at the Hunt Club-Riverside Community Centre, was intended to be a pre-consultation on the re-zoning to gauge public opinion before a formal consultation process begins. Very little was achieved at this meeting, due to the inadequate space provided for the meeting. As a result, nothing has gone through and another meeting is scheduled.
For more information go to www.capcan.ca.
Steffan Hammonds is a member of the PEN Editorial Committee.
Converted April 10, 2002 - Lg
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