DCA March Newsletter

Norman OMB Appeal

After years of hard work and preparation by your neighbours, the DCA had its appeal of the decision to build a 10-story condo tower on Norman St. at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). This would be the only tower that was permitted on any of the dead-end residential side streets in our neighbourhood, and will set a dangerous precedent if approved. The OMB is notoriously unfriendly to appeals from community groups, but we remain optimistic that an egregious case of over development will be overturned.

The decision has been reserved, meaning it will be some months before the board delivers a decision.

900 Albert

A proposal has been submitted to redevelop the vacant lands between the City Centre complex and Albert Street, officially known as 900 Albert.

A public open house was held on March 8, and details are now online at 900albert.com. The proposal includes at least three 55-story apartment/condo towers and a substantial amount of retail space. There is also a proposal for a fourth tower that would use the Trillium O-train line's air rights (i.e. be built above). That extra proposal also includes another potential spot for the Ottawa Public Library main branch.

There is a long way yet to go in this process, and we will keep you up to speed on opportunities to comment and support the best possible development.

Rosemount Library Consultations

The READ Rosemount community group invites you to participate in a public consultation on the future development of the Rosemount Library.  Sessions will take place on Saturday March 19 (11:30 am to 2:00 pm) or Tuesday March 22(6:30 PM to 9:00 PM). Follow up sessions, building on discussions from the first round, will take place at the same times April 16 and April 19.  All happen at the Hintonburg Community Centre (1064 Wellington West). More details are at www.readrosemount.ca.

New Civic Hospital

On March 7^th, consultations were held regarding the location for the Civic Hospital.  Sites under consideration include a portion of the Experimental Farm, the former site of the Sir John Carling Building and Tunney’s Pasture. Actual construction of a new hospital is still many years away.

The DCA shares concerns about the use of the Experimental Farm for a new hospital. The farm is not just important to Ottawa, but includes internationally significant land experiments that can’t be replicated elsewhere. It should not be used for the hospital.

Otherwise, whichever location is chosen, we believe that it should use of existing transportation infrastructure (e.g., not require road widening or highway offramps), accommodate parking requirements on site, and have a plan to encourage the use of transit for staff, visitors and, where appropriate, patients.

Reducing Speeding

On March 23^rd, city council will consider a motion from River Ward councillor Riley Brockington that would ask the province to give Ottawa the power to use photo radar to enforce speed violations.

Speeding in our neighbourhoods is a major concern. Too many of our streets have been built to accommodate unsafe speeds. Traffic calming is expensive, as is police enforcement. Photo radar offers the opportunity to effectively deter speeders at very little cost to Ottawa. That makes our streets safer at the expense of those that break the law.

Please help support this by signing the petition at www.safestreetsottawa.ca

Keep in touch!

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