by Judy Forrest, Centretown Community Citizens’ Association
The CCCA has been an active participant in the process to develop the Centretown Community Design Plan (CDP) from the start in the summer of 2009. The CCCA had several members in the Public Consultation Group, which was established to work with city planners and the consultants hired by the City, had many members in attendance at all the open houses and submitted written briefs throughout the process, including detailed comments on the Terms of Reference for the study in September 2009.
The Vision
Much of what is included in “The Vision for Centretown Tomorrow” section of the CDP sounds great. For example, one of the paragraphs is “No longer home to architectural blandness, innovative and beautiful design are championed in Centretown. New buildings are responsive to their community and have set the standard for creative design in Ottawa.”
Retention of current height limits
Although the consultants have proposed new maximum heights for new buildings, they have recommended that the current height limits (which are lower) be retained in the zoning by-law. They have done this to ensure that the City will be able to use Section 37 of the Planning Act to require community benefits from developers when they apply for permission to build higher than what is permitted.
Emphasis on improving the streetscapes and public spaces
The consultants have gone into considerable detail on recommendations to improve the environment of Centretown – such as park repair and upgrade proposals, expanded cycling networks, improved pedestrian conditions and various greening proposals.
What Should Be Changed
Despite active involvement by the CCCA, the final draft CDP, submitted to the City by the consultants in December 2011, has some flaws which we are hoping will be rectified before the plan and accompanying technical documents are submitted to Planning Committee in June 2012. The CCCA’s major concerns are:
Introduction of more non-residential uses
From the outset, the consultants have promoted a vision of Centretown as a mixed-use downtown neighbourhood and have recommended the expansion of commercial and office uses in areas which currently are zoned to be primarily residential – for example the section of Centretown between Elgin and Bank, south of Somerset. While the mid section of Centretown presently has a diversity of uses, the CCCA is concerned that changing the zoning to allow more non-residential uses will erode the viability of the residential elements of the area. Even in the high rise area which the consultants label as Apartment Neighbourhood, they are proposing that as much as 50% of the area in a building could be for non-residential uses. Prior to the mid 70’s, much of Centretown was zoned to allow offices – the major achievement of the Centretown Plan of the 70’s was to save the residential aspect of Centretown, The CCCA remains committed to fighting for the predominance of residential uses in the neighbourhood.
Too much high-rise potential
While the consultants have recommended that the current height limits for new development be retained in the zoning for Centretown (which we support,) they have also provided a map and schematic which defines potential heights on a block-by-block basis. Their rationale is that this would provide guidance to city planners when developers apply for permission to erect buildings which are higher than the zoning permits. They argue that, if the application meets defined design criteria (which are included in the plan) then the application could be approved with the proviso that the developer would provide a “community benefit” in exchange for the increased height and density that the city will allow. Unfortunately the potential heights are simply too high in some areas. For example, they propose that east of Elgin the potential height could be 21 storeys from Lisgar to the south side of Cooper – this is a major increase from the 12 stories and lower buildings currently in the area. Similarly, the Catherine corridor will permit 25-storey buildings adjacent to what is primarily a three-storey residential neighbourhood without an appropriate transition.
Intensification/Transportation issues
The CDP is premised on the assumption that Centretown will need to absorb a significant increase in residential population, which the CCCA supports, but there is concern that Centretown does not have the transit/transportation systems to support the proposed increased density and the increased mixed use. The Tribeca development (the Claridge development under construction between Gloucester and Lisgar next to Place Bell Canada) is an example of a major mixed use development which will greatly increase vehicular traffic on surrounding streets. The CDP does not address how this challenge will be addressed in future developments.
If you would like more information on this please check the CCCA website at centretowncitizens.ca, review past CCCA reports in the Buzz (centretownbuzz.ca) or contact the co-chairs of the CCCA’s Planning and Development Review Committee – Rob Dekker (dekker.ra@gmail.com) or Judy Forrest (judy.forrest@rogers.com)