Ed McKenna
At the September 22 Planning Committee meeting, city staff tabled a memo: “City Priorities for Community Benefits at LeBreton Flats and Funding Approaches for City-Owned Facilities – Status Update.”
This occurred at the end of a three-hour meeting. It was an “IPD” item (Information Previously Distributed), so there were no questions, and there was no discussion.
It was a tiny moment – which belies its importance in the city’s development.
Priorities for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats were first outlined in a staff report approved in 2017. Staff updated the report in June 2020 to respond to the National Capital Commission’s new strategy, “Building LeBreton.”
By this time the LeBreton Flats Community Benefits Coalition had emerged. Comprised of a wide range of community-based organizations, the coalition proposed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats.
A CBA brings the community into the decision-making process with public agencies and private developers for major infrastructure development projects. It has been used successfully in Toronto and Vancouver.
The coalition’s advocacy led to city staff producing another report for planning committee. Last October, “City Priorities for Community Benefits at LeBreton Flats and Funding Approaches for City-Owned Facilities” was approved. The report explains what’s important to the city in the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats, and how each priority might be paid for. Now we have the a status update.
The report identifies 17 priorities within six thematic areas. For example, under “Equity and Inclusion,” the city’s priorities for LeBreton Flats include “affordable housing, dwelling units for large households, space for non-profits, childcare facility, and Indigenous recognition and presence.”
Other priorities are more specific, like “accessible public washrooms” and “wayfinding signage.” And a major city commitment will be the development of a 2.5-hectare municipal park, including a municipal community building.
However, as the update explains, there has been little progress. The city has dared to dream about what might be at LeBreton Flats, but has limited its priorities to “such matters that fall under the City’s purview under the Planning Act.”
Accordingly, the funding approach to achieving these priorities is also limited to the tools at hand, such as development charges.
“Normal development practice” points the way ahead for what is described in a motion by council as “a highly strategic city building project that will occur over the next three decades.” Will normal development practice produce the results?
Both the NCC and the city have to date resisted the Coalition’s proposal that a CBA be used to help ensure that community priorities for redevelopment of LeBreton Flats are met. Both public bodies have heard what the community has to say, and listened to their recommendations.
That’s “consultation,” and that’s “normal.” But so far neither public body will engage citizens as partners in the decision-making processes that will determine the future of LeBreton Flats.
To its credit, the NCC has changed the model, and adopted a “social procurement” approach for the redevelopment of its property at 665 Albert. The result is a plan that responds in important ways to community priorities, including affordable housing, a childcare facility, equitable employment and benefits for Indigenous people.
After reading the staff status update, one wonders if Ottawa isn’t at risk of leaving a lot on the table at LeBreton Flats.
Has the NCC shown that a new development model is needed to achieve community priorities on LeBreton Flats? Does the city have a role to play in encouraging a new approach – like a CBA – to planning and development, one that engages citizens in decision-making?
An economic impact study undertaken for the NCC in 2020 projected that construction spending alone at LeBreton Flats will total $13.2 billion in “future value dollars” over the next 30 years. There will 38,000 construction jobs. Development charge payments will reach $95 million.
Billions will be invested at Le Breton Flats over the next thirty years. How do we ensure it produces wealth for everyone’s benefit?