The park at Dominican College may to be turned into condos if the city refuses to buy it.
A city bylaw that may help Centretown keep more of its parks and green spaces will be open for public discussion by the end of this month.
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says her ward has the least amount of green space per population in the city, and an existing bylaw prevents the area from keeping and improving its parks.
Currently, each time there is a new development in Ottawa, a five per cent fee is charged on each unit. The fee is designated for the upkeep and creation of parks. However, the money does not remain in the ward where the new development is built but goes to a general fund for the entire city. Holmes says the new draft bylaw attempts to change this.
“What I am trying to do with the draft bylaw out this month is talk about having money going into the ward in which it is collected,” says Holmes.
She brought the issue up at a community and protective services committee meeting after hearing complaints that a park on Empress Avenue by Somerset Street had been put up for sale and would probably be used for an apartment or condo building since the city may not have the funds to buy it.
The park, a part of Dominican University College, will be sold to compensate for the college’s high building-maintenance cost.
The college has been in Ottawa for more than 100 years, and president Gabor Csepregi says a new development would be a negative change.
“It’s a beautiful park,” he says, “so it will affect the atmosphere if there is something foreign in the proximity of the school.”
Vanessa Purkiss, who lives in the neighbourhood, says another apartment building is the last thing the area needs.
“We have so few parks to begin with,” she says. “The last thing this place needs is more concrete. Right now, that area is a nice change from the rest of Somerset, and I really hope that doesn’t change.”
There was a 15-year holiday on the current bylaw because the city wanted to encourage housing downtown. The bylaw was reinstated in 2006, but Holmes argues that it is unfair that money from developments in the Somerset ward are being used in other areas.
Holmes says with the new bylaw 60 per cent of the money will be invested in the area of the development, and 40 per cent will go to citywide parks. She says she believes that if this had been the case for the last several years, the city may have been able to save the college’s park. She says the new bylaw is going out five years late.
The park, which is surrounded by an old stone wall, is beside the Dalhousie Community Centre, something Holmes says the city will consider when evaluating the park’s situation.
“I think it’ll take some while for negotiations to happen, for the city to decide whether it’s an important space,” she says. “It’s helpful that it’s right beside the community centre, it is a good piece of land to have.”
Purkiss says she is excited for the city’s decision about the new bylaw.
“Our parks are in rough shape,” she says, “but they have so much potential. I hope this would help change the direction this area is moving in.”