Lighting up the Government Conference Centre and other downtown buildings is key to the NCC’s illumination plan. National Capital CommissionThe National Capital Commission’s 10-year illumination plan is looking to light up the city just in time for Canada’s 150th anniversary, but not without final input from the private sector and various other stakeholders.
As the draft plan approaches the final stages of planning, the NCC is working closely with its partners to ensure that all recommendations are considered, the federal agency said.
Though it had been hoped that a preliminary framework would be released to stakeholders and the general public this fall, Chris Hoyt, the NCC senior architect, said the process is somewhat behind schedule.
“These things take time,” he said.
The plan is intended to guide downtown property owners in their own lighting visions and provide a framework for the NCC’s evaluation of such proposals.
Additionally, it will set a vision for artistic lighting and create an eye-pleasing nighttime ambiance, especially for tourists visiting Ottawa during Canada’s 150th anniversary.
For property owners, however, the plan doesn’t force the implementation of new lighting. Instead, it’s presenting updated forms of lighting that would be compatible with the overall vision of the NCC.
This vision also considers the urban environment, the conservation of energy and preservation of the natural environment.
Stakeholders who may have concerns in these areas include multiple Business Improvement Areas, the Ottawa Centre EcoDistrict, both the City of Ottawa and the City of Gatineau, and many environmental interest groups.
“The approach we’re taking is to bring all of these people together, talk to them individually and pull everybody’s interests together as we make a proposal to create an aesthetically-pleasing nighttime environment,” said Hoyt.
So far, many stakeholders seem supportive of the plan and they have been submitting various recommendations to the NCC through group meetings and one-on-one conversations.
Peggy DuCharme, the executive director of the Downtown Rideau BIA, said the business owners in her organization are very supportive so far of the coordinated effort to address the issue of lighting in the capital.
“It’s been something that has been talked about for decades,” she said.
Though DuCharme said her BIA was pleased with the initial plan, she expressed her surprise with its radius of impact.
“I know that when I participated in the consultation, myself and a number of other people around the table were surprised that not enough, in our opinion, had been put into the Rideau Canal or Confederation Park,” she said.
DuCharme said she would have liked to see something implemented in the area near the National Arts Centre and the canal.
“We were very excited about opportunities that they could actually be illuminating (the NAC) from underneath or projecting onto it in an artistic manner,” she said.
Hoyt noted that the NAC, which is now undergoing a $100-million renovation, and other landmark buildings, are specifically considered in the plan.
Karen Pero, the co-chair of the Ottawa Centre EcoDistrict, a public agency that promotes sustainable building in the downtown core, discussed the importance of the NCC’s coordination with the private sector in order to successfully develop such a plan.
“One of the things we did recommend is that they partner with the private sector…,” she said, adding that consulting with her organization is a way in which the NCC can network with private businesses, too.
Overall, “what they presented to the stakeholders this summer is a very good comprehensive understanding of what the issues are and how possibly to mitigate any issues or risks that they could see,” she says.
These possible risks include interference with natural habitats of wildlife, the potential threat of light pollution and unsustainable forms of energy.
She added that a lot of companies and other private building owners are already starting to think about energy efficiency and sustainable lighting on their properties, so that the plan is something they should be backing.
While the NCC had initially hoped to release the illumination plan this fall and start pursuing it in January 2017, the plan is now set to be released in the early months of 2017 and implementation will not occur until early-to-mid-2018.
Many buildings in Ottawa, however, are improving their own lighting and exterior appearance before the Canada 150 event.