A group of Ottawa real estate executives are hosting a town hall discussion on Wednesday to give its members a chance to voice their concerns over new building-height limits and other restrictions enshrined in the city’s new official plan.
The Ottawa Building Owners and Managers Association stated on its website that certain elements of the official plan, such as the emphasis placed on plans for specific neighbourhoods and building height restrictions, are not in the best interests of their members or of the city in general.
The official plan, which city council passed in December, is a policy road map to guide infrastructure planning and urban development over the next 20 years.
Four public information sessions were held in October to raise questions over the official plan.
“The wording of the official plan is too specific . . . and it will lead to more appeals because of the specific nature of the official plan,” says John Herbert, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association.
In addition to the official plan, the city creates secondary plans or community development plans to address the needs of communities, including Centretown.
Dean Karakasis, executive director of the Ottawa Building Owners and Managers Association, says the official plan’s reliance on development plans may have alarming consequences for certain areas of the city.
“You risk not allowing creativity into some neighbourhoods that might benefit from revitalization that a new project might bring.”
The Centretown plan aims to reduce the pressure of housing more residents by defining certain downtown areas, such as Catherine Street, for highrise apartment development, says Lee Ann Snedden, policy development and urban design manager for the City of Ottawa.
Like the Centretown plan, the official plan proposes to place different building height restrictions in order to “fit the character of the neighbourhood,” Snedden says.
But because the official plan does not allow Centretown to have buildings over nine storeys, this may cause headaches for developers looking to build tall office complexes.
The overall goal for the official plan is to create a healthy mix of businesses, recreation and residences in all neighbourhoods.