2475 Regina Street Public Meeting Update
On Wednesday August 10th my office hosted a virtual public meeting on the development application for 2475 Regina Street. The purpose of this meeting was to provide the community with an opportunity to engage with the developer who has put in a request to the City Planning Department for a Zoning By-law amendment application. The application is requesting to permit a six-storey residential building above a reconstructed Parkway House and residential towers containing 19 and 25 storeys. A total of 510 residential units are proposed with 261 parking spaces.
Under the City’s Development application process this consultation is not mandatory. The only obligation the developer has is to present their application to the City’s Planning Committee where the public is welcomed to sign up to speak or submit written comments that are then included in the public record related to the file. However, I felt it imperative to offer residents the additional opportunity to engage and learn more about the process and plans related to this application moving forward. Over 80 residents participated in the meeting that included; an overview from City Planning staff, a presentation from the applicant, followed by a question-and-answer period.
I would like to thank the Lincoln Heights Parkway Community Association (LHPCA) who attended and provided thoughtful input on behalf of the association and local community. The LHPCA has created a survey for residents of the local community to participate in. You can visit this survey here.
One of the questions raised during the meeting was about pathway and road connectivity. I have been in touch with the NCC with respect to the winter maintenance of the multi-use pathway (MUP) that connects to the Lincoln Fields Station. The NCC generally do not clear snow from their MUPs but would not object to the City performing the maintenance. There would need to be an agreement put in place. Internal discussions would need to take place to ensure the City is able to do this and then work with the NCC regarding an agreement. I strongly support an all-season path to be maintained for not only this site but for the use of the greater community. This could be pursued as part of the site plan application.
I share the community’s concern with the potential effects of this development on Regina Street. With regards to road safety, I strongly support traffic mitigation measurements to be reviewed i.e. stop signs/speed bumps as needed. This can be addressed at the site plan stage.
Some residents raised concerns about the location of the site in relation to Mud Lake and its potential environmental impact on the area. I reached out to the NCC on this and the response from them is that the site is over 200 metres to Mud Lake, so the requirement for the Environmental Impact Study was not triggered. The NCC do not consider there to be any risk from the development. However, I have asked that this be monitored.
Concern was raised with respect to the applicant’s proposal to direct stormwater to the Byron Linear Parkway. The City has identified this concern for the applicant to address. Any discussions with respect to off-site landscaping and improvements would be part of the site plan application in agreement with the developer.
As stated previously the mandatory meeting for this application will take place before the City’s Planning Committee. The date has not yet been confirmed. I am not a voting member of this committee, but rest assure that I will be in attendance to ask questions on behalf of the community. My office is happy to work with residents who would like to make a public delegation to the Planning Committee once a date is confirmed.
For questions, comments and concerns residents can contact the lead City planner responsible for this file Wendy Tse. wendy.tse@ottawa.ca . Please copy bayward@ottawa.ca so that my office may be kept apprised of your communication.
Ms. Tse has stated that all comments received, no later than August 30th, will be incorporated into the staff’s report that goes to the Planning Committee. However, residents can continue to send their comments to Ms. Tse after the August 30th date for consideration and review they just won’t be a part of the official staff report.
Thank you to everyone who made the time to participate in the meeting on August 10th . If you were unable to join us or would like to review the meeting in its entirety you can visit my YouTube Channel here.
