Hi neighbour,
Good luck to all students writing exams and wrapping up another school year! June has been a whirlwind of community picnics, meetings with residents, and a packed committee agenda at City Hall. Here are some updates from my office this week:
At City Hall: Light Pollution, Emergency Preparedness, and better oversight of Stormwater and Drainage plans for in-fill developments
At Monday’s Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee, my motion on nuisance lighting impacts, brought forward by committee member Councillor Johnson, was passed, after an “illuminating discussion” around the committee table. If this motion passes at Council next week, staff will include the development of a light pollution by-law, or amendments to the Property Standards By-law concerning light pollution and nuisance, to their By-law review work plan for the next term of council. Thanks to everyone who reached out to my office to share your feedback on this proposed by-law. this motion will be need to be voted on at the upcoming city council meeting and then would be considered in the next review of bylaw regulations. I’m looking forward to more community consultation and collaboration in the development of these regulations and will keep the community informed on any timelines once they are known.
On Tuesday, a joint meeting of the Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee and Environment and Climate Change Committee approved a new pilot grant program to help Ottawa Communities prepare for extreme weather. With neighbourhoods in Bay Ward experiencing the effects of extreme weather over the last few years, with flooding, severe storms, and the derecho, these grants are a welcome initiative to improve community preparedness, and to ensure the needs of vulnerable residents’ are met during emergencies.
On Wednesday, Planning and Housing Committee held a very brief meeting, and approved an important amendment to the Building By-law to include provisions for grading, drainage and surface water plans for in-fill development (12 units or less). I was happy to see these amendments pass, to ensure adequate review of stormwater run-off plans for in-fill developments, and to mitigate impacts on neighbouring properties. You can read more in the staff report online.
Belltown Dome and Grandeur Park: “What we learned report”
Earlier this week, City staff published the “What We Learned Report”, with a summary of public feedback on the consultations regarding the future of Grandeur Park, and the replacement of the Belltown Dome. You can read the full report online. City staff will be using this feedback to develop future options for the site. As always, if you have any feedback or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office (bayward@ottawa.ca).
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