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Zoning and development application: 2946 Baseline Road

We are seeing our first major development application come to the College Ward office since I was elected. At 2946 Baseline, Brigil is asking for a rezoning to permit for two high rise towers at 32 and 28 stories respectively, and a 9-story mid rise building (Application Details - Development Applications Search (ottawa.ca). We are inviting residents to an online open house on July 19th from 7-830pm.

RSVP at Laine Johnson - 2946 Baseline Open House

This is your opportunity to learn more about the proposed zoning bylaw amendment so that you can inform your comments to Kieran Watson, the lead planner on the file (Development applications feedback form | City of Ottawa). The first round of comments are due by July 31, but there will be additional opportunity to comment between now and the final report to Planning and Housing Committee later this year.

For those interested in understanding City staff's process, you can read the Terms of Reference Design Brief and Planning Rationale.

For myself, I have concerns about the proposed height and massing at this site. A 32-story building would be the first of its kind in the area.

It does meet the City’s Official Plan criteria, which permits up to 40 stories on a main street with the appropriate right-of-way width from the road, which Baseline allows. However, the planning context sees more mid-rise buildings in this area, and so high-rises would need to demonstrate consistency. This could be resolved through a reimagining of the podium, currently at 6 stories, or a revisit of the proposed transitions to the surrounding neighbourhood.

I am also concerned about the implications for transportation, given this site is quite a distance from the nearest major transit station at Algonquin College. Since there are so few amenities, one can only imagine that people will be using their cars for many trips and we want to see viable mode share targets through the area.

The Baseline Rapid Transit Corridor will alleviate some of that congestion over time and I look forward to the timing of that corridor with the final construction of this project. As currently conceived, the project would be completed by 2030.

Pedestrian Safety Study: Maitland, Glenmount & Erindale

My office frequently hears from residents who reach out to express concern about safety at the intersections of Maitland Avenue, Glenmount Avenue and Erindale Drive. With several schools in the area, many pedestrians must make the trip across Maitland Avenue to get to class each day. Some of the key concerns that have been identified by local community members include speed, vehicle volume, red light running, aggressive driving, blocked pedestrian crossings, and the configuration of the intersections.

CBC: Residents deserve to know more after bear shot dead, councillor says

Ottawa city councillors are looking for answers after Ottawa police decided to shoot a bear that officials had been working to safely relocate for days, and they are hoping a wildlife management review will prevent future incidents. 

The bear first came to the attention of bylaw officers last week. College Coun. Laine Johnson said they were co-ordinating with the province to educate the public and the National Capital Commission (NCC) to set traps. 

Ice Storm Update

Dear Neighbour,

Yesterday's storm resulted in widespread power losses throughout the city, as well as many downed trees and tree branches. With the weather warming up, we should have some relief soon.

Hydro Ottawa, Hydro Ontario, and City of Ottawa staff are working around the clock to resolve the many problems facing residents today. Please see some important updates below.

Warm regards,
Laine

Climate Change, Hydro Services, and the Bells Corners Sub-station

Last weekend, we had a couple of big storms bringing wet, heavy snow. We all love “Snowman snow”, but its heavy weight can be very challenging to manoeuvre.

It was pretty, but caused a lot of transit and traffic delays, and cut off electricity to many areas, including several short-term outages...

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