At the October 4 Planning and Housing Committee meeting, we passed interim Zoning Amendments, until Council adoption of the new Zoning By-law, for the City of Ottawa to be compliant with Bill 23, the Provincial legislation that permits 3 units to be built on every site that has city services. This means that R1 zoning, which restricts building to one home on one lot, is effectively over for many College Ward neighbourhoods. Single units can now be three units, and semi-detached can effectively have 3 units each, for a total of 6 units on one lot. This is a big change, and one I know will be felt by many neighbours in Ottawa. I was sure to share information about the provincial bill during my campaign, and in my first communications in office, but if you missed it, you can find it here: How will Bill 23 affect residents?
Ottawa Citizen: Bears in the backyard: Here's what advocates want to see in Ottawa's updated wildlife strategy
Full story by Joanne Laucius
People are still getting bounced from one level of government to another when they have a question or concern about wildlife, said Johnson. It happened to a member of her staff earlier this month when the staffer had concerns about a sickly-looking coyote repeatedly sighted in the City View neighbourhood.
“Many jurisdictions have a finger in the pie of our green space. They all have some, but not all of the responsibility,” she said. “It should be easy to make one call and ensure that the correct responding agency knows about the situation. We have a wealth of expertise.”