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  #1  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2010, 2:56 PM
rakerman rakerman is offline
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Mid-Centretown Design Plan

Next meeting is

Tuesday November 30, 2010
Iona Hall, Knox Presbyterian Church
120 Lisgar Street
Open House: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. • Presentation: 6:30 p.m.

http://midcentretown.wordpress.com/2...november-30th/

Related (previous) thread: Mid-Centretown Design meeting June 8, 2010
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  #2  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2010, 4:40 PM
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Joy! You can participate in a sham process that will result in a community design plan and maybe even a secondary plan that will promptly be ignored by developers and city staff and ultimately the OMB upon the first rezoning application being made.
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Ottawa's quasi-official ethos: "We have a process to follow"
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  #3  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2010, 12:15 PM
rakerman rakerman is offline
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They recognize the challenges. Their point is we can either wish for a world of total planning control that will never happen, or put in place a clear plan that lets the community benefit from the developers' plans while getting a better built environment.

Twitter archive at http://www.twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/ccdp2011

The presentations were very good. They should be up at http://midcentretowntomorrow.com/ this week.
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  #4  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2010, 6:59 PM
Ottawan Ottawan is offline
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The presentation slides are up, and posted at this Spacing Ottawa article in a very user-friendly way: http://spacingottawa.ca/2010/12/07/g...ing-to-happen/ They're quite good - I recommend checking it out.
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  #5  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2010, 7:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottawan View Post
The presentation slides are up, and posted at this Spacing Ottawa article in a very user-friendly way: http://spacingottawa.ca/2010/12/07/g...ing-to-happen/ They're quite good - I recommend checking it out.
I was looking at these the other night. I am quite impressed with some of there recommendations thus far. In particular demonstrating how taller thinner build forms with setbacks in exchange for green space create livable urban high density. I also like their ideas for the Catherine Street corridor, based on the CCCA updates the owner of the bus station is looking at redevelopment options, maybe this will be a catalyst for a transformation of the area.

Cheers,
Josh
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  #6  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2010, 9:44 PM
rakerman rakerman is offline
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I was impressed with their presentation. A lot of smart thinking about how to build better in the downtown core.
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  #7  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2010, 4:08 AM
TransitZilla TransitZilla is offline
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Originally Posted by blackjagger View Post
...I am quite impressed with some of there recommendations thus far. In particular demonstrating how taller thinner build forms with setbacks in exchange for green space create livable urban high density...
The presentation demonstrates the dangers of trying to establish strict height limits as Peter Hume is proposing. These things need to be flexible for a reason.
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  #8  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2010, 2:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackjagger View Post
I was looking at these the other night. I am quite impressed with some of there recommendations thus far. In particular demonstrating how taller thinner build forms with setbacks in exchange for green space create livable urban high density. I also like their ideas for the Catherine Street corridor, based on the CCCA updates the owner of the bus station is looking at redevelopment options, maybe this will be a catalyst for a transformation of the area.

Cheers,
Josh
I assume that the bus station owner is working on the basis that the terminal would stay put, and he would build on top?
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  #9  
Old Posted May 31, 2011, 3:57 AM
rakerman rakerman is offline
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The draft plan has been posted. They've changed the name to "Ottawa Centretown: A Community Design Plan for the Heart of Centretown". It's a 51MB PDF.

The post on the Mid-Centretown blog with the report link is: The Draft Community Design Plan is Available!

You have until JUNE 13, 2011 to provide feedback.
There will be a final open house on JUNE 29, 2011 at the Museum of Nature.

They're proposing revised zoning that would allow 27-storey (83m) towers in a "Residential Apartment" zone from roughly between Cooper & Somerset up to Gloucester.
They're also proposing zoning for 77-metre towers in an area along Catherine Street.
If you want to see the zoning, it's on page 107 (page 111 in the PDF).
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  #10  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2011, 10:35 PM
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The one comment I'll be making is that they are underestimating the retail nature of Gladstone. They've got it marked as residential throughout the report. The area bounded by James st, Kent, Bank and Gladstone is also a bit more like the central area than the purely residential area west of Kent.
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  #11  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2011, 4:29 PM
Luker Luker is offline
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True, good observation
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  #12  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2011, 2:09 AM
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Revised version of the Centretown Plan has been released. You can download it from the Mid Centretown blog here (it's around 65 MB).

Haven't had a chance to read it over properly, but I'm pleased to see that they listened to a number of my bullet point ravings concerning the first draft. My key complaint - and judging by the intro I definitely wasn't the only one - was that they had developed a plan for some amorphous blob called 'mid Centretown' rather than for the whole community. This one feels more like a big picture plan. Looks like they listened to m0nkeyman's previous comment, too.

Here's an excerpt from the City's summary blurb:

Quote:
Please be advised that we have completed the revisions to the draft Centretown CDP, incorporating several changes based on comments received since the draft was released last June. The following is a summary of the major changes to the CDP.

Land Use Plan

- Residential Mixed Use area has been reduced in size to focus on those blocks that border Traditional Mainstreets, Apartment Neighbourhood or the Catherine Street corridor and presently have some mix of residential and commercial uses.

- On Gladstone west of Bank, and portions of Somerset Street west of Elgin the Residential Mixed Use designation has been changed to Secondary Mainstreet in keeping with the Official Plan land use designation.

- Open Space has been split into two designations – Open Space – existing and Open Space –proposed.

- Bronson Avenue has been excluded from the CDP, but with a recommendation that a Bronson Avenue TM CDP should be undertaken for its full length from Gloucester to Carling.


Maximum Building Heights

- In the Apartment Neighbourhood the extent of the area with a maximum of 27 storeys has been substantially reduced to the area bounded by Elgin, Lisgar and Kent, with Bank Street having a nine storey limit to Gloucester.

· Other reductions from the draft CDP maximum heights include:

- East of Elgin , maximum heights reduced from 27 to 21 storeys to the south side of Cooper, from 27 to 9 from the north side of Somerset to MacLaren;

- An additional height band have been introduced between Bank and Elgin - a reduction from 27 to 21 storeys on the south side of Lisgar;

- Between Bank and Elgin, a reduction from 27 to 16 storeys on the north side of Cooper and between O’Connor and Elgin from 16 to 9 storeys on the south side of Cooper;

- West of Bank ,maximum heights reduced from 27 to 18 storeys, reflecting recent approvals, and to 21 storeys ,reflecting an existing development at Gloucester and Percy;

- West of Kent on the north side of Lisgar, reduction from 16 to 9 storeys.

Other Revisions

- Restrictions on the amount of floor area and location in the building of commercial uses in the Residential Mixed Use zone have been introduced to reinforce that residential remains the predominant use in this zone.

- To improve readability, the Zoning By-law map has been split into two maps , one showing the zone categories and the other showing maximum height areas.


Heritage Conservation District

- The Heritage Approach in Section 6.5 has been revised to provide a more balanced analysis of the Heritage Conservation District and the Heritage Overlay.

Built Form Guidelines

- The guidelines have been augmented with new figures illustrating the various building (tower and podium) setbacks depending on the lot location and configuration.

Chapter 4 Mobility

- New sections on Transportation Demand Management, ROW protection and parking supply
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  #13  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2011, 3:11 AM
kevinbottawa kevinbottawa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodionx View Post
Revised version of the Centretown Plan has been released. You can download it from the Mid Centretown blog here (it's around 65 MB).

Haven't had a chance to read it over properly, but I'm pleased to see that they listened to a number of my bullet point ravings concerning the first draft. My key complaint - and judging by the intro I definitely wasn't the only one - was that they had developed a plan for some amorphous blob called 'mid Centretown' rather than for the whole community. This one feels more like a big picture plan. Looks like they listened to m0nkeyman's previous comment, too.

Here's an excerpt from the City's summary blurb:
The words "reduced" and "reduction" appear a lot in this quote.
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  #14  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2011, 3:55 AM
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Originally Posted by kevinbottawa View Post
The words "reduced" and "reduction" appear a lot in this quote.
Too many and too drastic reductions IMO. Vulnerable to appeal.
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  #15  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2011, 3:45 PM
Proof Sheet Proof Sheet is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodionx View Post
Revised version of the Centretown Plan has been released. You can download it from the Mid Centretown blog here (it's around 65 MB).

Here's an excerpt from the City's summary blurb:
I can't seem to find the text of that summary blurb....could you post a link to your text...many thanks
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  #16  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2011, 12:29 AM
eternallyme eternallyme is offline
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Seems like a good plan though. If they want to build really tall, I think they should go outside the core, where there should be no height limits.
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  #17  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2011, 12:10 PM
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Too many and too drastic reductions IMO. Vulnerable to appeal.
Are you sure they mean "reduction from the current"? I read that to mean "reduction from what is recommended for the area further north"
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  #18  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2011, 2:23 PM
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Are you sure they mean "reduction from the current"? I read that to mean "reduction from what is recommended for the area further north"
They are reductions from the previous draft. The whole concept of the CDP process of having landowners and the community feed in is challenged if what was agreed to in the draft version of the land you own is 27 storeys, and after community comments of that draft, they change it to 9. That's easily $20-40M in lost revenues for a residential building, and the change could be argued as not good planning, is all I'm saying.
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  #19  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2011, 6:22 PM
rodionx rodionx is offline
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That would be a hard case to make. I mean, the property owner didn't make anything between draft 1 and draft 2, so it's hard to say he lost anything between draft 2 and draft 3. Current zoning for much of that area is 12 storeys, as far as I know.

The heights are a little bit moot on the northern end as there isn't a whole lot of available space for development anymore. There's a map in there where they flag potential areas for development. There's a blob near the church on Kent - might be their dirt parking lot, although I remember seeing a really ugly lowrise for sale there a while back. They also flagged the Beer Store lot on Somerset.

Proof Sheet - that summary was part of an e-mail sent to everyone who inquired about the plan. I posted the whole thing, except for the blurb on the process. Deadline for comments is Jan. 13th. Otherwise, it's too boring to post. PM me if you want it. The city's contact person is Robert Spicer.
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  #20  
Old Posted Dec 14, 2011, 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by rodionx View Post
That would be a hard case to make. I mean, the property owner didn't make anything between draft 1 and draft 2, so it's hard to say he lost anything between draft 2 and draft 3. Current zoning for much of that area is 12 storeys, as far as I know
.
That makes much more sense than what I said, thanks!
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