And of course an article on 335 Roosevelt, usual maligning of Hobbs (sildent on 203 Catherine and Holmes, of course)
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion...405/story.html
Zoning is a contract with a neighbourhood
By Ken Gray
Fundamental to democracy is the rule of law. Monday that guiding principle was tossed in the trash can by Ottawa’s planning committee on the issue of the condominium development at 335 Roosevelt Ave.
On that Westboro side street where the zoning is seven storeys, Uniform Urban Developments received preliminary approval to demolish a one-storey building and build, not one, but two towers in a primarily residential neighbourhood. One condo is 14 storeys tall, the other 16 — double or more than the current zoning. So civic policy and law continue to be trampled. This represents a threat not just to the immediate community, but to neighbourhoods across the city.
Zoning is a contract between the people who live in a neighbourhood — many of whom have poured their heart and life’s savings into their family home — and their elected representatives, the municipal staff who serve the public, and those who would build in the community. Zoning tells buyers in a neighbourhood what they can reasonably expect when they make, in most cases, the biggest purchase of their lives and choose the environment in which they will live and raise their children. That contract is broken when zoning says seven storeys and planning committee approves 16. Zoning continues to be a mere suggestion in this city and breaking it destroys municipal credibility and the rule of law.
Noted British Justice Tom Bingham in his 2010 book called Rule of Law defined the principle:
“The core of the ... principle is ... that all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be bound by and entitled to the benefits of laws publicly made ... and publicly administered in the courts.”
And the Canadian Constitution, which ignores municipal government, certainly acknowledges the principle: “Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” Instead municipal government is but a creature of the provincial government, subject to the whims of the provincial cabinet and the legislature. And given how the City of Ottawa has routinely thrown out its own zoning legislation, it deserves to be less than an afterthought.
Not only is the legitimacy of the municipal government at stake, but the credibility of Mayor Jim Watson and planning committee chairman Peter Hume. Both recently made major speeches in the strongest of words saying the city will uphold its zoning bylaws. That they should even have to make those speeches is incredible, but that so shortly after, planning committee whisks through the Roosevelt development at double the zoned-for height, is beyond words.
In civil society, one would expect the servants of the public to uphold their own zoning bylaws, but this is Ottawa where the municipal staff often looks at the public as a nuisance. The planning department in its report on the project comes out strongly in support of the development and against its own zoning policy and the overwhelming will of the community that rightly wants the seven-storey rule upheld. Were the development within the city zoning and added something intriguing to the community, it would be valuable. New buildings should be so innovative that communities want, not dread them. But for the most part, that seems to be beyond Ottawa’s planners and developers.
Kitchissippi Councillor Katherine Hobbs immediately issued a release that touts her victory over her constituents on the Roosevelt development and tells Kitchissippi residents that Uniform has donated $200,000 for community development from the project. That’s roughly what the developer paid the community at the former Westboro convent. That’s what heritage and principle cost these days. Any cheaper and they’ll be on the clearance shelves at the Richmond Road Superstore.
Intensification, with its benefits for the environment and cutting civic costs, is important to the community. But even more vital is the rule of law without which progress in all public policy cannot proceed in an orderly fashion. And every time Ottawa city council, its standing committees and city staff change zoning for the convenience of people who want huge, rather than reasonable, profits on their new buildings, the legitimacy of municipal government takes a beating.
The rule of law promotes fairness; something that has been absolutely lost in Ottawa’s planning process. If they value their credibility, it’s up to Hume and Watson to put weight behind their words when this issue comes to city council on Dec. 14.
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