Shania Twain concert near Bells Corners requires one-day park rezoning
Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: March 10, 2015, Last Updated: March 10, 2015 11:54 AM EDT
Man! I feel like a … temporary zoning amendment?
That was the case Tuesday morning when members of the city’s planning committee voted unanimously to rezone a large park near Bells Corners for one day in order to allow promoters to hold a Shania Twain concert.
College Coun. Rick Chiarelli moved the motion for a city-initiated temporary zoning amendment, which still requires council approval. A theatre use, which is required to permit concerts, is not permitted under the current zoning, according to Chiarelli’s motion.
Last year, the 500-acre former Nepean National Equestrian Park and Ottawa Municipal Campground, which is owned by the National Capital Commission, was leased to the Wesley Clover Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by high-tech mogul Terry Matthews. His 33-year-old daughter, Karen Sparks, is listed as the park’s executive director.
Their vision for the property began as a straightforward revitalization of the equestrian centre. Some $30 million later, it now encompasses an outdoor education centre, recreation facilities for soccer, cross-country skiing, bicycling and other sports, and a space for community events.
Last week — when the Twain concert was announced — Matthews described the site as an “enormous, beautiful piece of property” located near the intersection of highways 416 and 417, “the single biggest junction in the capital city.
But Matthews stopped short of promising a permanent outdoor-concert pavilion similar to massive “shed” venues in the U.S.
Still, veteran Ottawa concert promoter Ken Craig, who’s on the facility’s board of directors and is producing the June 27 Twain concert for AEG Live, immediately recognized the park’s potential as a festival site.
It has the capacity for 25,000 to 75,000 people with plenty of room for camping, a feature that sets it apart from other large venues in town.
The NCC is apparently processing a federal land-use agreement to enable the site’s use as a venue for this event and Wesley Clover Parks has indicated a willingness to submit a zoning bylaw amendment application to permanently rezone the lands to include a theatre use should it be satisfied with the outcome of the Twain concert, Chiarelli told the committee.
— With files from Lynn Saxberg.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...-park-rezoning
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