1451 Wellington St W | 39m | 12f | U/C

[Kitchissippi]

If they're excavating down for 3.5 levels of underground parking, wouldn't they in essence be removing all the contaminated soil? It was a former gas station, not the site of some humungous oil spill or nuclear accident. Unless they're doing some sort of urban farming where toxins will be transferred into edible products, removing all traces of gasoline only to park vehicles holding even more gasoline seems utterly ridiculous.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

If they're excavating down for 3.5 levels of underground parking, wouldn't they in essence be removing all the contaminated soil? It was a former gas station, not the site of some humungous oil spill or nuclear accident. Unless they're doing some sort of urban farming where toxins will be transferred into edible products, removing all traces of gasoline only to park vehicles holding even more gasoline seems utterly ridiculous.

As a mixed-use building, regardless of the garage being in the soil, the contamination level following remediation has to reach residential standards, which were changed in 2011 and are much more stringent than commercial uses, for example.

http://www.ontario.ca/environment-an...-redevelopment

http://www.ontario.ca/environment-an...-environmental

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by jleiper

Sheldon, there's an excellent description for the Committee at http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/your-c...ning-committee.

This is where the heavy lifting is done. Council appoints the Committee. There's an effort made to ensure representation from the rural, suburban and urban areas. There's lots of jockeying to try to get on choice committees, of course (in this last term of council, there was a minor controversy when the inner core was originally going to be shut out). The Committee receives staff's report and recommendation, and then decides whether to concur with staff or not. The staff report and Committee recommendation then goes to full Council - usually about two weeks later.

The critical difference between Committee and Council is that Council doesn't receive public delegations - there's no opportunity to speak to it on an issue. At Committee, anyone can sign up to speak for 5 minutes. It's not uncommon - rarer in this term of council, but not unheard of - for those speakers to sway Committee to reject a staff recommendation.

From here until it goes to Council, there's still an opportunity to lobby. Stakeholders will write to, call and meet with Councillors right up until the meeting asking them to either support or reject Committee's recommendation. On a controversial issue, people will also continue their PR efforts, trying to get their perspective in front of Councillors via the media. What we usually see - especially in this term of council - is a quick rubber-stamping of Committee's recommendation. There's a lot of deference, as is appropriate in my view. When I was with the community association, we only bothered lobbying councillors on the really, really important files if things didn't go our way at Committee. Generally, once it's out of Committee's hands, the discussion is substantially over.

In this case, it will be interesting to watch. Mizrahi has the best consultants and planners money can buy. Between Jeff Polowin (lobbyist), Alan Cohen (lawyer) and Ted Fobert (planning consultant), he's got the heaviest of the heavy hitters in Ottawa. I don't believe (I could be wrong) that Mizrahi will go to the OMB. But, there will likely be intense lobbying by all three with all the Councillors to try to approve this building over the next few weeks. At the same time, individual residents and community associations opposed to the proposal are likely going to make some effort in the time remaining to urge Councillors to support Committee.

This is actually where some real imbalances show up in the system. With just a couple of weeks, community associations usually don't have the time to request a whole series of meetings with Councillors to do the intensive lobbying. They'll generally only be able to write, for example, a letter to Councillors. Mizrahi, you can be sure, has already got a series of meetings set up with all the Councillors, and that face time makes a difference.

With Hume and the Mayor championing adherence to the CDP, I think you'll see Council confirm Committee's decision. And the Mayor, of course, went to the length of making that clear to the press, so he's invested. It's not impossible that the rest of Council will go against the Mayor, Planning Chair and staff, but I wouldn't count it out. It would just be really, really surprising.

Thank you for this detailed explanation of what usually happens with planning committee and Council's decision. I was confused by what the media was reporting with Watson and Hobbs rejecting/ approving, thinking that soon after this proposal had been to Council. I'm thinking that if Mizrahi doesn't get this building I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls out of the Arts Court expansion, too.

[waterloowarrior]

@michaelrwoods · 4h
After some debate, council votes 17-6 to reject the Mizrahi application. #ottpoli

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

@michaelrwoods · 4h
After some debate, council votes 17-6 to reject the Mizrahi application. #ottpoli

[citydwlr]

Stupid decision, IMO. I don't think they'll get much better than what Mizrahi proposed. That said, there was a comment in this Citizen article that gives a little hope if the OMB doesn't pan out:

Mizrahi said earlier this month he would bring the matter to the OMB. However, he told the Citizen last week that that’s not his preferred option, and that he’s considering building a retail/commercial building on the site.

[J.OT13]

If the OMB rejects the proposal, Mizrahi should prove a point by proposing the cheapest, most banal lot line to lot line building ever.

It can't be rejected if it respects zoning to a T, right?

[waterloowarrior]

appealed to the OMB
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...condo-proposal

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

appealed to the OMB
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...condo-proposal

Mizrahi heads for OMB with Wellington West condo proposal

Michael Woods, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 2, 2014, Last Updated: June 2, 2014 5:54 PM EDT

A Toronto developer whose proposal for a luxury condo building in Wellington West was rejected by Ottawa city council says he’s taking the matter to the Ontario Municipal Board.

After planning committee rejected his proposal on May 13, Sam Mizrahi mused about abandoning his 12-storey design and instead erecting a shorter commercial-retail building at Wellington Street and Island Park Drive.

Mizrahi said the OMB wasn’t his preferred option. He said he’s looking to do more work in Ottawa and wanted to start on the right foot.

But after council rejected his proposal last week, he said Monday, he’s appealing to the OMB after all because he has a “moral obligation” to the neighbours who support the proposal.

“We’re not adversarial, and I never have been. We’re not looking at this in a negative context,” he said. “I think we owe it to the residents, the BIA and the community associations there to have this go to the end of the line … because of the investments that they’ve made.”

The proposal is three storeys higher than the area’s community design plan calls for on the site. Mizrahi has said he needs the extra height because the contaminated site requires a costly cleanup.

Mayor Jim Watson and planning committee chair Peter Hume have spoken out forcefully against it, saying residents need certainty about development in their neighbourhoods and creating a height exception for this proposal would set a dangerous precedent. The Wellington Village Community Association also opposed the design.

However, many neighbours — including nearly everyone who attended planning committee — were in favour of the proposal, saying Mizrahi consulted extensively with the public to come up with the design.

Mizrahi said that since planning committee rejected his proposal weeks ago, he has heard from even more residents who were disappointed that it wasn’t approved. And while he said he respects council’s decision, he hinted at displeasure with how it arrived at its decision.

“The Ontario Municipal Board will look at it on the merits of planning, and will make a decision based on that, not have it influenced under any other circumstance,” he said. “If this building is meant to be approved, then we’ve got an unbiased third party that is going to look at the facts.”

He also said the OMB can “spend more than five minutes per person,” talking about it, which is the length of time each member of the public had to speak at planning committee.

“We spent a year on this,” he said. “We have a right and the community has a right to have a second look at this, and that’s at the OMB.”

“If it doesn’t get approved at that point, we can at least know that it’s because it didn’t meet the merits.”

Mizrahi hasn’t filed papers yet with the tribunal, but he said he’s hoping for a hearing date in October or November.

mwoods@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/michaelrwoods

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...condo-proposal

[acottawa]

None of these articles seem to provide much context. For example, were the zoning and cleanup requirements in place when he bought the site? Was he misled by someone? Or, did he buy the site knowing the cleanup and zoning requirements and overpay and/or assume he could charm everyone with a pretty rendering?

Too bad he didn't buy lake Bowery, a slightly taller version of his rendering probably would have sold well.

[waterloowarrior]

BOMA is also appealed this
http://ottawacitizen.com/life/homes/...r-condo-height

[waterloowarrior]

hearing starts January 2015

[waterloowarrior]

Notice of hearing
http://bulldogottawa.com/wp-content/...of-Hearing.pdf

[Urbanarchit]

I normally don't read the Bulldog but decided to check it out tonight. He likes his hyperbole:

If Mizrahi gets 12 storeys when the community design plan says nine and six, that will be the end of Wellington Village as we know it now.

[S-Man]

Ugh. EVERYTHING new is the end of the world for the former Citizen editor.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by defishel

I normally don't read the Bulldog but decided to check it out tonight. He likes his hyperbole:

I've made 2 replies to the Bulldog on his website and they've not been published. He is quite selective in posting replies. I believe that his actual readership is low. He may not have as much to write about now that Hobbs is no longer a councillor.

[Urbanarchit]

I was curious to know the progress of Mizrahi's 133 Hazelton Residences, which is similar to 1451 Wellington. They're still under-construction, but I noticed they aren't using a white cladding, but rather beige, which I don't like much... They'd most likely do the same in Ottawa; and while It's better than CP1-4, it still doesn't impress me as much.

[OTSkyline]

^ Wow, that's a real nice building and development. Hope the one in Westboro goes through.

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

^ Wow, that's a real nice building and development. Hope the one in Westboro goes through.

Agree. Very nice architecture.

[waterloowarrior]

Hearing starts today (Monday).. the developer is being criticized in Toronto for demolishing a building while the City was looking into a heritage designation. They received a demolition permit on Friday and demolished any significant heritage features over the weekend.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015...n-decided.html