Report to/Rapport au :

 

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

Comité de l'agriculture et des questions rurales

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

11 January 2008 / le 11 janvier 2008

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,

Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement 

 

Contact Person/Personne-ressource : Richard Kilstrom, Manager/Gestionnaire, Community Planning and Design/Aménagement et conception communautaire, Planning Branch/Direction de l’urbanisme

(613) 580-2424 x22653, Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca

 

Rideau-Goulbourn (21)

Ref N°: ACS2008-PTE-PLA-0014

 

 

SUBJECT:

MAHOGANY COMMUNITY - OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT PLAN

 

 

OBJET :

COLLECTIVITE DE MAHOGANY – MODIFICATION DU PLAN OFFICIEL ET PLAN CONCEPTUEL COMMUNAUTAIRE  

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

 

That Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee recommend Council:

 

1.         Adopt Official Plan Amendment xx, as attached in Document 1, to amend the Secondary Plan for Manotick in Volume 2C of the Official Plan.

 

2.         Approve the Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan  as attached in Document 2 (issued separately).

 

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

 

Que le Comité de l’agriculture et des affaires rurales recommande ce qui suit au Conseil :

 

1.                  Adopter la modification xx du Plan officiel, ci-jointe dans le Document 1, de maničre ŕ modifier le plan secondaire de Manotick dans le Volume 2C du Plan officiel.

 

2.                  Approuver le plan conceptuel d’aménagement de la collectivité de Mahogany, ci-joint dans le Document 2 (présenté séparément).

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

Assumptions and Analysis:

 

The Village of Manotick Secondary Plan contains the policy foundation for decisions about the future growth and development of Manotick.  Within the Village, 194 hectares of land are designated as "Serviced Development Area" and require an approved Development Concept Plan prior to any development taking place.  Minto has submitted an Official Plan Amendment application to amend the Secondary Plan, along with a detailed Development Concept Plan (DCP) for the Mahogany Community.  Technical review and public consultation has caused Minto to revise the original DCP. 

 

Staff are recommending approval of the revised DCP (issued separately) that provides for 1400 residential units.  Staff also recommend approval of an Official Plan Amendment (Document 1) that changes some of the policies in the Manotick Secondary Plan in order to implement the concept.

 

The most significant components of the DCP and Official Plan Amendment, where relevant, are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Implications:

 

Minto will be required to pay for the cost of extending sewer and water services to the Mahogany Community and the emplacement of local servicing components through the subdivision process.  The capital cost of stormwater management facilities will be recovered through an area-specific charge applied against the benefiting area.  Other growth-related infrastructure capital costs, such as roads associated with this specific geographical area, will be reviewed and several methods will be considered for the recovery of servicing costs. 

 

The significant woodlot is designated as Natural Environment Area.  It is the intention of the Plan that the City acquire these lands to preserve them for the community subject to all of the policies of Section 3.2.2 and 5.2.1 of the Official Plan. 

 

Future operating impacts will be borne by the City but are currently unavailable at this time.

 

Public Consultation/Input:

 

During the preparation of the DCP, Minto held six meeting with community leaders to obtain input and to review the work on the plan as it progressed.  Various meetings were held with specific interest groups and the public at large. 

 

Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City's Public Notification and Consultation Policy. The Councillor is aware of this application and the staff recommendation.  The City has received 177 letters/e-mails from members of the community who are opposed to the Mahogany Community proposal and the amendment to the Manotick Secondary Plan required to implement the DCP.  Responses received during the circulation process are summarized in Document 3.

 

The responses to the circulation provided by Ottawa Forest and Greenspace Advisory Committee, Rural Issues Advisory Committee, the West Manotick Community Association,  the public, Brian Miller and Mike O'Neil (Manotick Community Association) are provided in Document 3.

 

RÉSUMÉ

 

Hypothčses et analyse :

 

Le plan secondaire du village de Manotick contient le fondement de la politique décisionnelle concernant la croissance et le développement de Manotick. Dans le village, 194 hectares de terrain sont désignés « secteur d’aménagement viabilisé » et nécessitent la création d’un plan conceptuel approuvé avant tout aménagement. Minto a déposé une demande de modification du Plan officiel visant le plan secondaire, ainsi qu’un plan conceptuel d’aménagement (PCA) détaillé de la collectivité de Mahogany. Un examen technique et une consultation publique ont contraint Minto ŕ réviser son PCA original. 

 

Le personnel recommande l’approbation du PCA révisé (présenté séparément) qui prévoit l’aménagement de 1 400 unités résidentielles. Le personnel recommande également l’approbation d’une modification au Plan officiel (Document 1) qui vise certaines politiques du plan secondaire de Manotick, afin de permettre l’application du concept.

 

Les éléments les plus importants du PCA et de la modification du Plan officiel sont les suivants :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Répercussions financičres :

 

Minto devra assumer le coűt du prolongement des réseaux d’égouts et d’aqueduc jusqu’ŕ la collectivité de Mahogany, et de la mise en place d’éléments de viabilisation locale par le biais du processus de lotissement. Le coűt d’investissement des installations de gestion des eaux pluviales sera récupéré par l’intermédiaire d’une redevance appliquée au secteur visé. Les autres coűts d’investissement dans des infrastructures et liés ŕ la croissance, comme les routes reliant ce secteur géographique, feront l’objet d’un examen et plusieurs méthodes seront envisagées pour recouvrer les coűts de viabilisation. 

 

Le grand terrain boisé est désigné zone écologique naturelle. Le Plan prévoit que la Ville fera l’acquisition de ce terrain afin de le préserver, sous réserve de conformité ŕ toutes les politiques des sections 3.2.2 et 5.2.1 du Plan officiel. 

 

Toute autre répercussion d’exploitation sera assumée par la Ville, mais aucune n’est connue pour le moment.

    

Consultation publique / commentaires :

 

Au cours de la préparation du PCA, Minto a organisé six réunions avec des animateurs communautaires afin de connaître leur point de vue et d’examiner l’avancement du plan au fil de son élaboration. Diverses réunions ont été tenues avec des groupes d’intéręt en particulier et le grand public.

 

Un avis portant sur cette demande a été émis, conformément ŕ la politique de la Ville sur les avis publics et les consultations. Le conseiller est au courant de cette demande et de la recommandation qu’en a faite le personnel. La Ville a reçu 177 lettres ou courriels de membres de la collectivité opposés ŕ la proposition visant la collectivité de Mahogany et ŕ la modification du plan secondaire de Manotick, nécessaire ŕ la mise en śuvre du PCA. Les réponses reçues lors du processus de diffusion sont résumées dans le Document 3.

 

Les réponses émises par le Comité consultatif sur les foręts et les espaces verts d’Ottawa, le Comité consultatif sur les questions rurales, l’Association communautaire de Manotick (secteur ouest), le public, Brian Miller et Mike O'Neil (Association communautaire de Manotick) figurent dans le Document 3.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Village of Manotick Secondary Plan contains the policy foundation for decisions about the future growth and development of Manotick.  Within the Village, 194 hectares of land are designated as "Serviced Development Area" and require an approved Development Concept Plan prior to any development taking place.  Minto has submitted an Official Plan Amendment application to amend the Secondary Plan, along with a detailed Development Concept Plan (DCP) for the Mahogany Community.  Technical review and public consultation has caused Minto to revise the original DCP. 

 

Staff are recommending approval of the revised DCP (issued separately) that provides for 1400 residential units.  Staff also recommend approval of an Official Plan Amendment (Document 1) that changes some of the policies in the Manotick Secondary Plan in order to implement the concept plan.

 

The Minto lands in Manotick have been planned for development for a long time.  The boundary for the village, which includes these lands, was established by the former Township of Rideau in the 1992 Official Plan that was approved by the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton in 1995.  However, development was deferred in the village pending completion of both a Servicing Study and a Secondary Plan.  The Servicing Options Study/Environmental Assessment concluded that central services were the best servicing solution for Manotick.

 

The Secondary Plan was adopted by Rideau Township in 2000 and it was approved by the new City of Ottawa in 2001.  The Manotick Secondary Plan forms part of the new 2003 City of Ottawa Official Plan and is incorporated into Volume 2C which contains the village plans.

 

The Manotick Secondary Plan requires that the Minto lands be serviced centrally and that a Development Concept Plan be prepared.  Section 3.7.2.5 policy 2 g) states:

"Areas designated 'Serviced Development Area' (the subject lands) on Schedule A shall be developed without amendment to this Plan provided the following conditions are satisfied:

 

i)                    All development shall be on the basis of central water and wastewater services;

 

ii)                   A comprehensive development concept plan has been prepared for the entire area, to the satisfaction of the City of Ottawa, that will facilitate the logical phasing of development in the area (the integration of transportation links, parks and open space, schools pedestrian links and stormwater) and that will form the basis for various, subsequent plans of subdivision;

 

iii)                 The location and ownership of the schools, recreation and/or open space areas will be to the satisfaction of Council, and determined in consultation with the affected land owners and the Manotick community".

 

The development proposed in the revised Development Concept Plan (DCP) deviates from the some of the policies in the Secondary Plan.  Therefore, Minto has submitted an Official Plan Amendment application that proposes to amend policies related to the amount and pace of growth, housing density, location of multiple units and the land use plan designations on Schedule A.

 

The City has facilitated the DCP process by:

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

A.  ISSUES RAISED BY THE COMMUNITY

 

The City received 177 letters/e-mails from members of the community opposed to the Mahogany Community proposal.  The main areas of concern are:

 

1.                  Amount/pace of Growth

2.                  Transportation

3.                  Location of multiple units

4.                  Density of Housing

5.                  Village character

6.                  Community facilities

7.                  Servicing

8.                  Natural Environment Area and Parks

9.                  Schools Sites

10.              Connections to Carrison Drive and Potter Drive

 

Staff presented their initial reactions to the Mahogany Community proposal at a community meeting held on October 30, 2007.  At that meeting, the amount and pace of growth as well as the impact of the proposed development on the road capacity in the village were the main concerns of the community.  The phasing of the devlopment and the trigger mechanisms to allow the development were of particular concern.

 

In response to the City's initial reactions to Minto's proposal, Minto prepared a revised Development Concept Plan.  Minto's proposal was presented to the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee on November 26, 2007 and to the Rural Issues Advisory Committee on November 27, 2007. 

 

These issues and concerns are addressed below.  The discussion of each of the issues will include:

 

·        Minto’s Initial Proposal - the DCP for Mahogany Community and  Official Plan amendment submitted to the City for review/approval

 

·        Community Concerns - summary of issues and concerns rasied during the consultation process

 

·        Staff Response to Minto’s Initial Proposal and community concerns, along with recommendations for the final DCP and Official Plan Amendment. 

 

1.         Amount and Pace of Growth

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

Minto's initial proposal was for 1200 residential units in the Serviced Development Area by 2020 and an additional 800 units after 2020 for a total of 2000 units at build-out.  While they do not own all the property, the plan was prepared for the whole property.  Early during the consultation process, Minto reduced the total number of units to 1800.  The changes they proposed for the secondary plan were to allow for the 1800 units on these lands and therefore to increase the total number of units permitted in the Village as a whole.

 

Minto proposed that the following text in Section 3.7.2.3 C (1) be deleted:

 

"Allow the area of the village to be serviced on central services to gradually grow to accommodate approximately 2000 housing units, and up to 2,000 jobs by the year 2020, guided by the growth management policies of this Plan".

 

and be replaced with:

 

"The current potential for development in the year 2008 is approximately 1800 units, not including the area west of Mud Creek, known as the Special Design Area (SDA) and the Serviced Development Area.  However the total potential for the whole village within the approved boundary is approximately 3,600 units (not including the SDA).  Not all of these units will be connnected to public sewer and water in the next 12 years.  Development will be permitted up to a total of 2,800 units to the year 2020 including the Serviced Development Area.  After 2020, the remaining development potential may take place up to a total of 3,600 dwelling units by the year 2028.  Any development beyond 2,000 units is subject to the provision of infrastructure in accordance with the Development Concept Plan and the approval of the City of Ottawa".

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

a)  Amount of Growth

 

Schedule A of the approved Secondary Plan designates the 194 hectares of land as 'Serviced Development Area'.  The Schedule identifies areas for various types of housing including:  Single Family Estate (2.5 to 5.0 units per gross residential hectare); Single Family Low Density (5.0 to 10 units per gross residential hectare); and Single Family Moderate Density (10 to 15 units per gross residential hectare).  Based on the amount of land shown within the approved Secondary Plan for each housing type, there is a potential for between 773 and 1,426 units in the Serviced Development Area when it is all developed.

 

The Transportation Overview prepared by Delcan to support the application, indicates that 1,300 to 1,400 units could be approved subject to road network improvements being in place in a timely manner and the related traffic assumptions being realized.  The Transportation Overview indicates that there is not an acceptable or affordable transportation solution for the full 1,800 units proposed for the Mahogany Community.  Staff are recommending that the Development Concept Plan provide for 1,400 units.  Phases 6 and 7 of the development, which would take the total beyond 1,400 units, should be frozen and the lands redesignated as Future Development Area in the Secondary Plan.  Development of phases 6 and 7 will be beyond 2021, the time horizon of the Official Plan, and an Official Plan amendment will be required at some point in the future to allow development on these lands.  At that time, it must be demonstrated that there is capacity in the road network in Manotick to accommodate more development. 

 

b)  Pace of growth

 

The Secondary Plan provides for 2,000 dwelling units to the year 2020 in the Village as a whole.  Currently there are 1,750 dwelling units in Manotick leaving potential for 250 additional dwelling units to the year 2020. 

 

The pace of growth should be tied to the provision of infrastructure rather than arbitrarily constraining growth to a number of units by a specific date.  Staff is recommending that a phasing plan for the development be added to the Secondary Plan.  The phasing plan prescibes the trigger mechanisms, indicating the infrastructure required to be in place for each phase before it can proceed. If the infrastructure projects are delayed, development will be delayed.  Subdivision approval will be conditional on detailed traffic studies confirming that there is infrastructure capacity for each phase of development.

 

c)  Provincial and Official Plan Policies/ Need for the Development

 

Development of these lands has been anticipated for a long time.  The lands have been within the  village boundary since 1992, and the 2001 Secondary Plan provides policies for development of these lands.  Village development conforms with Provincial and Official Plan policies.

 

2.   Transportation

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

A Transportation Overview report, prepared by Delcan for Minto, was drafted as a supporting document to the DCP.  The Overview indicates that the transportation system in Manotick is currently at capacity and transportation system improvements will be required for additional development to proceed.  The overview concluded "with a reasonable degree of confidence that the peak-hour traffic generated by 1300 to 1400 units in the Mahogany Community can be adequately accommodated".  There is no identified solution at this time to allow for additional development.  The limitation of the number of homes is based on the capacity of the future regional transportation network and local modifications.

 

One of the significant improvements mentioned in the Transportation Overview is the requirement for the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge.  The Overview projects that the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge will result in a 25 per cent reduction of peak-hour traffic on Bridge Street, which equates to approximately 500 vehicles per hour.  The redistribution of this traffic is key to accomodating the future transportation demands for the Mahogany Community and all of Manotick.  The Overview report also states that subdivision approval should be conditional on detailed traffic studies confirming there is infrastructure capacity.

 

The report indicated that there would be a need for further, more detailed studies to support each phase of development.   The partial list includes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subsequent to the October 30, 2007 community meeting, Minto submitted an analysis prepared by Delcan indicating that they feel that a portion of Phase 1 could be accomodated without the construction of the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge.

 

Community Concerns

 

Traffic in Manotick  is a major concern of the community.  Concerns expressed during the various public consultation activities and submissions to the City included the following:

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

a) Peer Review

 

The City retained National Capital Engineering/GENIVAR  to undertake a peer review of the Transportation Overview.  The peer review acknowledges that capacity issues currently exist in Manotick and for this development to proceed, significant regional infrastructure such as the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge will have to be in place.  National Capital Engineering/GENIVAR's recommendation to the City is to accept the limitations of the development to 1300 to 1400 units and follow the suggested monitoring and more detailed studies as listed in Section 7 of the Overview Report.  The detailed studies were previously listed above under 'Minto’s Initial Proposal' heading.

 

b)  New Policies for Phasing of Development

 

Building upon the Overview and Peer Review conclusions, the level of development and the phasing of  the Mahogany Community will be dependent on the provision of local and regional transportation infrastructure.  The Transportation Overview has projected that additional capacity will be created in the future to support the development.  The developer must demonstrate this capacity exists and mechanisms to achieve the City's approved level of service operating standard.  The release of phases and dwelling units is dependent on the demonstration of capacity to support it.

 

Manotick has unique geographic and transportation constraints that are reflected by the following points and illustrated below on the map of the village:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the above, the total amount of development in Phases 1 to 5 as shown on Schedule C to the Amendment, shall not exceed 1400 dwelling units to be phased in accordance with the following phasing policies:

 

Phase 1

 

Zoning amendments to permit the development in Phase 1 must be supported by traffic impact studies to indicate that capacity exists in the village to support the development, and how the constraints listed above have been alleviated.  In Phase 1, the traffic study will include a before and after study of the impact on the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge.  However, if the developer wishes to proceed with a portion of Phase 1 without the implementation of the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge, the developer must demonstrate that the capacity is in place.  Currently there is no evidence that this is the case.

 

Depending on the timing of development (particularly related to the Bridge), the traffic impact study may include: 

 

 

 

 

 

Phases 2 to 5

 

Like Phase 1, the development of Phases 2 to 5 depends on the timing of Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge and its impact on the transportation network.  The zoning amendments for each phase(s) of development will be supported by traffic impact studies which include the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

c) Emergency Response

 

Police, Fire and Paramedic Services have indicated that they do not see a significant concern for public safety, nor would the proposed development cause concerns for emergency response.

 

3.   Location of Multiple Units

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal:

 

Minto proposed that 25 per cent of the housing stock in the Serviced Development Area be multiple units. 

 

a)  Currently multiple family housing is directed to the Village Core.  Section 3.7.2.3.c) 3.  of the Secondary Plan states:

 

"Ensure that the Village’s housing stock continues to consist primarily of single family, detached housing, while allowing for a limited range of multiple family housing which shall locate in the Village Core".

 

Minto has proposed that the policy be amended by adding the following phrase to the end of the policy.

 

“and up to 25% of the housing units in the Serviced Development Area.” 

 

b)  Section 3.7.2.5 (2) (a) says:

 

"Residential development outside the Village Core shall be located in areas designated Single Family Estate; Single Family (Low Density); and Single Family (Moderate Density)" as indicated on Schedule A.

 

Minto proposes adding a designation "Multiple Residential" to allow for a mix of housing types in the Serviced Development Area.

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

a)  Village Core

 

Since there is little vacant land in the village core (3.24 hectares), there is very limited potential for the type of multi-unit development proposed in the Mahogany Community which include semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes.   When central services are provided to the core, there will be potential for redevelopment in the form of apartments and mixed-use development.  The type of multiple unit development proposed in the Mahogany Community should not compete with the redevelopment that will occur in the village core, therefore it will not compromise the Plan's objectives for the core. 

 

b) Opportunity to Provide a Range of Housing Opportunties

 

The DCP provides for a mix of housing units in the Mahogany Community where up to 25 per cent of the Mahogany Community will be semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes.  Villages such as Manotick, that have public services, provide unique opportunities in the rural area to provide a range of housing units because the servicing is not a constraint.  A range of housing units is a benefit to meet the needs of all age groups, including young people starting out and seniors who want to down size but stay in the village.  Villages with services such Carp, Richmond and Greely (with communal services for some developments) are examples of villages that provide for multiple unit development. 

 

c) Location of Multiples

 

The initial land use plan proposed by Minto showed large blocks reserved for multi-unit development for Mahogany Community.  Large blocks of multiple unit development is typical in most suburban developments but is not typically found in villages.  The DCP has been revised to locate Mixed Residential areas  (which includes semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes) in neighbourhood cells throughout the Mahogany Community so that the multiple units will be integrated into the community rather than stand alone in large blocks.  The densities of Mixed Residential will not exceed 35 units per gross ha (14 units per gross acre).  The architectural guidelines in the DCP set criteria for maximum consecutive housing types or maximum percentages to ensure that the development is compatible with the village.

 

4.   Density of Housing

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

Minto proposed that Section 3.7.2.5 policy 2 c) be amended to increase the density for Single Family (Moderate Density) areas from a density of four to six units per gross residential acre to four to seven units per gross residental hectare.  As proposed in the concept plan, single family residential provides for lot sizes from 12.2 metres x 32 metres  (390 square metres) to 18 metres x 32 metres (576 square metres).

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

Where services are available, in serviced villages such as Carp, Richmond, Greely, larger lots of 0.2 hetares (half acre) are not required to be provided for septic fields so development standards in these villages are smaller lots to make a more efficient use of infrastructure and land.

 

Manotick has developed over many years and there is a range of lot sizes in parts of the village, 0.2 hectares is not the standard.

 

Neighbourhood

Metric

Imperial

Manotick village core

15 m x 32 m = 480 sq m

50 ft x 100 ft = 5,000 sq ft

Hillside Gardens

22 m x 32 m = 704 sq m

72 ft x 100 ft = 7,200 sq ft

Manotick Estates

32 m x 69 m = 2,200 sq m

105 ft x 225 ft = 23,700 sq ft

 

Minto initially proposed a range of frontages for single-family residential areas ranging from 12.2 metres to 18 metres. There is no precedent in the City for village development on 12.2‑metre frontages.  However 12.2‑metre frontage for singles is appropriate if mixed with multiple units.  The small lot singles should be included as part of the up to 25 per cent of multiple-unit development which includes semis, linked bungalows, and townhomes. 

 

It is not appropriate to amend the Single Family (Moderate Density) designation as this designation applies to areas throughout the village.  The Secondary Plan is being amended to add three designations that will apply only to the Mahogany Community as shown on Schedule B of the amendment.

 

 

 

 

5.   Village Character

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

The initial Development Concept Plan provided for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

a)   Village character

 

Concerns related to traffic, amount of development, density, unit type and how they affect village character have been discussed previously.  The guidelines are included as part of the DCP and will provide a framework for how the community will develop in a way that is compatible with the existing community in Manotick. 

 

At the request of the City, Minto has provided architectural and design guidelines to ensure that new development is consistent with village character. 

 

The design guidelines provide for:

 

 

 

 

The architectural guidelines provide for:

 

 

 

 

 

b)   Transition

 

The DCP provides for a gradual transition from exising development in Manotick Estates by providing for larger lots (22 metre x 50 metre) and buffering.  Buffering will also be required for the existing development on Manotick Main Street.

 

6.   Community Facilities

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

The parks and open space system connects to the rest of the village.  Two schools sites have been requested by the school boards.

 

Community Concerns

 

 

Staff Response

 

The DCP provides an  open space system that  includes parks, pathway systems and schools to address the needs of the new community.

 

The provision of  indoor recreational facilities will be guided by Parks and Recreation's Community Infrastructure Strategy and Project Listing.  A large complex, strategically located just north of Manotick and south of Barrhaven, is planned to service the indoor recreational needs (twin pad arena, pool and full service community centre) of new residents in Manotick and the new south Barrhaven area.

 

7.   Servicing and Provision of Infrastructure

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

Minto proposes to develop the community on central services as required by the Secondary Plan.  Minto has prepared and submitted a servicing plan.

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

The Manotick Secondary Plan requires the development to be on central services.  The City implements alternative services where studies demonstrate that those services are the best solution.  This was recently done at the Carp Airport and in the Shadow Ridge subdivision in Greely.  The 1997 Servicing Options Study and Environmental Assessment concluded that central services were the best servicing solution for Manotick.   The Study evaluated a comprehensive range of options for water and sewer services including: a new treatment plant to be located in Manotick with discharge into the Rideau River and small bore and other alternative effluent collection technologies among many others, a series of communal sewage treatment facilities that would discharge into large tile fields, and a central sewage pumping station connected via forcemain to the West Rideau Collector.  The Manotick Secondary Plan implements the findings of the Servicing Options Study and requires new development to be on the basis of central services.

 

The developer is responsible for paying its portion of the costs for servicing the new development.  For other residential areas, connections will only be required where a community/neighbourhood requests connection through a Local Improvement Area petition.  A Local Improvement Area petition to support the costs requires 67 per cent of the properties representing 50 per cent of the total assessed value to vote in favour.

 

The Preliminary Groundwater Assessment that was prepared by Paterson Group Inc. indicates that it is unlikely that there are groundwater discharge areas present in the subject area. This is consistent with the overburden thickness of the surficial soils and relatively shallow depth of Mud Creek.  Any impacts on existing wells from the temporary or permanent dewatering of the perched groundwater at the Subject Area, resulting from the installation of municipal services, is likely to be negligible.  A pre-development survey of wells will be required and a monitoring program and contingency plans prepared at the time of development.

 

Development Charges

 

The City calculates residential development charges on a large area basis.  Currently three area-specific charges are used to differentiate the costs of servicing residential development:  Inside the Greenbelt, Outside the Greenbelt, and Rural.  Under the current calculation methodology, the proposed Mahogany Community is located within the Rural residential development charge zone.  During the City's upcoming development charge study process, consideration will be given to various options that reflect the additional growth-related servicing costs to be recovered from this new subdivision and its proximity to the current Outside the Greenbelt boundary. 

 

8.    Natural Environment and Parks

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

The Minto proposal protected the candidate Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), but for the remainder of NESS 506, part was proposed to be reserved as a community park and part was proposed to be developed as residential.

 

Stream setbacks for Mud Creek are proposed to be increased to 50 metres (as opposed to 30 metres required in the Secondary Plan).

 

The pond on the property is proposed to be reserved as park land.

 

Community Concerns

 

The community wants the woodlot and the pond to be protected from development.

 

Staff Response

 

Protection of the Woodlot:

 

The Natural Resource Existing Conditions Report prepared by EcoTec Environmental Consultants for Minto to support the DCP, concluded that NESS 506, including the Manotick Drumlin Forest  and excluding Community 6, should be retained. The Province also identified the Manotick Drumlin Forest as a candidate provincially-significant Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in 1995.  In 1997 the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton also considered the area through the Natural Environment Systems Strategy and scored it of “moderate” significance on the City-wide scale.  Based on these evaluations, City staff has concluded that this area is  a “significant woodland” under the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS).  The PPS states that development and site alteration shall not be permitted in significant woodlands south and east of the Canadian Shield unless it has been demonstrated that there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or their ecological functions.

 

The City wants to keep this parcel in an undeveloped state in accordance with the EcoTec Report. If the property is to be treated in a similar manner as other lands where the City does not support any development, the appropriate designation is Natural Environment Area.  Once the parcel is designated Natural Environment Area, the landowner may request the City to acquire it, and in accordance with the Official Plan, the City will acquire the land.  The City may also consider other methods to achieve the objective such as negotiating a conservation easement.  If public acquisition of the land cannot be negotiated as described in the sequence below, the land will be redesignated as Rural Natural Feature or as another designation that meets the tests of the Provincial Policy Statement. 

 

The Development Concept Plan therefore proposes that:

 

 

 

 

 

The Pond:

 

While it is not provincially significant, the pond in the southeast portion of the Mahogany Community provides habitat for amphibians with potentially suitable breeding habitat for toad and/or frog species such as the wood frog, green frog, leopard frog, gray tree frog, and the spring peeper.  It may not be capable of supporting these species year-round, due to shallow water levels.  The pond collects local surface water and shallow subsurface infiltration from a small (six hetares) catchment area, with water levels being maintained by the relatively impermeable subsoil.  Reduction of the catchment area will likely result in the pond becoming a seasonally wet feature, which will limit its use by some species. 

 

A small area of natural greenspace will be retained around the pond as a neighbourhood amenity and seasonal wildlife habitat (and will not be included in the 5 per cent parkland dedication).  The permitted uses in this land use category include trails and pathways. The location and design of any trails or pathways will need to be approved by the City and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

 

9.   School Sites

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

The English Public and Catholic School Boards have requested that school sites be reserved in the Mahogany Community.  The DCP provides for two school sites.

 

School Board Comments

 

The Ottawa Catholic School Board has requested the elementary school site be relocated to the north into Phase 5, adjacent to the neighbourhood park.  The relocation is necessary due to timing of development, as well as traffic, design and safety issues related to Century Road.

 

Staff Response

 

The school site has been relocated into Phase 5 on the Rural Lane/Spine Road, closer to a neighbourhood park.

 

10.   Road Access - Connections to Carrison Drive and Potter Drive

 

Minto’s Initial Proposal

 

Minto proposed that there be roadway connections to Carrison and Potter Drives to provide a link from Mahongany Community to Manotick Estates. 

 

Community Concerns

 

 

 

Staff Response

 

The connections to Carrison and Potter Drives will provide for pedestrian and cycling links and not for traffic. 

 

B.  THE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT PLAN AND CONSISTENCY WITH THE MANOTICK SECONDARY PLAN

 

The Development Concept Plan, as revised, is consistent with the objectives in the Manotick Secondary Plan as demonstrated in the following table.

 

Secondary Plan Section 3.7.2.2

How the DCP is consistent with the objectives

Primary Objectives

 

1.   To preserve and maintain the quality and character of life enjoyed by the people who live or work in Manotick

Development phasing is tied to provision of infrastructure.

Natural features are preserved and incorporated into the village.

The parks and open space system is linked to the rest of the village.

The range of housing units is provided to meet the needs the of community.

Secondary Objectives

 

1.   To have regard to Federal, Provincial policies inasmuch as they apply to a Village;

DCP is consistent with Provincial Policy Statement:

  • The DCP provides an efficient land use pattern and an appropriate mix of residental uses.

2.   To provide policies to conform with the Ottawa Official Plan

Conforms with Official Plan policies: 

  • Rural development is to be focused in villages, 
  • The village remains rural in character,
  • A wide range of housing forms are permitted.

3.   To provide for the periodic review of this Plan and its performance not less frequently than each five (5) years and to take action as deemed appropriate where the Plan’s performance is proceeding in a manner which is not consistent with the Primary Objective;

The indicators listed in Secondary Plan are:

  • Rate of growth,
  • Facilities required to service growth (schools, parks, recreation),
  • Capacity to provide recreation programs,
  • Capacity of road network to accommodate growth,
  • Other indicators deemed appropriate by Council.

 

The five-year review has not been completed, however the background studies completed to support the DCP, provide updated information on the indicators as required by the performance review.   This provides the information base for decision-making that is required by the Plan.

4.   To conserve Manotick’s natural resources and to encourage their preservation;

The land-use plan preserves the significant woodlots, stream corridors and the pond.

5.   To provide for the preservation and/or acquisition of the Rideau River shoreline and its availability for public enjoyment;

N/A  -  Mahogany Community does not have frontage on the Rideau River.

6.   To conserve and enhance Manotick’s heritage resources and the Village’s identity and character as an historic town on the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, a Canadian Heritage River;

Architectural and design guidelines are provided to ensure future development is compatible with village character.

7.   To protect and enhance the environmental quality of the Rideau Canal (River), a Canadian Heritage River, by encouraging shore land property owners to naturalize their shore lands in the interests of improving water quality and to re-establish the natural appearance of the Rideau Canal shore land;

N/A  -  Mahogany Community does not have frontage  on the Rideau River.

8.   To provide a strategy for the provision of infrastructure to Manotick;

The Secondary Plan requires central sewer and water services.  A Master Servicibility Study is provided to implement this.

9.   To provide safe, convenient and pleasant pedestrian and cycling routes throughout the Village;

Pedestrian and cycling links are provided throughout the community that connect to the village.

10.   To ensure compatibility of any new development or redevelopment with the existing community and its established character in terms of the type, scale and built form of the new development or redevelopment;

Larger lots and buffers are provided adjacent to existing communities. 

Architectural and design guidelines are provided to ensure future development is compatible with village character.

11.   To protect and enhance the commercial functions of the Village core;

No commercial development is proposed in the Mahogany Community – commercial uses are directed to the village core.  The additional development will support the village core.

12.   To provide adequate opportunity for jobs and housing in the overall community in a manner that is desirable for a Village and consistent with the community’s Vision;

A mix of housing units is provided throughout Mahogany Community.

13.   To provide recreation and leisure facilities that are conveniently located and accessible to all residents;

The land-use plan provides for a parks and open space network that connects to the rest of the village.

14.   To provide for an orderly growth and development strategy within the Village; and,

Development will occur in phases and will depend on the provision of infrastructure.

15.   To provide an adequate mix of housing in the Village as a whole as opposed to any one residential neighbourhood or new development area.

A mix of housing units is provided – up to 25 per cent of the Mahogany Community will be semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes.

 

Document 4, the Background Report,  was prepared by Minto in support of the DCP and is provided for information and is a summary of the contextual, historical, transportation and environmental information  for the DCP.

 

OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT

 

While the DCP is consistent with the primary and secondary objectives of the Secondary Plan, the proposed development deviates from some of the policies in the Secondary Plan.  As a result an Official Plan amendment is required to implement the DCP.   The Official Plan amendment proposes to amend policies related to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of these issues have been discussed in the Analysis and are summarized below.

 

1.   Village Growth

 

Section 3.7.2.3 of the Secondary Plan states “Allow the area of the village to be serviced on central services to gradually grow to accommodate 2000 housing units and up to 2000 jobs by the year 2020 guided by the growth management policies of this plan.”  This policy is being amended to tie the pace of growth to the provision of infrastructure.  In particular, the developer will be required to demonstrate that transportation capacity exists and mechanisms are in place to maintain the City's approved level of service operating standard prior to the approval of zoning to support development. 

 

2.   Future Development Area

 

Since there is no transportation infrastructure identified to support the development in Phases 6 and 7, these phases will be designated as 'Future Development Area' .  An Official Plan Amendment supported by the necessary studies, including transportation, will be required to allow development on these lands.

 

3.   Density and Type of Units

 

The Secondary Plan is being amended to allow for a mix of housing units to be permitted in the Mahogany Community to include multiple units (semis, linked bungalows, small singles and town homes).  However, the multiple units will be required to blend into the neighbourhoods and not be in large concentrations.

 

4.   Serviced Development Area Development Plan

 

The Secondary Plan required the preparation of a Development Concept Plan.  Now that this has been completed, the requirement will be removed.

 

5.   Schedule B

 

Schedule B has been added to the Secondary Plan to provide a detailed land use plan for the Mahogany Community.  The conceptual designations on Schedule A for these lands have been replaced with a reference  to "See Schedule B".   Schedule B for the Magohany Community is based on the detailed studies and it implements the land use plan in the DCP.  The plan provides for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.   Village Environmental Management

 

The Secondary Plan is being amended to add policies to protect the Natural Environment Area designated on Schedule B.  It is the intention of the Plan that the City secure these lands to preserve them for the community. 

 

7.   Village Open Space and Recreational Areas Policies

 

In association with Schedule B, the policy is being revised to indicate that “Lands identified on Schedule B to this Amendment shall be retained as Natural Environment Area.” 

 

A new policy is being added to Section 3.7.2.8 (2) (e) to protect the Pond - a small area of natural greenspace around the pond in the south-east portion of the Mahogany Community, as a neighbourhood amenity and seasonal wildlife habitat.  The permitted uses in this land-use category include trails and pathways. The location and design of any trails or pathways must be approved by the City and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

 

8.   Definition of Gross Residential Hectare

 

The definion of Gross Residential Hectare in Section 3.7.2.5 policy 2  e) includes "Significant Woodlot".  The term "Significant Woodlot" in the Secondary Plan is being replaced by "Natural Environment Area". 

 

The proposed Official Plan Amendment is attached as Document 1 to this report. 

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

Staff are recommending that the Official Plan Amendment to the Manotick Secondary Plan and the Development Concept Plan for the Mahogany Community be approved.  Key points:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The significant woodlot - NESS 506 and the Candidate ANSI are preserved as natural areas. 

 

Stream setbacks of 30 metres are required for all streams except for Mud Creek where a 50‑metre setback is required as recommended by the Natural Resource Impact Report submitted to support the development.

 

The street pattern for Mahogany Community will be a modified grid maximizing east-west streets, which facilitates solar access for new housing. 

 

OC Transpo has commented that the mix of housing types contributes to a more transit-oriented community.  The additional population, resulting from this proposal, will contribute to improved levels of transit service for the remainder of the community.

 

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

 

This report relates to a Secondary Plan for a village in the rural area.  The development of the Mahogany Community will be on the basis of central sewer and water as required by the Manotick Secondary Plan.  Central servicing provides an opportinity to provide for a range of housing opportinities which will benefit the whole community, especially young families starting out and seniors who wish to downsize and stay in the community.  Emphasis has been placed on complementary village character in the design of development in the area.

 

CONSULTATION

 

During the preparation of the DCP Minto held six meeting with community leaders to obtain input and to review the work as it progress on the plan.  The community leaders included representatives from A.Y. Jackson Park Group, Councillor Brook's office, City of Ottawa, First Line Community Association, Kiwanis Club of Manotick, Knox Presbyterian Church, Manotick Action Group, Manotick Art Association, Manotick Business Improvement Area, Manotick Classic Boat Club, Manotick Community Association, Manotick Secondary Plan Committee, Ottawa Forest and Greenspace Advisory Committee, Ottawa South United Soccer Association, Rideau Senior's Centre, Rideau Township Historical Society, Rural Pathways Project, St James Anglican Church, St. Leonard's Catholic Church, Watson's Mill, West Manotick Community Association, and other public members at large.

 

Two meetings were held with landowners who owned property within the study area (the area designated Serviced Development Area in the Secondary Plan).

 

One meeting was held with the Manotick Parks Needs Working Committee to discuss parks and recreation for the Mahogany Community and the village as a whole. 

 

There were a number of opportunities where the public had a chance to provide input/comments.

 

Public Meeting and Open House - March 3, 2007 - Manotick Arena

·        Minto presented exisiting conditions and three concepts for review and discussion

 

Community Meeting  - June 27, 2007 - St Mark's High School

·        Minto presented proposed Official Plan Amendment and DCP

 

Technical Circulation - July 24, 2007

·        The Official Plan Amendment and DCP were circulated to affected parties (community associations and property owners within 120 metres) for comments

 

Community Meeting  - October 30, 2007 - Tudor Hall

·        staff presented the City's initial reations to the Minto’s initial proposal

 

 Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee (OFGAC) Meeting - November 26, 2007

·        Minto presented their response to the City's initial reactions

·        the Community was invited to provide comments

 

Rural Issues Advisory Committee (RIAC) Meeting - November 27, 2007 - Nepean Sportsplex

·        Minto presented their response to the City's initial reactions

·        the West Manotick Community Association presented their concerns regarding the proposed development

·        the Community was invited to provide comments

 

Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City's Public Notification and Consultation Policy. The Councillors are aware of this application and the staff recommendation.  The City has received more than 200 letters/e-mails from members of the community who are opposed to the Mahogany Community proposal and the amendment to the Manotick Secondary Plan that is required to implement the DCP.

 

The responses to the circulation provided by OFGAC and the West Manotick Community Association,  the public, Brian Miller and Mike O'Neil (Manotick Community Association are provided in Document 3. 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Minto Developments will be required to pay for the cost of extending sewer and water services to the Mahogany Community and the emplacement of local servicing components through the subdivision process.  The capital cost of stormwater management facilities will be recovered through an area-specific charge applied against the benefiting area.  Other growth-related infrastructure capital costs, such as roads associated with this specific geographical area, will be reviewed and several methods will be considered for the recovery of servicing costs.  The new detailed infrastructure cost requirements for roads will be identified in the Transportation Master Plan (Section 2.3), and in the Master Servicing Plan (Section 2.4) for water and wastewater, of the DCP.

 

The significant woodlot is designated as Natural Environment Area.  It is the intention of the Plan that the City acquires these lands to preserve them for the community subject to all of the policies of Section 3.2.2 and 5.2.1 of the Official Plan.  Once the appropriate mechanism to secure the land is confirmed, the approach will be subject to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and City Council approval. 

 

Future operating impacts will be born by the City but are currently unavailable at this time.

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1      Official Plan Amendment _

Document 2      Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan (issued separately and filed with the City Clerk)

Document 3      Comments received from the circulation

Document 4      Mahogany Harbour Background Report (issued separately and filed with the City Clerk)

 

DISPOSITION

 

The Planning, Transit and the Environment Department will issue the Notice of Decision within the 20-day appeal period for Amendment __.

 

OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT                                                                         DOCUMENT 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Official Plan Amendment XX

Modification du Plan directeur XX

 

To the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa, Annex D, Volume 2C, Village Plans, Manotick

 

INDEX                                                                                                                                      PAGE

 

The Statement of Components                                                                                                             

 

Part A - The Preamble

Purpose                                                                                                                                               

Location                                                                                                                                              

Basis                                                                                                                                                   

 

Part B - The Amendment

Introductory Statement                                                                                                                        

Details of the Amendment                                                                                                                    

 

Schedule A – Amendment to Village of Manotick Land Use Plan - Schedule A                                    

 

Schedule B –Land Use Concept Plan for the Mahogany Community - Schedule B                                

 

Schedule C – Phasing for Mahogany Community – Schedule C                                                            

 

STATEMENT OF COMPONENTS

 

PART A - THE PREAMBLE does not constitute part of this amendment.

 

 

PART B - THE AMENDMENT, the following text and map constitutes Amendment No. XX to the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa, Annex D, Volume 2C, Village Plans, Manotick.

 

 

PART A - THE PREAMBLE

 

 

PURPOSE:

 

The Village Plan for Manotick requires a comprehensive development concept plan for lands designated “Serviced Development Area”. As a result, the Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan (DCP) was prepared, which includes supporting studies for the lands.  In order to implement the DCP, an amendment to the Manotick Secondary Plan is required. The purpose of this amendment is to provide additional policies for the area designated Serviced Development Area in the Village Plan for Manotick. Specifically the Amendment does the following:

 

1.      Revises Schedule A to the Secondary Plan for Manotick by replacing designations within the Serviced Development Area with a notation  “See Schedule B”;

2.      Adds Schedule B to the Secondary Plan – a land use plan for Mahogany Community

3.      Adds Schedule C to the Secondary Plan – Phasing for Mahogany Community

4.      Makes reference to the Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan that will be used for the basis of planning and development;

5.      Revises the growth management policies so that the phasing of development in Manotick is based on the provision of infrastructure rather than a date in the plan. Provides phasing policies for the Mahogany Community that are tied to infrastructure triggers;

6.      Provides a new designation, Future Development Area, for lands where development will not be permitted until there is a transporation solution in place to accommodate development on these lands and an amendment is adopted by City Council; 

7.      Amends policy 2(g) of Section 3.7.2.5 “Housing in the Village” policies, specifically to permit multiple residential units in the Mahogany Community;

8.      Provides additional policies to reflect village character, natural environment areas, and stormwater management areas;

9.      Amends policy 2(c)(i) of Section 3.7.2.8 “Village Open Space and Recreational Areas” policy to reflect the lands designated “Natural Environment Area” as per Schedule B to this Amendment; and

10.  Amends policy 2(e) of Section 3.7.2.5 “Housing in the Village” to include Natural Environment Areas in the definition of Gross Residential Defined.

 

 

LOCATION:

 

The lands affected by this amendment are legally described as Part of Lots 4 and 5, Concession A (Broken Front) Geographic Township of North Gower, City of Ottawa. The property constitutes approximately 194 hectares within the Village of Manotick boundary.  The property is bounded on the north by the existing residential area of Potter Drive, Watterson Street, and Carrison Drive; to the south by Century Road; to the east by Manotick Main Street; and to the west by First Line Road and Mud Creek.

 

BASIS:

 

The Council Approved Village Plan for Manotick designates the lands legally described as Part of Lots 4 and 5, Concession A (Broken Front) Geographic Township of North Gower City of Ottawa, as Serviced Development Area.  The Village Plan requires a comprehensive development concept plan to be prepared for the entire area before development can occur that will facilitate the logical phasing of development in the area (the integration of transportation links, parks and open space, schools and pedestrian links and stormwater) and that will form the basis for various, subsequent plans of subdivision.  All development shall be on the basis of central water and wastewater services. Following a thorough and comprehensive review, the Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan was prepared. It provides the basis for this amendment and proposes development that will utilize serviced lands more efficiently; provide a variety of housing for existing and future Village residents; provide linkages and connectivity; and protect natural features. 

 

Permitting slightly higher density forms of development supports transit and makes efficient use of land, while still maintaining the village character.  This amendment to the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa, Annex D, Volume 2C, Village Plans entitled “Manotick Official Plan Amendment #3 Former Township of Rideau” enables the future development of the Mahogany Community in the Village of Manotick.

 

This amendment is consistent with the 2005 Provincial Policy Statement and the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa and conforms to the objectives and principles of the Village Plan.

 

PART B - THE AMENDMENT

 

All of this part of the document entitled Part B - The Amendment, consisting of the following text and attached map, constitutes Amendment No. XX to the Official Plan for the City of Ottawa, Annex D, Volume 2C, Village Plans, Manotick.

 

DETAILS OF THE AMENDMENT

 

The Official Plan for the City of Ottawa, Annex D, Volume 2C, Village Plans, Manotick entitled “Manotick Official Plan Amendment #3 Former Township of Rideau” is hereby amended as follows:

 

ITEM 1:     The area indicated on the attached Schedule A, is amended by replacing designations within the Serviced Development Area with a notation  “See Schedule B”.

 

ITEM 2:     A new Schedule B, Land Use Plan – Mahogany Community, is added to the Secondary Plan and forms part of this Amendment.

 

ITEM 3:     A new Schedule C, Phasing Plan – Mahogany Community, is added to the Secondary Plan and forms part of this Amendment

 

 

ITEM 4:     Policy C(1) of Section 3.7.2.3 Village Growth Management Policies, is amended by replacing the existing policy with the following:

 

1.   Village Growth

The growth management policies will require that growth be carefully managed to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support new development in the village.  The development of the Mahogany Community as shown on Schedule B will be phased based on the provision of infrastructure as stated in policy 2(g) (vi) of Section 3.7.2.5.”

 

ITEM 5:     Section 3.7.2.3 (C) is amended to by adding a new policy 5) as follows:

 

"The lands designated Future Development Area currently cannot be supported by any transportation solution.  Development of these lands will be frozen until there is transportation solution to accomodate development on these lands.  A public process in the form of an Official Plan amendment will be required to permit development.  The amendment shall be supported by a Traffic Impact Study to demonstrate that the road system in Manotick can accomodate additional development." 

 

ITEM 6:     Policy 2(g) of Section 3.7.2.5, Serviced Development Area Conditions, is amended by replacing the existing policy with the following:

 

g)   Mahogany Community  Conditions

 

The lands designated on Schedule B, Land Use Plan – Mahogany Community,  shall be developed in accordance with the following conditions:

 

i)                 All development shall be on the basis of central water and wastewater services;

ii)                A comprehensive Development Concept Plan as approved by the City of Ottawa will be used as the basis for the approval of subsequent plans of subdivision, site plans and zoning;

iii)              The location of land uses will be in accordance with Schedule B;

iv)              Notwithstanding Policy C. 3) of Section 3.7.2.3, multiple family housing will be permitted in the Mahogany Community as shown on Schedule B;

v)               In addition to policies 2 a) to d) of Section 3.7.2.5 concerning Residential Densities, the following additions will be permitted in the Mahogany Community which is shown on Schedule B:

a.       Single Family (Low Density)will provide for approximate lot sizes of 22 m x 50 m.

b.      Single Family (Moderate Density) areas may have a density up to seven units per gross residential acre (i.e. up to 16 units per gross residential hectare).

c.       Mixed Residential areas may have a density of up to 14 units per gross residential acre (i.e. up to 35 units per gross residential hectare), and consist of singles, street townhouses, semi-detached, linked bungalows, terraced homes and multiple clusters provided no more than 25% of the total residential units on the lands shown conceptually on Schedule B to this Amendment  are Mixed Residential.  Mixed Residential shall be integrated into the overall residential development.

 

vi)                 The level of development and the phasing of  the Mahogany Community will be dependant on the provision of local and regional transportation infrastructure.  It has been projected that the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge will create additional capacity in the future to support the development.  The developer will be required to demonstrate this capacity and how to achieve the City’s approved level of service operating standard.  The release of phases and dwelling units is dependant on the demonstration of capacity to support it.

 

The total amount of development in the Phases 1 to 5 as shown on Schedule C shall not exceed 1,400 dwelling units to be phased in accordance with the following phasing policies:

 

Phase 1

Detailed traffic impact studies, including a before and after study of the impact on the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge, will be required to demonstrate there is capacity in Manotick to accommodate the development at the City’s approved level of service operating standard.  However, if the developer wishes to proceed with a portion of Phase 1 without the implementation of the Strandherd/Armstrong Bridge, it must be demonstrated through detailed traffic studies, approved by the City, that there is capacity in Manotick to accommodate the development at the City’s approved level of service operating standard.

 

Zoning amendments to permit the development in Phase 1 must be supported by traffic impact studies to indicate that capacity exists in the village to support the development and how the constraints to transportarion capacity have been alleviated.

 

The traffic impact studes will be supported by studies to demonstrate how capacity is being created to support the development.   Depending on the timing of development (particularly related to the Bridge), the list of studies may include:

 

·        Feasibility/desirability of prohibiting heavy truck traffic on Bridge Street;

·        Action on access to the south island as per Bridge Street Intersection and Access Review Study (Delcan 2006);

·        A traffic operations study of Bridge Street and Main Street corridors;

·        A parking study of the core.

 

It shall be the responsibility of the developer to fund or wait for City implementation of the require transporation improvements.

 

Phases 2 to 5 -   Like Phase 1, the development of Phases 2 to 5 also depends on the timing of the Strandherd-Bridge and its impact on the transportation network.  The zoning amendments for each phase(s) of development will be supported by Traffic Impact Studies which include/consider the following:

 

·        A traffic impact study which must include a wider network reaching northward to the future intersections on each side of the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge;

·        Field survey and verification of the actual intersection capacity and operation in the field; 

·        Comments regarding the southeast and southwest sector transportation network development.  Issues related to the Southwest Transitway, North-South Light Rail and major roadway modifications, such as Limebank Road and Prince of Wales Drive, need to be monitored with the identification of actual infrastructure timing as part of the justification for all significant development in this area of the city;

·        Depending on the timeframe of each phase, it shall be the responsibility of the developer to fund or wait for City implementation of the following local modifications (subject to change depending on the results of the required studies and verifications):

 

o       A wider analysis of the transporation network reaching northward to the future intersections on each side of the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge;

o       Signalization of the Bankfield/First Line Road intersection and provision of the required turn lanes;

o       Potential modifications to the Bankfield Road/Prince of Wales intersection (if warranted);

o       Widening of Bankfield Road to four lanes from First Line Road west to Prince of Wales Drive;

o       An additional turn lane and approach lanes, as identified/required at both the Bankfield/First Line Roads and Bankfield Road/Prince of Wales Drive intersections;

o       Consideration of the need to connect the East-West Collector to First Line Road in order to minimize the site traffic impact on Manotick Main Street;

o       A pedestrian/cyling or mulit-use path connection to Potter Drive and Carrison Drive;

o       An east-west Collector Road link to First Line Road, if not provided/required at Phase 3.

.

vii)               The proposed development shall reflect the village character as detailed in the Community Design Guidelines contained in the Development Concept Plan.

viii)              The Natural Environment Area illustrated on Schedule B to this Amendment will be subject to Section 3.7.2.8 (d).

ix)                 The Stormwater Management Ponds shown conceptually on Schedule B, the precise location of which will be determined at the detailed design stage.

 

ITEM 7:     Policy 2c i. of Section 3.7.2.8, “Natural Area”, is amended by deleting the following text:

"The area between the east and west branches of the Wilson Cowan Drain located north of Century Road East shall be retained as a natural area;"  and replacing it with:

 “Natural Environment Area”

“Lands identified on Schedule B shall be retained as Natural Environment Area.”

 

 

ITEM 8:     Section 3.7.2.8 (2) is amended to by adding a new policy d) as follows:

The site designated Natural Environment Area in the Manotick Secondary Plan is subject to all of the policies of Section 3.2.2 and 5.2.1 of the Official Plan, including the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) within 30 metres of the boundary of the Natural Environment Area;

·        The City and the developer enter into negotiations for the City to secure the property and retain it in its natural state;

·        By 2011, if the City and the developer have not reached agreement on securing the property, the developer will complete an EIS of development within the Natural Environment Area to demonstrate that development that could occur and still meet the test of the Provincial Policy Statement.  The City will amend the Manotick Secondary Plan to change the designation of the Natural Environment Area based on the outcome of the EIS.

·        Any development potential (over and above the 1,400 dwelling units permitted in Phases 1 to 5) arising from the approval of an EIS will be added to the “Future Development Area”.

 

ITEM 9:     Section 3.7.2.8 (2) is being amended to add a new policy e) as follows:

                  Neighbourhood Amenity:

A small area of natural greenspace will be retained around the pond as a neighbourhood amenity and seasonal wildlife habitat.  The permitted uses in this land use category include trails and pathways. The location and design of any trails or pathways will need to be approved by the City and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

 

ITEM 10:   Section 3.7.2.5 policy 2  e) Gross Residential Defined is amended by replacing the text with the following:

“Gross residential” refers to a unit of land, either an acre or hectare, designated for residential development on Schedule A, and does not include lands designated as “School”, “Parks and Open Space”, “Watercourse and Development setbacks”, “Natural Environment Area” or “Stormwater Management Ponds”.

 

 

SCHEDULE “A” – see Schedule A to this Amendment.

 

SCHEDULE “B” – New Schedule B - Land Use Plan for Mahogany Community

 

SCHEDULE “C” – Phasing Plan for Mahogany Community

 

COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM THE CIRCULATION                                         DOCUMENT 3

 

Responses to the Circulation

 

Document 3 summarizes the detailed comments received from Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee (OFGAC), Rural Issues Advisory Committee (RIAC), the West Manotick Community Association; First Line Neighbourhood Association, the public (technical circulation); Brian Millar and Mike O’Neil (Manotick Community Association).

 

A)   COMMENTS FROM OTTAWA FORESTS AND GREENSPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

OFGAC provided the following recommendations in response to the City's circulation for comments:

1.   Retain as a Natural Environment Area the Candidate ANSI, Manotick Drumlin Forest, the NESS Area 506. 

 

Staff Response

The candidate ANSI, Manotick Drumlin Forest, the NESS Area 506 are designated as Natural Environment Area. 

 

2.   Retain Community 12 to protect Mud Creek wildlife corridor and preserve the functions and features within the coniferous plantations. Relocate the proposed storm water management pond.

 

Staff Response

Forest cover within the meander belt of Mud Creek will be retained.  A tree preservation plan will be required to minimize the impact on Community 12. 

 

3.   Retain and preserve the butternut trees identified within the property. Incorporate these into the overall development plan. For every butternut tree removed, add ten new replacement butternut trees.

 

Staff Response

Most of the butternut trees are protected as they are within the Natural Environment Area designation.  In other areas, butternut trees will be transplanted or replaced with new trees.  MNR has recommended that the Ostry method be used for butternut trees within the property; mature trees replaced at 10:1, immature at 5:1, and saplings at 1:1.

 

4.   Place an emphasis on maintaining or enhancing the riparian vegetation along each watercourse, maintain the majority of the mature forests and include the mature hedgerows in the proposal for the property.

 

Staff Response

The water sources will have a development setback, which allows for maintain riparian vegetation.  All subdivision applications will be supported by a tree preservation and planting plan.  Mitigation measures are proposed and will be determined detailed design stage.

 

5.   Enhance the watercourse corridors on site with native trees and shrub species to replace lost scrubland and hedgerow habitat and provide up to 60 m wide wildlife corridors.

 

Staff Response

The watercourse setbacks are 60 metres (30 metres on each side of the stream from high water).  Mud Creek has a wider setback of 50 metres on each side of the stream.  Enhancement has been proposed as mitigation.

 

6.   Protect the watercourses from the impacts of developments with a 60 m buffer zone. (The original Village of Manotick Land Use Plan – Schedule A called for a minimum of 30 m development setback along all of its watercourses.)

 

Staff Response

The watercourse setbacks are 60 metres (30 metres on each side of the stream from high water).  Mud Creek has a wider setback of 50 metres on each side of the stream.

 

7.   Protect the forested areas from the impacts of developments with a 15 m buffer zone, starting from the woodlot’s edge tree drip zone to the property line of the development (residential, commercial, roads, infrastructure).

 

Staff Response

An Environmental Impact Statement will be required for all subdivision applications within 30 metres of the Natural Area (Significant Woodlot).  The EIS will determine the buffer zone required to mitigate the impact on the natural feature.

 

8.  Introduce oversized culverts whenever crossing the watercourses, to provide passage for wildlife under community roads.

 

Staff Response

Oversized culverts will be required whenever crossing the watercourses to provide passage for small mammals and amphibians

 

9.   Retain all of community 5 and community 9, not only what is adjacent to the Wilson-Cowan Drain tributary. These communities provide mature forest habitat and form part of the wildlife corridor.

 

Staff Response

All of community 5 is designated as Natural Environment Area.  Community 9 has not been identified as being significant and has not been designated as a Natural Environment Area.

 

10.  No construction be permitted through the ANSI for any infrastructure requirements, including storm trunks to ponds.

 

Staff Response

The DCP provides for alternative stormwater solutions that would avoid crossing the candidate ANSI.

 

11.   Walking paths throughout the ANSI should not be permitted.

 

Staff Response

The Pedestrian and Recreational Pathways have been revised, the paths are not shown through the candidate ANSI. . The location and design of all trails are required to be reviewed and approved by the City of Ottawa and the RVCA.

 

12.   Amend Schedule A of the Village of Manotick Secondary Plan to preserve and protect all of the ANSI, NESS Area 506, significant mature woodlots, the endangered butternut trees and the spring fed pond.

 

Staff Response

Schedule B, the land use plan for Mahogany Community designates the significant woodlots as a Natural Environment Area.  The pond will be protected as a neighbourhood amenity and seasonal wildlife habitat.

 

13.   Maintain or enhance a minimum of 30 m naturally vegetated buffer zone or, ‘no touch’ zone from the high water mark for all lands surrounding Mud Creek.

 

Staff Response

The Plan requires a 50 m setback from Mud Creek.   The DCP provides for 60 m minimum wildlife corridors along streams with enhanced planting.

 

 

B)   COMMENTS FROM RURAL ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Motions from   Meeting of November 27, 2007

 

Motion  # 1

Whereas the need for development lands in rural Ottawa is identified as required to provide for an estimated 30,000 individuals by the year 2028,

 

And whereas this would represent approximately 8,500 separate single family homes,

 

And whereas the City has embarked on an infill plan which by definition suggests the preclusion of large scale rural development at this time,

 

And whereas the present suburban road and transit infrastructure will not support any major expansion of the rural residential market,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it is hereby recommended that no village should exceed the growth in their area by more than 3 percent on an annualized basis,

 

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is further recommended that before as growth of five years allowed is permitted that an infrastructure review be completed by the City and should schools, roads, emergency services, recreation and parks be found to be less than the standards acceptable to that community’s standards, that until these infrastructures are brought up to requirements that no further housing developments be permitted.

 

Staff Response

The best way to control the amount of growth is to plan a village for 10 years by designating only enough land for 10 years.  Growth occurs unevenly, so to limit pace, the City could designate sufficient land to accommodate 3% growth per year over a 10 year time period. 

 

In the case of Manotick, the Serviced Development Area has been planned for development for a long time.  The 1992 Rideau Official Plan designated the village boundary and the 2001 Manotick Secondary Plan provided a detailed land use plan that permitted development.  Therefore, it is too late to reconsider how much land should be designated for development within the village.

 

Motion  # 2

WHEREAS it is recognized that the extension of central services to the rural areas of Ottawa is not cost effective,

 

AND WHEREAS the new technologies for waste water treatment have been proven and are acceptable to the provincial Ministry of the Environment,

 

AND WHEREAS the City of Ottawa has started to embrace these new technologies,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it be recommended that the City of Ottawa further examine and utilize these onsite technologies to treat wastewater from rural villages of Ottawa

 

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it be recommended that no future expansion of the City’s central services be undertaken as a preferential solution for any rural area of Ottawa and that the City of Ottawa should use as a first option a local onsite solution for any identified needs and future developments.

 

Staff Response

Section 2.3.2 of the Official Plan requires a comprehensive servicing study which evaluates a range of servicing options, including costs and benefits, and public water and/or wastewater services to support growth in villages.  The City implements alternative services where studies demonstrate that those services are the best solution – such as recently at the Carp Airport and in the Shadow Ridge subdivision in Greely. 

 

For Manotick, a Servicing Options Study was completed that evaluated a range of options including, a new treatment plant to be located in Manotick with discharge into the Rideau River, a series of communal sewage treatment facilities that would discharge into large tile fields, and a central sewage pumping station connected via forcemain to the West Rideau Collector.  The Manotick Secondary Plan implements the findings of the Servicing Options Study and requires new development to be on the basis on central services.

 

C)   COMMENTS FROM THE WEST MANOTICK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

 

The West Manotick Community Association has been very vocal in their opposition to the Mahogany Community proposal that has been put forward by Minto.  The Official Plan amendment  and proposed Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan were circulated for comments.  The West Manotick Community Association responded with a 40+ page response to indicate their concerns.

 

1.     The Mahogany Community Development Concept Plan is contrary to both the spirit and the intention of the Manotick Secondary Plan.

 

Staff Response

As disussed in the report, the Development Concept Plan is consistent with the primary and secondary objectives that are set out in the Manotick Secondary Plan.  

 

2.     Any changes to the Secondary Plan should involve meaningful community input.

 

Staff Response

The consultation process as described below in the Consultation section of this report indicates that there were many opportinities to provide community input.  There were many issues/concerns raised by the community during the consultation process.   As discussed in the report the plan has been revised to address the concerns raised.

 

3.      The amendment is not needed to meet the village's or the City's growth goals for the forseeable future.

 

Staff Response

The lands within the village boundary have been planned for development for a long time.   The village boundary was established in 1992 and the Manotick Secondary Plan provides a land use plan for the development of these lands.   These lands represent 10 % of the expected growth in the rural area.

 

4.  Added traffic burden associated with doubling the population of the village.

 

Staff Response

Many safegueards have been included in the Plan to ensure that future development is phased according to the provision of infrastructure.

 

5.    The proposal creates a risk for the reduction in the provision and maintenance of acceptable levels of Fire, Paramedic and Police services in the village.

 

Staff Response

Police, Fire and Paramedic Services have indicated that do not see a significant concern for public safety nor would the proposed development cause concerns for emergency response.

 

6.     Decreased accessibility of Manotick's citizenry to recreational facilities.

 

Staff Response

The DCP provides an  open space system that  includes parks, pathway systems and schools to address the needs of the new community.  The provision of indoor recreational facilities will be guided by Parks and Recreation's Community Infrastructure Strategy and Project Listing. A large complex, strategically located just north of Manotick and south of Barrhaven is planned to service the indoor recreational needs (twin pad arena, pool and full service community centre) of new residents in Manotick and the new Barrhaven South area.

 

7.     Potential negative impact on businesses in the village core.

 

Staff Response

There is concern that the Mahogany Community will facilitate the approval of the Trinity "big box" Official Plan amendment application outside of the village.  However, the Official Plan directs commercial uses to the village and additional development in Manotick will help to support existing (and new) businesses in the core.

 

8.    Unacceptable transition in density of housing between existing portions of the village and the proposed development.

 

Staff Response

The DCP provides for transition from the existing development by larger lots (bordering Manotick Estates) or by providing 6 m buffers from existing development (along Manotick Main Street).

 

9.     Failure to make appropriate accommodation for the conservation and enhancement of all significant natural elements of the development lands.

 

Staff Response

All of NESS 506 is designated as a Natural Environment Area.  The pond is protected as a neighbourhood amenity and seasonal wildlife habitat.

 

10.  Potential negative impact on the opportunity for revitalization and intensification of the village core.

 

Staff Response

The DCP provides for a mix of housing units in the Mahogany Community – up to 25 % of the Mahogany Community will be semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes.   Range of housing units is a benefit to meet the needs of all age groups; young people starting out and seniors who want to down size but stay in the village.

 

Since there is little vacant land in the village core (3.24 hectares), there is very limited potential for the type of multi unit development proposed in the Mahogany Community, semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes, so the development will not compete with the redevelopment of the village core.  

 

D)   RESPONSE BY THE FIRST LINE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

 

The First Line Neighborhood Association (FLNA), is not opposed to Minto Developments Inc., (Minto) development in the Manotick Development

Concept Plan area (DCP). However, the FLNA is concerned development be done responsibly in order to prevent adverse conditions on the existing neighborhood. The FLNA also desires to maintain the residential character of First Line Road according to the ideology outlined in the Manotick Special Design Area (SDA) Development Concept Plan. Thus, we provide comments below regarding the Official Plan Amendment Proposal to the Manotick Secondary Plan.

 

1. Density

a. We do not believe the current DCP is “an improvement to the Secondary Plan .

b. We agree with the majority of Manotick residents (and surrounding community)

as well as other Manotick organizations that the proposed density of the

Mahogany Community will be a burden on local roads and will decrease traffic

safety.

c. We do not believe Minto’s assertion that the Manotick Secondary Plan as written

is a “dysfunctional plan.” The Secondary Plan intended to limit growth to 250

homes.

d. As such, we do not support the Amendment to the Manotick Secondary Plan

that, in part, proposes, “Development will be permitted up to a total of 2,800 units

to the year 2020 including the Serviced Development Area.”

e. We do believe the proposed density would fail to meet the primary objective of

the Secondary Plan to preserve and maintain the quality and character of the life

enjoyed by the people who live or work in (and around) Manotick.

f. We also believe the Secondary Plan, as worded, should ensure the Village’s

housing stock continue to consist primarily of single family detached housing

while allowing for a limited range of multiple family housing which shall locate in

the Village Core.

g. As such, we do not support the Amendments to the Manotick Secondary Plan

that would allow “Multiple Residential” development within the DCP and allow up

to 25% of the multiple family housing units in the DCP.

 

2. Traffic Safety

a. It is anticipated First Line Road will experience additional traffic load from the

planned 200+ homes in the Manotick Special Design Area (SDA). Additional

traffic load will be experienced from the Seabrook development further south on

First Line Road as well as from population growth of Kars.

b. Thus, we believe all proposed exits onto all boundary roads (Main Street

Manotick, Century Road and First Line Road) should be included in a traffic

impact study to determine ability of existing and future infrastructure to handle

extra traffic loads, especially (from our point of view) expected traffic on First Line

Road.

c. We also believe the traffic study should include industrial and agricultural traffic

currently using First Line Road northbound to Bankfield Road as a major artery.

d. We further believe the DCP should incorporate walking AND traffic connections

to the existing Manotick Estates. This would connect the communities rather than

isolate the Mahogany Community. As well, vehicular connections should assist

with traffic dispersion. This is in accordance with the Manotick Secondary Plan

“to support the Village’s character and vision by providing for the safe, accessible

and efficient movement of pedestrians and vehicles throughout the community. It

will also promote a pedestrian friendly and transit accessible environment.”

However, we will defer to traffic impact studies.

e. Some members have suggested access to the 416 at Century and Second Line

as a direct solution to anticipated traffic.

f. Finally, we request a correction to the Road Network summary on page 30 of the

July 2007 DCP wherein it describes First Line Road as a, “two-lane collector

(undivided) with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h.” There is indeed posted speed

limit signs of 80 km/h on parts of First Line Road. However, the section of First

Line Road located within the study area (south of Bankfield Road to Century

Road) is a residential neighborhood with a posted speed limit of 60 km/h.

 

3. Additional Comments

a. We believe considerable thought and effort went into the Mahogany Community

Development Concept Plan. However, our vision is that Minto sincerely consider

the socioeconomic impact of adding 1,500 – 2,000 units will have on the

Manotick and rural communities and be willing to reduce density.

b. Since First Line Road within the study area is primarily residential (including

future development of the Manotick Special Design Area (SDA), our members

prefer more prominent exits on the larger arteries of Century and Main Street

Manotick.

c. We agree with Minto’s proposal NOT to develop retail or commercial uses in

order to protect the Village Core and its retail businesses.

d. We believe Minto could decrease lot density yet retain profit through alternative

pricing structures. This will appease the local community and continue the

prestige of living in a thriving “river” community that recognizes its rural heritage.

 

4. Residential Character of First Line Road

We request maintaining the residential character of First Line Road with the following

recommendations

a. Consider lower density that reflects existing Manotick residential lots as well as ties

into rural communities, e.g., larger lots and larger preserved open spaces.

b. Where appropriate, incorporate internal “frontage” road with lots facing boundary

roads as is being done in Minto’s Chapman Mills development on Prince of Wales.

c. Where appropriate, mandate landscaping solutions rather than fences for any lots

backing onto boundary roods.

 

Staff Response

1.  Density:

Growth in the village will be carefully managed to ensure that future development is phased according to the provision of infrastructure.

 

At the request of the City, Minto has provided architectural and design guidelines ensure that new development is consistent with village character. 

 

The DCP provides for a mix of housing units in the Mahogany Community – up to 25 % of the Mahogany Community will be semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes.   Range of housing units is a benefit to meet the needs of all age groups; young people starting out and seniors who want to down size but stay in the village

 

Since there is little vacant land in the village core (3.24 hectares), there is very limited potential for the type of multi unit development proposed in the Mahogany Community; semis, linked bungalows, small singles and townhomes. 

 

2.  Traffic Safety:

The Transportation Overview accounted for background traffic growth in the traffic analysis. 

 

The correction to the road network (a posted speed limit of 60 km/h on First Line Road south of Bankfield Road to Century Road)  is noted.

 

A pedestrian and cycling connection will be provide to Manotick Estates.  A road link will not be provided for as there are safety concerns with a vehicular link (no sidewalks, winding streets, potential for cut through traffic).

 

The Transportation Master Plan does not provide for a link from Century Road to Highway 416.

 

3.   Other Comments

The land use plan provides for an efficient use of land and infrastructure within the village. 

 

Architectural and design guidelines ensure that new development is consistent with village character.  Traffic will access three main roads – Manotick Main; Century and First Line Roads.

 

4.   Residential Character of First Line Road

Architectural and design guidelines ensure that new development is consistent with village character. 

 

 

E)   SUMMARY OF COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM THE PUBLIC (TECHNICAL CIRCULATION)

 

 

Ref

#

Concerns

Village character

Concerns

Infrastructure

Concerns

Other

Suggestions

1

·     Adverse effect on character & values

·     Respect secondary plan

·       No infrastructure to support growth

 

 

2

·     Impact on quality of life – recreation services, increased traffic, demand on fire and police, schools until new facilities added

·     finalize Strandherd Bridge plans before any significant growth

·       Impact of central services on wells

·     No multiples

·   keep park at Watterson – don’t raze woodlot for park

·   Connections to Potter & Carrison – pedestrian only

3

·   Respect secondary plan – max # houses established

·   Rural village

 

 

 

4

·   Plan & schedule A should remain unchanged to preserve quiet relaxed harmonious nature & concept of community

·   No Barrhaven (congestion, crime, density, traffic, etc.)

·     Development must be preceded by widening of Rideau Valley Drive & Main St between Century & Prince of Wales to 4 lanes – to be paid by Minto

·     Abandon central services for small local treatment

 

·     No multiples – keep large lot – ˝ acre

·   Residents should be able to vote on changes

·   Concerns re infrastructure must be incorporated into any plan, proposal & construction permit before it can be approved

5

·   Plan & schedule A should remain unchanged to preserve quiet relaxed harmonious nature & concept of community

·   No Barrhaven (congestion, crime, density, traffic, etc.)

·     Development must be preceded by widening of Rideau Valley Drive & Main St between Century & Prince of Wales to 4 lanes – to be paid by Minto

·     Abandon central services for small local treatment

·      

·     No multiples – keep large lot – ˝ acre

·   Residents should be able to vote on changes

·   Concerns re infrastructure must be incorporated into any plan, proposal & construction permit before it can be approved

6

·   Doubling the population is a gross disregard of wishes & plans of residents

 

 

·   Growth management proposal is misleading – they mean for a total of 2000 by 2020 to a total of 3800 by 2028

7

·   Doubling the population is a gross disregard of wishes & plans of residents

 

 

·   growth management proposal is misleading – they mean for a total of 2000 by 2020v to a total of 3800 by 2028

8

·   strongly oppose 2,000 new homes

 

 

·        Rural Lane - separating community is not the most important element – what Minto will build is not a rural lane but an asphalt thoroughfare fro 1800 homes with 2500 cars

·        Propose to tear down mature trees and replace it with one dinky little tree per lot

·   100% at community meeting were opposed to the Minto plan – Minto does nothing to address it

for each of their promises need to:

·   have a way to measure their progress

·   evaluate if they have met their terms

·   recourse to legal remedy that will lead to immediate rectification of the problem – without having citizens having to lobby, protest to get what is promised

9

·   3600 homes is not acceptable – conflicts with Secondary Plan & quality & character of life

 

·     25% multiples too high – supposed to be directed to village core

 

10

·   this is urban sprawl

·   maintain existing character & density of development

 

·     central services at a depth of 12 m  may jeopardize the integrity of existing aquifers – Paterson study based on anticipations & inferences

 

11

·   rural village with specified growth path in Secondary Plan

·   don’t want urban sprawl

·     severe strain on roads the environment and services

 

 

12

·   do not want insane growth in our community

·     not feasible because of infrastructure, schools, traffic flow

 

 

13

·   keep as a rural area – no to urban sprawl

·     infrastructure can’t handle increased traffic

 

 

14

·   at variance with OP policies for infill not urban sprawl antithetical to local, city and provincial policies

·   oppose changing the plan for high density.

·      

 

·   send to all Manotick residents not just 120 metres

15

·   don’t ruin village  - don’t need more crime and crowded streets.

·     Don’t need more traffic

 

·   Less homes on fewer lots

16

·    

·         there is a reason of the secondary plan - village character and infrastructure will never hold the amount of traffic proposed by Minto

 

·   Wants to participate & provide input to make it better

17

·     OP requires infill rather than subdivisions outside Greenbelt

·     Not opposed to development – estate lots supported in community

·     Doubling size over short time period impact on quality of life

·     Roads are already overtaxed

 

 

18

·     Quality and character of village threatened by growth of this magnitude

 

 

 

19

 

·     Don’t you think there are enough vehicular problems already

 

 

20

 

·     has plan taken into account increased traffic on Century and First Line Roads

·     how many traffic lights on First Line and Century Road will be installed

·     what about recreation facilities – closest pool is in Barrhaven –

·     have bike paths been included

·     will public transit be improved in frequency of buses to make it a viable option

·     what is being done to protect trees on Century Road

 

 

21

·     oppose the increase in density/population that was agreed to in Secondary Plan

 

 

 

22

·     Secondary Plan call permits only 200 homes – will affect quality of life – pollution, noise, traffic, commute time, potentially contaminate wells

·     Do not take village and convert into subdivision – want SF on ˝ acre lots

 

·     do not accept multiple houses outside village core – keep ˝ estate lots to a max of 200 du

·   no access to subdivision from Carrison Dr – access should be via Century Rd to First Line and/or Prince of Wales

23

·     Secondary Plan call permits only 200 homes – will affect quality of life – pollution, noise, traffic, commute time, potentially contaminate wells

·     Do not take village and convert into subdivision – want SF on ˝ acre lots

 

·     do not accept multiple houses outside village core – keep ˝ estate lots to a max of 200 du

·   no access to subdivision from Carrison Dr – access should be via Century Rd to First Line and/or Prince of Wales

24

·     don’t want 1800 homes will affect quality of life by increasing pollution, noise, traffic, commute time, and potentially contaminating wells – maximum 200 homes

·     do not accept multiples outside of village core – want development consistent with Estates ˝ acre lots

 

·     do not want access to subdivision through Carrison Dr. – will convert quiet street with no sidewalks to thoroughfare – access should be via Century Road to First Line

 

25

 

·     Roads should come first

 

 

26

City should support existing secondary plan – why do we need higher densities

 

 

 

27

 

·     bridges cannot handle this influx of cars

·     unacceptable because of sewer and water

 

 

28

 

·     infrastructure can’t handle increased traffic

·     Bridge Street and Main St. and River Rd and Mitch Owens cannot handle current traffic

 

 

29

·     Secondary Plan limits development to 250 du

·     Manotick is a village not a suburb

 

 

·   by 2025 oil will be expensive people will not be able to afford to commute 75 km to Ottawa

·   Peak Oil forum predicts a real estate crash in the suburbs – recommends building small self sufficient communities

30

·     Secondary Plan has 2,000 du cap for a reason – transportation

·     Main Street and Bridge Street can’t be widened to accommodate 60% increase in traffic without encroaching on existing properties

 

 

31

·     keep development limited to 250 as per Secondary Plan

·     character of village will be destroyed and events such as Dickinson Days, Manotick Boat Show, Santa Clause Parade and village cruise nights will cease to exist – how do you close Main Street for a parade

·     people in Manotick do not want to live in a tan vinyl subdivision with cubicle back yards

·     infrastructure is beyond capacity – Bridge and Main St cannot handle additional capacity

·     Ottawa sewer system is beyond capacity – how can the Minto development be accommodated

·     No consideration for additional services – police, fire, paramedics, medical clinics

·     What provisions are there for additional power and street lights needed for 1800 new homes – infrastructure is not in place

·     Suggestion to add buses- there is almost no ridership because service is slow and poor  - having bus service this area is a worse environmental impact than people driving their cars

·   Minto is successful neighbouring farms will be forced out of business and will open the flood gates to be part of Barrhaven

32

No high rise please

 

 

·   want to receive notice

33

·     will turn village into a large City

·     traffic problems are already bad enough

 

 

34

·     will character will be destroyed

·     maintain controlled growth of 2000 units

·     traffic congestion will be a problem

 

·   all forested areas should be protected – including land south of Potter Dr east of the stream – more greenspaces needed in same area

·   provide a tree screen with a high proportion of conifers adjacent to all of Potter Dr.

·   pathway access only to Potter Dr.

35

·     will character will be destroyed

·     maintain controlled growth of 2000 units

·     Minto proposal contravenes Ottawa policy of infilling within greenbelt by creating another high density development that converts Manotick into another Ottawa suburb

·     Minto proposal violates citizen’s intent to protect village character

·     traffic congestion will be a problem

·     including greenspace in average density conceals reality that the vast majority of houses will be built on small lots with many townhouses, characteristic of high density urban developments

·   all forested areas should be protected – including land south of Potter Dr east of the stream – more greenspaces needed in same area

·   provide a tree screen with a high proportion of conifers adjacent to all of Potter Dr.

·   pathway access only to Potter Dr.

36

·     character can’t be protected/preserved with town houses

·     Secondary Plan is explicit and clear – interpretation = developers greed

·     Inadequate main arteries already clogged

·     Four houses from main exit on Main – have to wait 5 minutes to pull out

·     Strandherd Bridge will no help unless truck traffic is banned on Bridge Street

·     Why is Manotick Secondary Plan not available for information as part of the package

37

 

·     plan should adhere to 1300-1400 du as per recommendations of Transportation study

·     full connection by bike and auto to Carrison and Potter are necessary to encourage community – they will be slower routes and the Estates residents will not be harmed

·     relocation of higher density housing should be deferred to a later date – eliminate row homes – terrace homes and semi bungalows are more in keeping with the village

·     rows are unsightly and cause parking problems

 

 

·     consider limiting or prohibiting truck traffic on Bridge Street

·     Rideau Valley Drive should not be the primary access – Century Rd will disperse traffic better

·     Access to First Line Road not wait until later phases – access is needed sooner

38

·     Community does not want increase in population

·     Density is far to high – allow growth for 200 units – don’t double size over a short time

·     Single family homes echo the character of Manotick

·     increased traffic – already at capacity- safety issue

·     impact on library, arena, recreation, medical

·     one tree per lot – this is suburban development

·     object to connections to Potter/Carrison Drive – unsafe – not designed to handle additional traffic

·     Committee should vote for what the people want – should hold referendum

·     Important to protect Maple Forest

·     Expect Council to turn down proposal and staff will back community at OMB

39

 

·     object to collector at connecting to Antochi as it downgrades my property from a premium corner lot to an intersection residence associated with noise, light and traffic congestion issues

 

·     redesignate road connection to Century Road as collector and connection to Antochi as local road – result would be effective transit looping

40

·     opposed to high density zoning

 

 

 

41

 

·     on the assumption that the City can promptly and efficiently resolve the transportation/traffic issues we wholeheartedly endorse the plan

 

 

42

·     should not have the right to change the OP – no modifications to # of housing units

 

 

 

43

·     we do not want the City  to amend the secondary plan

 

 

 

44

·     appalled would cast will of community into trash can

·     Manotick is rural not urban – oppose high density

·     Unacceptable strain on infrastructure – roads, traffic, schools, medical facilities, police

 

 

45

 

 

·     have drinking water tested regularly and will apprise you of any changes immediately

·     wants to receive further notice of future meetings

46

·     this type of development normally found within village boundaries

·     planned as a slow growing village – 250 per year

·     proposal is 7 fold increase

·     wish to preserve village character  - no Barrhaven

·     traffic analysis underestimates amount of traffic – only looks at village boundaries

·     traffic solution – upgrades to roads and intersections (and the elusive Strandherd Bridge

·     schools, hockey rinks, other sports facilities at capacity but not addressed

·     will fight higher densities at OMB

47

·     the PPS vision for communities strong, more liveable and more sustainable – will help reduce sprawl, preserve greenspace, protect important natural resources and build better communities where people want to live, work , invest

·     Minto proposal doesn’t do this

·     There is adequate development land inside greenbelt – intensification as per OP

·     Limit development to 250 homes

 

 

 

48

·     keep scale and character of the village – this proposal is against the scale and scope of the village plan

 

 

·     City’s role in process should be to take into account the wishes of the residents

49

·     Don’t oppose development but should be limited to less that 500 and built similar to Manotick Estates

·     Primary concern is traffic – traffic impact study is a joke

·     There are no sidewalks to use the street for walking running and cycling – we are worried someone will get hurt or killed

·     Minto has done nothing to address concerns- all these meetings don’t seem to affect the outcome

·      

50

·     citizens overwhelmingly do not want high density

·     will destroy character of village

·     will create traffic chaos

·     want new sewage technologies that are green – prior projects show that sewage pipe leakage has destroyed people’s wells

 

 

.

·      

51

·     secondary plan protects village flavour and lifestyle

·     defiance of PPS which says no more greenfields development as there is other land available in the City- there is enough other land to last 37 years

·     land is outside public service area therefore cannot connect to public services

·     City has to pay to extend services because development charges are a mere fraction of what they are elsewhere closer to the City

·     outrageous assault on community – will result in long prolonged legal fight

·     if City wasn’t persuaded by the fact 1800 people turned out to protest plan – they are in for a big surprise in the next round of the war

·      

52

 

 

 

·     would like to be notified

53

·     Minot must adhere to the 2000 unit allocation – Minto knew this when they started planning

·     Village has been growing slowly with appropriate housing – do not want village to double in size in a matter of years

·     village atmosphere will be gone - roads clogged and facilities overloaded

·     townhouses and stacked townhouses look like City suburbs

·     Minto should have applied for amendment prior to any planning

·     still want to know why city logo was displayed on concept plans

·     Manotick should not be developed by one developer with big plans

54

·     Generally support increase in density – will increase diversity of people and will enhance cultural, social and economic base

·     Suspect interpretation of PPS policy 1.1.3.7 – the land should be considered as a designated growth area in the PPS

·     Second suspect interpretation – development has not been slow because of servicing concerns but bureaucratic interpretation of City legislation such as parking, heritage, building code

·     Design elements will “ create vestiges or echoes of the former agricultural use and create myths about former uses – echoes and myths cannot support village character

 

·     Increased density must be supported by appropriate  infrastructure and services

·     Proposed road and bridge changes are not sufficient to support the development

·     Delcan plan to divert traffic from village core is contrary to Secondary Plan

·     Strandherd Bridge will not alleviate problem because people will still use Main St to access schools, library, aquatic club, curling rink, recreational areas used for soccer, softball and other events

·     Geotechnical report proposes grade raises of over 1 m  overlying deep clay deposits – this causes a risk of cracked foundations, wet basements and yards and sewer backups – it would be foolhardy to approve this

·     Stormwater – proposal to maximize infiltration practices- may not be sufficient based on the soils in the area already determined to be problematic – residents already have problems managing water

·     Wildlife corridor – doubtful if wildlife will respond to enhanced environment – residents in other areas complaining about coyotes

·     it is unclear how many units Minto wants to include in the Special Design Area – this area should be considered also.

Proposal’s stated list of benefits are suspect:

·     award wining Inspiration home – buyer not obliged to purchase

·     explore sustainable design – Minto not committed to it

·     preserves natural features – part of larger ecosystem will results in reduction or loss of species

·     provides connections to existing village – connections desirable but vehicular dependence not reduced

·     additional elementary school alternatives – doubt new school will be approved

·     creates a provision for public transit -  - depends on increased ridership – not the case elsewhere and can’t be predicted

it

55

·     chose to live in Manotick – village not standard urban subdivision

·     don’t make same mistakes of other areas – remember Unionville now assimilated as part of Toronto – this is urban development that can be dropped into Barrhaven

·     proposal does not blend with historical growth pattern

·     pieces of trim and Ľ tree per block doesn’t make this village

·     live in Manotick – accept that we would not have central services – take extra care of environment at our expense

·     resolve infrastructure issues before development is given green light

·     if City is in deficit position why are rural development fees a bargain for Minto

·     Minto has rights but what about rights of residents – listen to the majority of residents

·     Say no to urbanization of rural area

·     ARAC created to understand balance to urban/rural area

56

 

 

 

·     wants to be notified of decision

57

·     want to maintain rural village lifestyle – Stittsville used to be charming village community  - surge of concrete loss of greenspace

·     maintain character – need slow growth

 

 

·     requires a commitment to greenspace and preservation of natural beauty

·     requires strict regulation of businesses and homes so they continue to enhance rural character

58

·     it is the village not the FDA area that is allowed to grow to 2000 du

·     why is it necessary to expand to 2000 du

·     Main Street is a single lane that cannot be expanded – will there be a no left turn sign from the new development onto Main Street forcing traffic to use Century Road  - many of us use this approach to Firefly Lane or the Fire Stations

·     or will traffic be diverted through Potter Drive and Carrison Drive communities – How unfair!

·     Let Minto use wells and septic with appropriate sized lots like the rest of the village

·     don’t expect me to subsidize water and sewers

 

·     business in the village – it is not reasonable to assume that the population will increase when one sets up a business

59

 

·     traffic on bridges that are part of the community will get worse

·     cannot use streets as a transitway

·     concern about connecting with Estates  - streets are quiet and have low traffic volume – more traffic unsafe for children and us – likely insurance premiums will increase for homes and cars – crime would escalate

·     it is possible to find conditions under which development can be supported and look forward to being part of that process

60

 

 

 

·     wants to be kept informed of all developments

61

·     guts and betrays principles in the secondary plan

 

·     traffic is the worst impact – consultant report in an amateur exercise

·     mythical Strandherd-Armstrong as the panacea, the bridge to nowhere. Nowhere because it was designed for Light Rail, doesn’t link major highways and won’t be favoured by drivers.  Traffic will continue to use our narrow village bridges as a ring road but this traffic will be compounded by 4000 extra vehicles. Any references to improvements in road access were far away from Manotick both geographically and in time. No reference was made to how the village itself was to swallow this mass invasion of city-bound vehicles

·     Getting emergency vehicles across these already clogged  island bridges is a frightening prospect. Adding to the traffic on these bridges is both unprincipled and extremely dangerous to the people of the north and south islands

·     The village recreational facilities are few and dilapidated and will not support the additional population

·     environmental treasures like the pond on the east side of the Minto lands and the old growth forest where rare walnut trees prevail will fall in the interests of construction efficacy to the bulldozers

·     ungovernable geographic sprawl and cannot be condoned or even afforded by a city that is to all intents and purposes broke.

·     concerned that people outside of 120 m not included on contact list

·     Minto knew the rules when they purchased the land

62

·     Character of the village will be destroyed – high density housing will turn village into a suburb of the city they surround such as Barrhaven, Orleans and Stittsville

·     infrastructure mist come first – roads, schools, central services cannot service existing loads

·     bridge and road plans are inadequate – Bridge St.

·     main sewer in the park near Potter will lead to “teething problems” that will be someone else’s problem once the developer has moved on

 

·     Community is powerless in debate – process designed to give illusion of consultation

·     Initial discussion

·     Quick attempt to force issue through

·     Set up consultation over the summer

·     Slide project to divide an conquer – superstore development beside Tim Horton’s

·     Superficial change to original plan

·     Project process with media blitz to persuade people consultation has happened based on superficial changes

63

·                     Oppose changing village plan  - keep self contained small community

·                     New homes will be a burden on existing commuters – roads cannot accommodate more

 

 

64

·     there is no need for additional housing- there is no housing shortage and does not follow City focus on development within the greenbelt and reducing suburban sprawl

·     primary concern is increased traffic on Main Street – off site improvement such as Strandherd Bridge will not address this

·     what is the process for tying future development to future transportation improvements

·     who/when/what consultation will determine if transportation improvements are required prior to development

·     are sidewalks and traffic lights pedestrian walkways outside Minto lands included

·     all this need to be considered prior to amendment

·     there are several small side streets to enter the Mews – many with limited visibility due to parked cars – safety issue with increased traffic

·     Is Eastman entrance planned to be a primary access point to the Mews for the new development?  If so will the existing sidewalks be extended for pedestrian traffic since a pedestrian walkway and a new road are proposed to connect the new development to Potter Drive

·     Are additional traffic lights and or pedestrian cross walks going to be added on Main Street?

 

65

·     strong objection – as a resident of Potter Drive do not want mass development in my back yard

·     development will change characteristic and flavour of community

 

 

 

66

·     Belgium has abundance of well planned towns and villages with historical properties respected and enhanced through careful planning

·     The concept of cramming 1800 houses on a tiny space in a historic village is unheard of – this would be an enormous mistake

 

 

 

67

·     to accept fast growth and high density is antithetical to Secondary Plan

·     proposal is at variance with Ottawa planning policy for infill and reduction of urban sprawl

 

 

·     strongly suggest notice be sent to all residents not just within 120 m

68

·     cease irresponsible practice of paving over farmland

·     look for sewage system between big pipe and septic systems – de-centralized systems benefit innovation and environmental progress

·     stormwater management system should be and example to everyone – not designed for minimum cost

·     Minto should foot the bill for top notch transit system

·     Business structure should be preserved – this should not be an excuse to build Wal-Mart in Manotick

·     Insist that any development is something entire community can be proud of  - giant developments north of Prince of Wales are disgusting

69

·     Oppose development of more than 250 homes

·     Addition of more development will change Manotick from rural subdivision to subdivision like Barrhaven

·     Ottawa OP precludes significant densification outside urban core – agricultural land will remain agricultural, village remain villages and urban sprawl will not be perpetuated

 

 

·     no amendment should be considered until a clear majority of villagers express desire to change

70

·     secondary plan put in place to control growth of village

·     proposal represent 7 fold increase and does not take into account other builders

·     densities increased beyond those contemplated and would allow significant non single family in an are primarily for single family homes

 

 

·     to approve the amendments would beg the question – why bother to do the secondary plan in the first place?

71

·     residents have worked long and hard to control growth to 2000 units by 2020

·     loss of village charm – traffic, noise, pollution

·     doubling size of village would spell the end of Manotick

·     have seen what sewers do to quaint villages – visit Stittsville

 

·     have attended all public sessions and listened as parties tried to alleviate concerns – they have failed miserably

·     request that city not just inform residents of decisions rather continue to engage us and ensure our voices are heard and actioned

72

·     moved to Manotick because liked open spaces not cookie cutter houses of Barrhaven or traffic or chaos associated with City environment

·     8-10+ houses per acre – Manotick probably averages 1-2 houses per acre –

·     Manotick has a rural lifestyle – adding density doesn’t fit in

·     traffic is already horrible in downtown Manotick – adding 2000 cars is crazy

·     why is no transportation/infrastructure proposal being presented

·     why did the city ignore Manotick’s development plan

·     why does Ottawa want a one size fits all approach –

·     why did the City try to fast track the Minto proposal  - giving Manotick only 3 weeks to respond to the proposal

·     Minto presentation indicated Council approval in November – this is presumptuous – interesting Minto feels that Council is attainable – Can you comment on this?

·     Minto has engaged a public relations firm Hill and Knowlton to manage public relations for the project – this firm has been hired to lobby politicians Minto’s behalf.  Can you comment on this?

·     In the past top lobbyists have been successful for the developer.  How would I obtain this information

73

·     Secondary plan should not be changed

·     Strandherd Bridge should be in place before housing projects

 

 

74

·     grossly out of scale with Manotick Secondary Plan – the total number of houses that can be built is 300

·     why should Minto be allowed to increase densities – Manotick is a rural setting an densities must not be allowed to increase

 

 

·     poor wording in secondary plan – clarify policies to accommodate original intent of document

75

 

·     have not seen assurances in traffic study that will support increase in traffic beyond 2013 with or without Strandherd Bridge

·     traffic study suggests that only 1300 homes can be constructed

·     concern about connection to Carrison will increase traffic on Carrison, Potter and quire possibly Scarfgate, Wicklow and Revell Drive

 

76

·     opposed to changes in secondary plan and support efforts of West Manotick Community Association to resist this development

 

 

 

77

·     oppose sheer volume Minto is trying to jam into village

·     do not need a number of townhouses filled into that small area.

 

 

·     Minto could make just as much money if they designed an executive neighbourhood that more closely approximate the feel that we have

78

·     Hard to understand how developer can propose wholesale changes to spirit of approved plan

·     Development plan and community architecture for Manotick and area cannot support proposed accelerated growth – with proposal for big box mall the problem is even greater

·     Without massive road widening, sewers and bridge improvements the community will not be able to support the proposed increase in population

·     Until such plan for infrastructure is designed and approved by City council, no development beyond the approved community plan should be approved

 

 

79

·     small town village – the reason we came here will be shattered by 1800 unit residential development

 

 

 

80

 

 

 

·     Minto has made a number of changes to address concerns raised by the community – natural areas, greenspace, reduction in number of multiple units to 25%

What makes village a village:

·     Move away from grid to a cluster layout around shared greenspaces heavily vegetated private and shared land creates a beautiful and neighbourly community–access from  back yard to orchards, swimming pools, parks, gardens and greenbelts within Village Homes  

81

·     Reject description of secondary plan as dysfunctional – residents have spoken for best interests of community – sustainable community 2000 du to the year 2020

·     Increase 2000 du needs to be accompanied by a jobs growth to 2000 jobs by 2020 – the plan ties housing to jobs for a sustainable village

·     Reject any multiple housing units outside the village core – the will of the people is to put restrict multiples to the core

·     There is no valid reason to increase the density of single family

 

·     reject changes to schedule A except for :

1.       fix ANSI boundary

2.       replace Single Family Estate with a woodlot

3.       show schools and open space

4.       remove road connection to Watterson

 

82

·     extending the limit from 2000 homes to 3600 is not acceptable – exceeds the design capacity of the secondary plan and is not in keeping with primary objective

·     25% multiples is far too high – will change character of village – housing density to be directed to village core

·     housing density to be concentrated in core not outlying areas

 

 

 

83

·     proposal will kill the village and turn it into a suburb like Barrhaven

·     contrary to Ottawa OP which stressed growth by infill

·     250 limit must be kept

 

 

·     draw a line in the sand and save villages which fall outside city boundaries

84

·     oppose any plan that would add to the density of Manotick population- secondary plan policies keep character and beauty

 

 

 

85

·     build only single family homes (1 to 2 acres) at fair market value

·     no multiple high density

·     want to retain village feel – don’t want Barrhaven

 

·     use treatment system currently used across from arena for sewage – don’t bring big pipe – didn’t work in Munster/Richmond

 

 

86

·     secondary plan reflect historic roots

·     village centre always surrounded by quasi neighbourhoods on reasonable sized lots- allows community members access to roads and other infrastructure

·     traffic problems are an obvious problem – doubling population will exasperate this further

·     big box stores will arrive to service all of the people – more outlying traffic will then come to the area effectively killing off our village small stores and we will become another Barrhaven

 

87

·     will fundamentally change the character of Manotick from an ex-urban rural community to a typical suburban dormitory similar to Barrhaven, Stittsville- objective of secondary plan is to preserve and maintain quality of life and community’s character

·     does not represent gradual incremental change – 2000 du by 2020

·     there is no support for the changes to transport infrastructure which are required to support the community of double its current size

 

·     all development was expected to preserve the character of the village, namely estate and low density housing – expectations supported by secondary plan approved by Ottawa – not acceptable for the city to alter it in such a short period of time

88

(article from the Guardian)

·     Sociability Survives in Micro-Rituals of Daily Life

 

 

·     street design helps to instil sense of community

·     according to new manual for streets planners should encourage walking and informal social interaction – laces to linger and fewer dead ends so streets are permeable for those on foot

 

89

·     this should be treated as a new plan  - it cannot be considered as a simple amendment

It is not in the interest of Manotick to:

·     more than double the size to the point where it can no longer be considered village

·     completely change (ruin) the current character of the village

·     significantly increase traffic and further magnify traffic problems that exist today

·     fundamentally change the rural surroundings that make Manotick the village it is today

 

 

·     if the secondary plan is to be changed it should be done in conjunction with the community associations working together to develop a plan the community can get behind

90

·     oppose excess of 200 homes on Minto lands

·      

·     very concerned re traffic from more that 200 units – don’t allow degradation of traffic flow

·     concerned about potential property damage and inconvenience if sewer installation goes ahead

·     do not want sewer on my property and don’t want to participate in any expense as a result of city installing sewer infrastructure bordering my property

·     support pathway extension to Potter NOT a road

91

·     will transform small country village into another Orleans/Barrhaven – want slower quieter atmosphere

 

 

·     amalgamation – voice of rural community deafened by big city developers and their own priorities

92

 

·     development proceeding without infrastructure and integration into existing community – there will be tremendous stress on roads and community facilities.

 

 

93

 

 

·     location of entrance/exit located at Antochi lane which directly faces my property -

·     located on steep slope into village

·     would hinder access to fire station

·     original 3 concepts show access at Orchard Hollow Drive (where it has not impact on residences

 

94

·     support secondary plan as adopted  i.e. no more than 250 single family units by no sooner that 2020

·     concerned about adding 1,800 du on transit in and out of Manotick.  There is already heavy traffic on Bankfield every rush hour

 

Suggest the following in the regrettable eventuality Minot has its way

·     there should be a buffer zone adjacent to Potter and Watterson – singles at same density as estates

·     Minto should not be allowed to cut down trees separating Brookfield Estates from proposed development

·     Multiple units should not be permitted in proposed buffer zone

·     Carrison should remain a cul de sac and never communicate with proposed Minto expansion

·     Do not want to under any circumstances have to hook up to city water and sewer nor do we want to be financially responsible in any way for expansion of City services

95

·     Residents prepared a plan for the future community as a continuation of low density character of the village

·     Recent successful development north of Bankfield illustrates viability of expanding the village according to the guidelines of the secondary plan

·     Higher density proposed is profit and sewage collection driven with little or no regard for negative impact on the community – will convert the village into a suburb

 

 

 

96

·     nice village with large lots will be an extension of Barrhaven

·     why is city greedy and allowing villages to be destroyed

·     traffic is bad already and there is no way our roads can accommodate another 4,000 cars

·     big pipe is problem in Richmond and Munster with breeches and venting off

·     city growth has been overestimated there is no reason for all this development 

·     work should be done as in UK and Europe to redevelop cities to make them attractive and no allow farmland to be gobbled by sprawl

·     Rideau Canal designed as World heritage site – greater argument to preserve village

·     Use the lands in question for recreational use

97

·     Oppose housing density which will change character of the village

·     Changes to official plan must be based on prior development of supporting infrastructure

·     Sewage problems of Hillside Gardens and Core – city must have open mind to best possible solution  and must be kept separate from larger question of Manotick  Official Development Plan

·      Minto is taking advantage of city and taxpayers footing the bill

 

·     citizens of Manotick need to be involved in an acceptable plan for the Minto lands – expect the City to facilitate this

·     if amalgamation had not occurred there would have been no appetite to discuss an inappropriate proposal – Planning Department stick handles Minot proposal  - openness and transparency of planning dept is lacking

98

 

·     village will be destroyed because of unresolved traffic management situations – confirmed in Section 7.1 of Transportation Overview

·     the traffic report is not complete and more analysis needs to be done particularly on the impact on the current village

·     Main Street will choke and drivers will choose alternative routes on streets east and west of Main Street which are not designed for increased traffic

·     Report does not address traffic densities on Garrison and Potter – the tee connection at Bankfield and Potter is addressed to recognize that additional traffic will flow though the Estates to Bankfield – no traffic flow is available

·     Figures 5 & 6 of Delcan report do not show the connection to Potter

·     Page 20 of Delcan report – there is no basis to proceed – no precise plans only general ideas.

·     Situation by the arena and Centennial Park  - the parking lot overflows along nearby streets on Doctor Leach and Village Walk – this is hazardous as the area is populated mostly by seniors.

·     residents beyond the 120 m also affected

·     need a comprehensive traffic management plan and a funded program to implement this plan to keep pace with development – street and traffic management plan specifically the core east and wet of Main St and Manotick Estates

·     provide sidewalks on many more, if not all, streets in development – will encourage people to walk and cycle and reduce vehicle traffic

·     Minto refers to “A Green Community” need comprehensive system of sidewalks and to enhance credibility

99

·     Oppose amendments to secondary plan

·     Oppose big box development adjacent to village boundary

 

 

·     our heritage woodlands, ponds, wetlands and waterways must be preserved within existing village boundaries

100

·     infrastructure does not humanly preserve village

·     give consideration to hard work and preservation of first residents

 

·     lacks planning with regard to emergency services, sewage

 

101

·     return to Manotick secondary plan that was first approved

 

 

 

102

·     I join the majority of citizens who oppose the plan

·     Density is still too high

·     Make a smaller community that won’t threaten lifestyle

 

 

 

103

 

 

·     what is the status of Henry Creek which runs along the west side of MacLean Court Condominium?

 

104

 

·     take care of all infrastructure first –

·     do something about traffic especially traffic that uses Bankfield, Main, Bridge and Mitch Owens as a by-pass to 416

 

·     require gov’t help in brining services so we can stay in our homes at current cost estimates.

105

·     Manotick is different from a tract subdivision – it has a past

·      Existing heritage, village core, employment centre should be nurtured and protected – take steps to do this – then see what expansion is appropriate – Minto proposal is premature

 

 

 

106

·     slow growth – effort to conserve different environment –  community built their own facilities

·     secondary plan to be reviewed after 5 years

·     roads, arena, soccer fields are already over crowded

·     no indication that Armstrong Bridge is further along than is has been for 20 years

Need to examine

·     Manotick has a role to play as a village in the city.  PPS requires detailed analysis of whether the community can absorb such an increase

·     Do not see a compelling reason for 1800 houses – population projections do not demonstrate a need – Minto proposal is premature

·     respond as a business in the core – without community sewers the core is doomed

·     with sewers the core will survive, regeneration will take place – not until then should there be a change from the present plan

·     a five year review by the community would be in order as sewers seemed immediate six years ago

·     timing and details should be reviewed and Minto’s request is premature.

·     Minto purchased the land with limited development potential

107

 

·     Long Island Road has, 2 schools, a church, no continuous sidewalk and a bus route and is already used by motorists exceeding the speed limit to bypass rush hour hold-ups at Bridge and Main

·     How can you approve the Minto development without better infrastructure?

 

 

108

 

·     infrastructure needs to be brought in line with

 

 

109

·     no benefit to present community of homeowners

·     traffic is already horrendous- the infrastructure is not there and noting should be amended until it is

·     Strandherd will not be an acceptable alternative to Bridge Street

 

·     oppose Minto proposal – does not mean I do not support the North Island’s petition

110

·     too significant a change will be detrimental to quality of life

·     infrastructure not in place to support these changes

 

 

111

·     expansion of City density to rural area is poor planning

·     encircle our village with high density housing – Ottawa doesn’t need that kind of neighbourhood

·     do not want congestion, traffic strain on neighbourhoods

 

 

112

 

 

 

·     West Manotick Community has taken it upon themselves to copy a City of Ottawa document and distribute to 3,500 homes – nobody at the City knows anything about this – it could cause a conflict because you are only allowed to send out to the 1 kilometre distance – you might want to look into this.

113

·     Violation of secondary plan – density exceeds this limit

·     Inconsistent with Provincial Policy Statement – new development can only be specified where there is a demonstrated need for the land – calls for intensification of developed areas as opposed to development on agricultural lands on the Minto site

·     Doubling population will destroy rural character

·     Additional housing will attract big box on periphery which would be a blow o the village core

·     Traffic is currently at saturation point

·     Delcan traffic study is not convincing – even if Strandherd Bridge is built

·     Fire services, medical facilities, sports facilities and community centres would be lacking and difficult to develop in the context of a small village

·     if Minto success in face of clear legal restrictions it sets a dangerous precedent for other villages

·     secondary plan was reworded without legislative authority by addition of clause about central servicing – this did not change the intent of the original clause but Minto is using it to imply that higher density would be sanctioned

114

·     no to development on this scale

·     existing plan provides a reasonable level of growth

·     traffic, roads commercial development totally of a character foreign to village atmosphere

 

 

115

·     oppose alteration of secondary plan

 

 

 

116

·     rapid construction of the number and type of housing units would radically alter the unique character of the village

·     concept fails to preserve overriding concept of a harmonious environment based on a historic core

·     fails to take into account the vision the spirit and provisions of the secondary plan – developers should have been aware of the provisions of the plan

·     need to ensure harmonious and progressive growth in keeping with the historical evolution of the community

·     would severely aggravate traffic problems – not only would there be congestion and safety concerns on Main, Bridge and Bankfield- there would be increased traffic cutting through residential parts of the Estates e.g. along Carrison to Potter as routes to Bankfield or Rideau Valley

·     village services and recreational amenities will be strained

 

 

117

 

·     housing density contradicts the Manotick’s secondary plan and will create traffic difficulties on Main and Bridge streets that already seem to be operating at capacity during rush hours.

·     Opening Carrison Drive and Potter Drive connections for vehicular traffic will make the two drives into thoroughfare as it creates short-cuts from the proposed development area to Manotick Mews and Main Street

·     Yet those drives have been designed, as residential streets without sidewalks and any significant traffic will definitely increase risk for the local children and residents.

·     There are no provisions for the medical, recreational facilities, etc.
The existing medical centre in the village already does not have enough room to stand, let alone sit, in the waiting room. 

 

 

118

 

 

·     need traffic light at school so south island residents can access Bridge Street

·     add cross walks on Main street

119

·     failure to adhere to secondary plan is ins opposition to wishes of community

·     1800 units will destroy village character

·     infrastructure incapable of handling increased traffic flow through narrow bridges and streets

·     more than half of the village does not have sidewalks or road allowance wide enough for pedestrians to walk

·     additional air and noise pollution this development would bring

·     unable to meet additional demand for emergency services (police & fire) as well as recreational and cultural facilities

·     acceptance of amendments would be breach of trust for agreements understood at time of amalgamation

120

·     The proposed changes are not in accordance with the original secondary plan

·     Residential concerns regarding traffic and services issues have not been adequately assessed or addressed.

 

 

121

 

2 aspects I consider ludicrous:

·     absence of planning of infrastructure notably roads

·      a community of 5,000 people of primitive septic tank technology

 

 

122

 

·     when will Manotick east of Rideau River be considered for sewer and water

·     What is plan if the Bridge does not alleviate traffic congestion?

 

 

123

·     Manotick’s charm is that it is small and well maintained village – thanks to efforts of West Manotick Community Association I hope it remains that way.

 

 

 

124

·     old development plan was in effect for 15 years – why change suddenly?

·     can put 10 lbs into a 5 lb bag – structure of roads, lights, and overall village can’t handle proposed growth

·     sewers have been a hot topic for years – solve Hillside Gardens first – why solve Minto’s problems now?

 

 

125

·     opposed to rate of growth – Manotick has developed over 160 years – population will now double over 10 years – we will lose our identity

·     limit number of homes to as few as possible – limit to 300 over ten years

 

 

 

126

·     doubling the population is too much too fast – out of proportion and will destroy the character Secondary Plan is meant to protect

·     road system cannot handle current demands let alone growth – there is no acknowledgement that a new shopping centre is proposed to the east

 

·     the circulation process has been a farce – there is no evidence Minto takes villagers concerns seriously

·     at amalgamation hoped for professional thoughtful approach to development issues – did not expect to be steamrolled by developer with apparent cooperation of the City

127

·     adding 1800 homes in 10 years will not preserve or protect village character – it will no longer be considered a village

·     current main roads are at or above capacity and the existing traffic improvements (Strandherd Bridge, widening Prince of Wales) will not alleviate current or potential traffic issues in the core where every resident will travel through – no evidence the City will commit to solving the problem

·     safety issues – more cut through traffic and no sidewalks

·      public facilities are at capacity now – City has not provided a plan to accommodate new residents

 

 

128

·     secondary plan states that housing development is not to exceed 2000 units no sooner than 2020 – Minto proposal drastically exceeds this –we welcome new housing development if it aligns with the agreed upon direction of the secondary plan

·     as the city continues to expand the level of development density both within and around villages requires careful management

 

·     why have an official plan if amendments can be readily granted to accommodate those few who it does not suite to the detriment of the broader community

 

 

129

·     appalled City is even considering proposed amendment to 2001 secondary plan, which would increase the density for single family and add a new residential density for multiples

·     try reading Ottawa Citizen Sept 11, 2007 article re the need for safety, peace, and quiet – these values will be destroyed if the increased density is approved

·     sitting in traffic on Bridge Street is in contravention of the City’s Idling Control By-law

·     it is too bad if you are in an ambulance stuck in Manotick because of traffic

·     if approve the development will add to urban sprawl, increase traffic on roads incapable of supporting current traffic volume and import health and safety issues associated with a dense urban population

·     higher density housing is the cause of any societal ills – people need space – children need a safe environment in the back yard – a central park in not the answer because it requires structured play

·     need quiet environment to recuperate from noise, traffic – high density does not allow us to get away from this

·     what good is protecting natural features if you have to go though kilometres of streets wall with houses to reach a quiet spot

·     City should study is violence and increasing police budgets could be reduced by re-examination of city’s housing mix policy and density issue

130

 

·     will place strain on already overtaxed infrastructure i.e. roads, bridges, sewer systems

·     will have a negative impact on the environment

·     poor planning – not strategic – more urban sprawl without services i.e. a tax base to support it

 

131

·     Manotick is a tourist destination – allowing 1,800+ subdivision to go ahead will eradicate the village as we know it

·     Minto bought the property in the full knowledge of the restriction in the secondary plan – the population has chosen to locate here in the belief they were protected by a coherent plan

·     The City is moved by no other motive than the approval of inward investment regardless to the cost of the existing population

·     Transit situation has reached its peak  - there is no viable transportation plan to correct the problems let alone accommodate increased traffic from 1800+ units.

·     No conceivable transportation improvement short of a subway to the heart of Ottawa has the slightest chance of mitigating the destruction of the community. 

 

 

132

 

·     village  the current village reflects the village feel with low traffic streets (with no sidewalks) shared by cars, cyclists and pedestrians  - doubling population will require all traffic to cut through the existing – a disaster to the Manotick Estates neighbourhood

 

·     the community spend many years using board consultation to develop a carefully thought out secondary plan – it would be a shame to see developer with slick lobbyists easily sway public servants and officials entrusted by the community

133

 

 

 

·     do not accept Minto’s  proposal to change the Secondary Plan – listen to the people

134

 

·     need to resolve transportation issues before there can be any growth

·     getting to and from the village core on foot, by bike, wheel chair,  roller blade, stroller is unsafe through the village core

·     driving can be frustrating and dangerous with the amount of traffic (especially heavy trucks)

 

 

135

·     to much density for village – follow the secondary plan

·     traffic is bad now – proposed development is going to mean that a bad situation will become an unsafe situation

 

 

136

·     too dense – follow the secondary plan

·     traffic is too heavy already – plan will worsen an already bad traffic problem

 

 

137

·     urban densification - doubling the size of the village is in contravention of the secondary plan

·     will destroy village character and ambiance that villages have worked hard to sustain

·     urban style growth will lead to unmanageable and dangerous infrastructure problems

 

·     this places a corporation’s desire to make profits over the wishes of the people

·     Minto can reap its profits by building its urban style development in a location that is more appropriate

·     Groups think they can ride roughshod over the wishes of residents who believe they have the legal protection (secondary plan)  to use their influence to have the legality papered over with an amendment

138

·     Understand the need for different types of housing to accommodate young families and seniors in the community – however to allow a doubling of the population within 10-15 years after 150 years of controlled growth will destroy the rural character of Manotick

·     Secondary plan was developed for controlled growth and protect village character that has evolved over 150 years

·     Infrastructure is not in place to support this expansion

·     Central servicing has been an ongoing requirement to the two priority areas

·     By allowing the request the City will be allowing the subdivision to proceed without sufficient municipal planning and priority for setting sustainable transportation, facilities (community centres, parkland, schools, etc.), residential development, central servicing, and public transportation alternatives

·     New suburban communities impact on (Riverside South, Stonebridge, Mattamy) impact on our village roads and facilities and is already causing over usage problems

·     With Strandherd Bridge still years away recommend that the City spend the next few years addressing the planning issues identities identified above through constructive studies involving all stakeholders

139

·     What type of city do we want and why are developers allowed to drive city development design- we are allowing developers to take away the elements of uniqueness and greenspace in our region and develop monolithic condensed housing neighbours

·     What is the goal of the city when it comes to surrounding villages – do we just say goodbye to villages and allow urban sprawl or does the city want to have an active hand in the careful development and expansion of villages keeping the integrity of village life alive in the Ottawa valley

·     Traffic is totally out of control at the moment – single lane bridges have turned into commuter lanes beyond their capacity with transport trucks winding their way through village corners, west commuters are using Manotick as the south link across the Rideau River

·     Manotick cannot accommodate more traffic

·     Traffic studies released by developer present picture of accommodation – it is important to be realistic – 200 cars generated throughout a 24 hour period are going to try to traverse already congested roads between 7-9 am and 4-6 pm

 

 

140

·     secondary plan created to ensure that Manotick is not destroyed by rapid expansion – Minto proposal is diametrically opposed to the Plan’s primary objective to preserve and maintain the quality of life…

·     no village that doubles its size in a decade can preserve its character

·      high density will destroy rural character

·     design uniformity will drive down property values

·     Main Street and Bridge Street will become impassable.  There are no solutions to avoid this – Minto severely underestimates current and future problems – the City should perform its own traffic studies

·     complementary  commercial big box stores will inevitably follow the population forcing businesses out of the village core

·     there is no demonstrated need to amend the plan and no community support it – profit driven imposed on Manotick by external forces who have no lasting interest or respect for the village or inhabitants

·     Ontario’s villages especially within amalgamated cities , need protection so they can withstand developer’s attempts to turn them into homogeneous boring suburbs

141

·     Proposed development does not fit into the current characteristics of the neighbourhood

·     Local traffic infrastructure does not support the size of such development

 

·     majority of residents do not support the development

142

·     Minto plan is not in keeping with character of village – very nice for Kanata, Orleans and Riverside South but not for Manotick

·     contrary to the secondary plan that that residents worked long and hard to develop.

·     Our rural lands need to be protected

·     Strongly object to changing the current housing allocation to 1300 new dwellings and 1800 by 2028

·     traffic cannot be managed by current road structure

·     no longer take kids to the pool because it is almost impossible to make a left turn on Bridge Street

·     oppose central services to the area – on site treatment makes more sense – like the one servicing the town house development

·     lands in question are habitat for many forms of wildlife and the waterways are essential for the frog and toad population

·     live on Potter and never received a survey

143

·     secondary plan reinforce that village would maintain qualities of slow managed growth, cap on the number of homes, homes consistent with what the village currently has (single homes on well and septic and mainly estate lots)

·     The Secondary Plan was developed over a ten year period with a lot of effort from local residents - Growth should not be allowed to exceed 250 homes.

·     New housing should be consistent with what is already in Manotick: estate lots, single family homes

·     traffic is already unbearable during peak periods along all major routes

·     proposed Strandherd Bridge which is touted as a potential solution, will only divert traffic to other routes which are also backed up and operating at capacity during these peak periods

·     There is no need to bring central services/sewers to Manotick. We do not want them; we do not need them; we are happy on well and septic. Well and septic are working effectively, cost efficiently and environmentally for the majority of the Village. Other environmental, cost effective solutions have been suggested to the City for those areas where well and septic are not functioning well, such as Hillside Gardens. Central services and sewers ARE NOT needed and will only add a tax burden, additional costs to local residents, and cause a hassle to local residents as roads and the central core would need to be ripped up to install them. Other towns such as Richmond have had terrible problems when sewers have been brought in to their communities.

·        loss of forest/natural habitat/greenspace where the new subdivision will be built; increased traffic; increased noise; increased density; increased burden on local services; construction traffic; ripped up core if central services are brought in. The Village of Manotick as we know it will be destroyed.

 

·     City has made change without consent or approval of village and Minto has proposed a subdivision that would completely destroy the village

·     the City of Ottawa was to do a thorough traffic study of the Manotick area in 2006 (?), but this is yet to be done

144

·     approval of the Mahogany Development will not only destroy the character and nature of Manotick but will open the door to further development south of Century Road, a situation that will further stress an infrastructure that can not even support the Mahogany Development

·     Despite the traffic study prepared for Minto, the intersection at Bridge and Main can not be tinkered with - with new turning lanes, round about or closures and still solve the problem of an over capacity intersection. 

·     None of these so called solutions deals with Main street which can not be widened to deal with increased volumes without expropriations that would in  effect destroy the core of the village. 

·     The traffic  study is flawed in that it counts on the Strandherd Bridge being completed on schedule, assigns a high volume of deflection of traffic to that bridge and does not take into account further development east of the Rideau River and the potential of a  “ big box” commercial  site.

·     ignores the concerns of the existing residents of Manotick and will condemn our quiet village to urban sprawl and at least ten years of construction traffic, noise, dust and street closures while attempts are made to deal with an existing traffic problem that in reality can not be fixed

·     residents of Manotick oppose this development

·     city must respect the wishes of the majority

·     There is no reason to approve a plan change as the Minto proposal does not fix an existing problem ( in fact it creates many), does not enhance the quality of the existing plan, ( it is a clear detriment to the existing plan)

145

·     If we could only convince them to reduce their density to a number closer to 1000 units it would make it a whole lot easier for our community to accommodate the development

 

 

·     request extension of comments until September 21

146

 

·     the traffic study is fundamentally flawed and should be examined by independent reviewers

·     community services are fully utilized – Minto proposal does not address this

·     central services is an issue – foresee my property being forced onto central services

 

·     secondary plan was changed at some point to make Minto’s proposed amendment more viable – this needs thorough and rigorous investigation

147

·     people have been attracted to Manotick to get away from the density

·     even if you ignore the fact that our services such as roads and recreation facilities would be overwhelmed by doubling the population, the proposed development does not fit the character of our village

·      

·     joining Manotick Estates via Carrison will bring  huge volume of traffic to the Estates – the plan to direct traffic to the village and 1st Line Road will be circumvented by drivers cutting through the Estates to get to Bankfield  - it is human nature to take short cuts.

·     the community does not want this development

148

 

 

 

 

 

 

·     we are very concerned about this development – please keep us notified of all public meetings and decisions

149

·     scale is very significant in terms of long term impact and ramification for a small village community

·     there seems to be little consideration for maintaining or contributing to the heritage of the surrounding area

 

·     there is a perception of the link between the Minto sale of the old JDS campus and to direct development to the nearest community i.e. Manotick

·     from the get go there has bee n the assumption that Minto can steam roll through the process

150

·     secondary plan sets growth targets – 2000 homes by 2020 – allowing 1800 homes exceed the growth constrains and is in no way consistent with preserving village character

·     overpowering growth and irreparable damage to quality of life in the village

·     density – proposal will double in the population on a plot of land  one eights the village size – Estates are ˝ acre and above – densification not in keeping with village character and will threaten property values

·     concerns re ability of the road infrastructure to accommodate growth and capacity of community centre and arena to accommodate growth

·     homeowners have made substantial investment in community  - decision was made with visibility of secondary plan and strong interest of community to preserve village character

·     opening up Carrison Street to the Estates will become a principle access route to Mahogany Community – increase traffic volume and safety hazard for children

 

151

·     not opposed to development as outlined in the secondary plan – proposed changes are not in accordance with secondary plan

·     residential concerns regarding traffic and servicing issues have not be adequately  assessed or addressed

 

 

152

 

·     transportation infrastructure does not allow for expansion of any principle roads –two bridges not constructed to accommodate current volumes of traffic – are they safe to carry axle load and traffic density

·     Strandherd Bridge will not significantly alleviate traffic in Manotick – will not improve “desire lines” of vehicles already experiencing traffic congestion – would be greatly exacerbated by additional 2,000 dwellings

 

·     Village plan developed with careful consideration of the facts, parameters and character of Manotick – at amalgamation the plan was altered prior and the management of future growth can now be challenged by Minto

·     Someone involved in the adoption of the Official Plan in 2001 has contravened the Rights and Freedoms of the entire constituency of Rideau Township – the secondary plan must stand as approved in 2000.

153

·     Will greatly exceed a reasonable housing density and is not compatible with the
character of Manotick village

·     preservation of Manotick's unique character is important for Ottawa as a whole - do not want to see the village ruined by
being surrounded with high density housing

·     existing and proposed transportation infrastructures will not be able to accommodate
the traffic that the amendment would create.  The city should be looking at public transit enhancement instead of ways to increase existing usage of cars.

 

·     citizens of Manotick and Ottawa worked long and hard in developed the official city plan and it is not fair that the plan should
be thrown out the window to please one particular company, against the wishes of the majority

154

 

 

·     secondary plan went through all appropriate steps and was approved – any new plan  submitted should not justify is submission solely on meeting required regulation and legislation for urban growth – it must demonstrate that the existing plan no longer meets the needs of the area 

·     to simply justify the acceleration of growth without defining the shortfalls in the current plan is unacceptable.

·     we want to be kept informed

 

155

·     Manotick is a low density village – why do we need so many variations of higher density?

·     Very significant increase from the original plan which allowed 200 units

·     Any increase of density of more than 200 units should only be considered after transportation improvements have been built and are in place – there is already too much stress on the existing transportation system

 

 

156

 

·     do not like 2000 homes because there would be too much traffic

·     would not be able to ride bike because there are so many cars

·     would have a hard time to sleep because of construction and cars

 

157

 

·     a lot more noise pollution, more traffic, people rushing to avoid traffic jams - more danger for walking biking on roads

·      

 

 

158

·     Minto is seriously out of context with or village concept

·     Traffic analysis focuses on their development (boldly understates the case) and when added to existing  approved changes overwhelms infrastructure for the next 10-15 years.

 

 

159

·     village will not be a village anymore

·     there will be no roads to support the extra traffic

·     not enough schools, churches etc.

 

·     destruction of natural habitat

 

160

·     opposed to amendment and DCP – support sticking to secondary plan

 

 

 

161

·     does not conform to secondary plan or spirit of secondary plan

·     forces implementation of city services when this is not necessary (excluding Hillside Gardens and the Core)

·     plan adds to an already existing terrible traffic situation

·     numerous other complaints to numerous to list here

 

162

·     expanded level of development  contravenes spirit and intention of community vision in the secondary plan

·     moved to Manotick for small village character – don’t need more Orleans, Barrhaven

 

·     what eventually happens when a community is overrun by too much housing – big box malls always follow

 

163

·     growth is inevitable and welcomed however doubling the size of Manotick is a mistake

·     traffic is crawling through the village now

·     proposed bridge handling much o the current traffic – the congestion will be replaced by new residents in the Minto development

·     there is no room for new roads – city can barely maintain roads now

·      

·     problem of being forced on to water and sewer  - I moved to Manotick because it was the country – my well and septic work fine thank you.

 

164

·     reasonable growth is 200 –250 homes (which is substantial for Manotick) – but 1800 homes??

·     Would change one of our historical and attractive villages into another look and feel suburbia

·     Lets not erode what we already have, let’s build on them

·     major negative impact on traffic and services as well as emergency measures

 

 

165

·     contrary to spirit and intent of secondary plan

·     will destroy will character by doubling the population

·                      

·     increase in traffic will cause transportation infrastructure , already overwhelmed to collapse

·     will overwhelm Bridges in Manotick – congestion is a risk to residents of South Island

·     centralized sewage will add environmental burden with leakage into groundwater

·     increase burden on schools boards to build new schools  when schools are being closed in the city

·     existing recreation facilities cannot  accommodate this increase in population

·     overcrowding until money is found for capital projects- City is in debt and there is no interest in higher taxes – therefore facilities will remain overcrowded

·     there is sufficient land available – 37 year supply without the need to add to a village urban development

·     contrary to concept of urban infilling that city has been advocating

·     land bordering Manotick is now owned by speculators – if this is approved will inevitably lead to urban boundary moving to encompass the village

·     no needed – there will be a decrease in population of Canada (birth rate of 1,48) – to add to sprawl when there will be a decrease in City population is bordering on insanity

 

166

·     do not like mix of housing types  - there should be no multiples – only single family

·     density should be consistent with the rest of the village

·      

will impact on my quality of life by increased demand on:

·     recreational services such as arena, soccer fields, parks

·     increased traffic on streets and intersections are already overburdened @ Manotick Main and Bridge Streets and @  Bankfield and Rideau Valley Drive between 7-9 & 4-6

·     increase demand on police and emergency services

·     increased demand on schools, churches, libraries until new facilities are up and running

·     Delcan stresses need for more detailed studies to address transportation – how can amendments proceed without this information?

·     Strandherd Bridge should be finalized before any significant growth is considered

·     concerned with effect of urbanization on water supply – guarantee me the quality and supply of my water  will not change – has pre-development survey of properties been done

·     woodlots and wetlands should be protected – don’t raze woodlot at Watterson – hiking trails through forest make an ideal 4 season “natural parkland”

·     should OPA proceed perhaps a portion of taxes should be held in escrow to ensure there is money to fix problems e.g. Richmond

·     connections to Carrison Drive should be pedestrian only- streets in the Estates are not designed for high volume traffic – no sidewalks, shoulders and very limited street lighting

167

·     don’t want to become another Barrhaven with huge box stores that will but local businesses out of business

·     this is rural – not urban land

·     no infrastructure to continue the project – congestion at Bridge St. and Bankfield is already causing problems

 

 

168

·     historically significant little enclave will be blotted up then virtually disappear as just another faceless, characterless section of criss-crossed streets within an ever burgeoning Ottawa

·     suburbia is not a sustainable concept – faceless houses and town-homes are unlikely to survive when the end of oil begins –see A Crude Awakening – the Oil Crash and http://the-end-of-oil.com

 

 

 

169

 

 

·     don’t understand why developer has mandate to override the will of the local residents- there is no desire to change the plan – why is the City wasting time and money pursuing it further

·     surprised that Minto was allowed to go forward with building a home on the property before the plan was approved

 

170

 

·     Barrhaven and Riverside South – no new roads built to support the development – delays in addressing key infrastructure and core services

·     Bridge, Main and Bankfield are now untenable – doubling the size of the village should not happen

·     Before traffic gets to 416 interchange – there will be tie ups leaving Century Rd, old 16, Main St. Mitch Owens and along River Road – there is not a hope these roads can be improved to accommodate new homeowners 

·     There are no sewers and water – studies reveal that cost to citizens could be any thousands of dollars

·     Development will damage Mud Creek and conservation area

·     Negative effect of traffic from construction of sewer and water and  development itself

·     Just because Minto bought large tract of land to make higher profit using higher densities – the community should not have to pay the price.

·     If need more space for people consider space west of old Highway 16

171

·     Do not accept changes to the original wording of the secondary plan – it was not the intent to put 2,000 homes on the property

·     Plan will kill the heritage of the village

 

 

 

172

·     maintain 250 houses

·     should conform with current houses – 1-2 acre lots

·     not in favour of variety of homes or allowing 1600-2000 homes by 2020

Here are some of the concerns we have regarding this proposal:

1.  Traffic and the inability for our roads to handle any further congestion 

2.  Lack of schools and medical facilities to handle the influx in population

3.  Doubling the population of Manotick

4.  Changing the very core of Manotick.  This is not why we chose to live in Manotick.

·      

 

 

173

Here are some of the concerns we have regarding this proposal:

1.  Traffic and the inability for our roads to handle any further congestion 

2.  Lack of schools and medical facilities to handle the influx in population

3.  Doubling the population of Manotick

·                     4.  Changing the very core of Manotick.  This is not why we chose to live in Manotick.

·                     Notwithstanding Minto's efforts at landscaping and house design, adding 1800 housing units would greatly exceed this limit and would destroy the "village" character.

· The density of dwellings (townhomes and stacked townhomes) is not needed in Manotick.  A limited number in the core as envisaged by the Secondary Plan is appropriate; the need for any more can be met by Barrhaven or Riverside South that are already only 5 minutes away (and getting closer by the year).

 

·               The transportation infrastructure cannot currently handle the existing demands and, notwithstanding the predicted infrastructure enhancements and the Minto/Delcan study (that is open to criticism and, even with the optimistic projections and assumptions, doesn't support 1800 units), the problem will only continue to get worse.  As someone who drives up Prince of Wales to downtown everyday, the traffic situation has gotten significantly worse with the development of Barrhaven, and would continue to do so at an increased rate with the addition of Minto Mahogany.

· The recreation facilities are already maxed out.  As examples, already residents are having to join recreation leagues in Kemptville to gain access to facilities and the local soccer association has had to develop its own soccer facilities.

 

 

Should the City or the OMB not listen to the existing residents of Manotick, then Minto Mahogany's plan should be restricted as much as possible to reflect the following:

 

·   Reduce the overall number of dwellings.

·    Reduce the number of townhomes or stacked townhomes.

·    Extend the buffer of "estate-like" homes several rows back/south from the existing Manotick Estates.

·   Permit only pedestrian/bicycle connections between Minto Mahogany and the existing Manotick Estates (as is currently the case between Whitewood and Potter/Pettapiece).  Notwithstanding the identification of a road through at Carrison/Watterson in the Secondary Plan, no road connections should be permitted as the residential roads in Manotick Estates are already travelled at high speeds and volumes.

·     Not permit development until the Minto/Delcan transportation analysis is properly challenged (e.g., third party review) and its assumptions accepted as reasonable.

·     Not permit development until the transportation infrastructure is in place (or at least committed to with an assurance it will proceed)

174

 

 

 

·     wants to be notified

175

·     density is too great for the area- does not take into consideration current nature and design of the village

·     failure to adhere to secondary plan guidelines to allow for gradual transition between Manotick Estates and along Main Street

·     traffic studies show road infrastructure is at capacity – Minto proposal will add to the problem

·     traffic study does not detail how Strandherd Bridge will alleviate traffic problems – planners should wait to determine actual effects

·     traffic study does not take into effect RCMP headquarters to the vicinity – how will that effect traffic on Bridge Street

·     failure to address impact on access to recreational facilities such as arena, sports fields , library etc.

·     connections to Potter Drive will increase traffic not designed for 1800 homes – Potter is already used as a short cut.

·     How will residents be compensated for being forced to connect to sewer and water

·     Development will increase already high property taxes

·     Failure to use up to date maps which de-emphasises impact of residents on Watterson

·     Failure to maintain present level for emergency services

 

176

·     higher density will destroy character of village

·     urban sprawl to benefit developers

·     traffic problem not successfully addressed

·     water/sewer situation and possible alternatives is a non-discussed issue

 

·     impression that City Hall wants to sell off or out without real concern as to what Manotick wants or needs

177

·     West Manotick Community Association and the municipal Councillor appear to purport that the Minto lands were intended for 250 houses  -this is absurd – why would the secondary plan have stipulated services for this 480 acre parcel because you would have almost 2 acre lots?

·     Minto land has been designated for more than a decade – 1997 version of the plan contemplated 1800 dwelling units

·     2020 plan – grow in villages – better than estate lots on perimeter

·     Proliferation of estate lots and large homes has taken way from village character

·     Residents have long desired alternative housing options – seniors and young families

·     Secondary plan contemplated densities different from the Estates- density should reflect village core not islands of seclusion

·     Manotick has been grappling with water and sewer issues for almost 2 decades – the solution is to bring the big pipe – it would be irresponsible to contemplate anything else

·     Truck traffic will be diverted on Strandherd Bridge is built

·     Having entrances on Century, Main and First Line will help disperse traffic

·     Should ensure there is a link to connect Mahogany to the Estates

·     Emphasis on higher densities will force people to walk

·     recreation infrastructure may not be able to handle new population – arena hall is already below standard – perhaps schools could incorporate some accessible features and amenities

·     applaud allocation of parkland and preservation

·     protection of both sides of creek corridors is superior to lack of foresight in Estates development

 

Staff Response:

The issues and concerns raised by the public are summarized and addressed in the report – see the Section entitled “Issues/Concerns Raised by the Community”.

 

F)   OTHER COMMENTS

 

Following the Community Meeting that was held to present the City’s initial reactions to the Minto proposal, the City received detailed comments from Brian Miller on the Transportation Overview prepared by Delcan and the peer review undertaken by NCR/Genivar.  Mr. Millar recently retired from the Traffic Operations Division of the City of Ottawa's Traffic and Parking Operations Branch.  Mike O’Neil (President of Manotick Community Association) also provided comments on the transportation infrastructure.

 

i) Comments from Brian Millar

I submit these comments as the personal opinions of a private citizen and as a layperson however I do have significant knowledge in this field. I hold a Master's Degree from Queen's University in Transportation Engineering and I have over 33 years experience working as a Traffic Engineer in traffic control and traffic operations including review of traffic impact studies. I recently retired from the position of Program Manager, Traffic Engineering with the Traffic Operations Division of the City of Ottawa's Traffic and Parking Operations Branch.

 

These comments are based on my review of the Delcan's traffic study and the NCE/GENIVAR Peer Review of that study and my attendance at a number of the public meetings regarding the Manotick development.

 

On reviewing the Delcan study I have very serious concerns about the intersections of Bridge and Main and the intersection of Bridge/River/Mitch Owens. While it is true transfer of traffic to the Strandherd Bridge will reduce the volume of traffic using certain movements at these intersections it will also increase other movements. For example in the PM peak traffic southbound on Prince of Wales crossing at Strandherd rather than Manotick would reduce the southbound left turn movement at Bridge and Main but it would increase the total southbound traffic approaching the Bridge/River/Mitch Owens intersection.   It is not clear that the Delcan report took this into account in the analysis. The NCE/GENIVAR report (Appendix A page 7) also raised this criticism.

 

The Delcan report (page 24) projects that 40% of the traffic generated by the development will pass through the Bridge and Main St intersection and 25% will pass through the Bridge /River /Mitch Owens intersection. As per Table 5 these intersection are already currently operating at capacity and cannot accommodate any increase in demand for their critical movements. Even after accounting for the effect of the construction of the Strandherd Bridge the proposed development will add significant traffic to these intersections. The impact of this is clearly indicated in the summary of projected conditions presented in Appendix C. This table shows Bridge and Main St operating at a volume to capacity ratio of 1.38 and Bridge and River operating at 1.25. The City's Traffic Impact Study Guidelines specify a maximum operating volume to capacity ratio of 0.9 for areas outside the City's core. Thus even with the Strandherd Bridge in place traffic demand at these intersections will exceed operating capacity by 53% and 39% respectively. It is not clear if this table is meant to represent the impact of 1800 or 1400 units. If it is meant to represent 1800 units why has a table for 1400 units not been presented since this is the level of development the report recommends? Even if the Table in Appendix C is meant to represent 1800 units I estimate that at 1400 units demand at these intersections would still exceed operating capacity by approximately 47% and 35% respectively. Appendix A (page 7) of the NCE/GENIVAR report states that locations in/near the central area of the village offer little or no opportunity for modification to increase capacity. Thus the impact of even 1400 units will be severe congestion and long queues of vehicles north and south on Main St, east and west across Bridge St extending onto Mitch Owens and clogging River Road. Not only will this degree of congestion impose huge delay and inconvenience on the citizens of Manotick as well as others using these roads, but it will also seriously threaten the ability of emergency vehicles to respond to emergencies on the Island or indeed to any emergency requiring their vehicles to use the Bridge St crossing. It is important to remember that the Bridge St crossing is a single lane. On the structures there is not sufficient boulevard/shoulder width for an emergency vehicle to pass by queued vehicles, they would simply be stuck in the congestion with nowhere to go.

 

The NCE/GENIVAR report criticizes the Delcan report for using a trip generation rate that is too low, using a growth rate for background traffic that is too low and also for inappropriate distribution of traffic at specific locations. All of these factors will combine to make traffic conditions even worse than described in the paragraph above. This is especially important as delay and congestion increase exponentially with minor increases in demand when volume to capacity ratios are high. That is minor underestimations of demand mean major underestimations of delay and congestion.

The analysis has not specifically accounted for the imminent big box retail development in the Bridge St and River Rd vicinity as well as potential development on the north side of Bankfield Rd. At the 30 Oct meeting the representative from NCE/GENIVAR said this traffic is accounted for in the estimate of background traffic growth. I strongly reject this statement. We all know the volume of traffic big box developments generate and it is my opinion that even the growth rate suggested by NCE/GENIVAR does not come close to accounting for this type of traffic. 

 

Residents of Manotick have always looked to the Strandherd Bridge to relieve current congestion on the Manotick crossing. Councillor Brookes has repeatedly spoke of the relief the Strandherd Bridge will bring to Manotick. Also at the public meetings regarding the Minto project the impression has been left that the Strandherd Bridge is the solution to the traffic problems that the Minto development will cause.

 

The truth is that this development will negate any relief that Manotick was anticipating. As explained in my comments above the Minto generated traffic will consume any capacity freed up by the Strandherd Bridge, and then some, with the result that congestion in Manotick will be much worse than it is today even with the Strandherd Bridge. Furthermore I question the degree to which the Strandherd Bridge will attract traffic away from the Manotick crossing. The EMME/3 model used by NCE/GENIVAR to verify Delcan's estimate of the amount of traffic diverted is a very high macro level analysis tool. It does not replicate detailed intersection operations and delays which strongly determine network performance and driver decisions about route choice. Congestion at the intersections on either end of the Strandherd Bridge will encourage some drivers to use the Manotick crossing. Ultimately a traffic equilibrium will be established between the two crossings tending to equalize the delay between the two crossings. We should remember how quickly the Hunt Club crossing became congested after it was built and realize how quickly congestion at Strandherd will drive traffic back to Manotick. Another factor that will always continue to attract traffic to the Manotick crossing is it's direct connection to HWY 416. Also the Manotick crossing links more directly into the City's rural arterial network (Mitch Owens) which has come to function as a ring road around the City.

 

The Delcan report proposes a number of intersection modifications to address congestion generated by Minto traffic at intersections other than those discussed above. The Delcan report presents table 8 on page 19 which links these improvements to specific levels of development however as pointed out in the NCE/GENIVAR report (Appendix A page 7) no analysis is presented to support the linkage described in the table. More importantly and again as pointed out by the NCE/GENIVAR report (page 3) these improvements are completely dependant on future City budgets. Given the current fiscal problems at the City it is hard to imagine that they will ever be built. 

 

As was pointed out at the 30 Oct meeting the Minto generated traffic will have a huge impact on downstream communities especially those in the Prince of Wales corridor and River Rd/Riverside South Communities. These Communities must be consulted on this development, especially in view of the recent Albion Rd controversy.

 

Section 1.0 of the NCE/GENIVAR report states that the Minto Development Concept Plan (DCP) is consistent with the City's Official Plan and Manotick's Secondary Plan. I challenge both of these statements. The City's Transportation Master Plan (part of the Official Plan) contains policies which clearly discourage automobile oriented development i.e. large bedroom communities located substantial distances from employment centers and requiring expensive expansions of infrastructure to service them. This is clearly what Minto is proposing. Given Manotick's existing poor modal split it cannot be argued that the Minto development will be any more transit oriented than Manotick currently is. The Transportation Master Plan contains policies against production of greenhouse gases. Auto oriented development is in conflict with these policies, especially considering the levels of congestion this development will create.

 

Manotick’s Secondary Plan provides for a maximum of 250 additional dwellings to be built in Manotick by the year 2020.  Minto's DCP is clearly in conflict with the Secondary Plan. This fact is strongly supported by Councillor Brooks.

 

Section 1.0 of the NCE/GENIVAR report also states that an objective of the DCP is to achieve acceptable transportation service within the community, clearly this objective will not be achieved.

 

If permitted to proceed as currently proposed the Minto development will drastically change the character of Manotick. With its population doubled it will no longer be the beautiful village it is today. People chose to live here because they did not wish to live in the dense bedroom type community Minto is proposing.  Attendance at public meetings regarding this project has been astounding and probably unprecedented by any other development proposal. The April 24 meeting at the arena attracted over 1700 people, close to 1000 attended the meeting on 30 Oct. Those in attendance were united in their opposition to the plan as put forward. Given that Manotick currently has only 1750 residences it can be conservatively concluded from these attendance numbers that at least 2/3 to 3/4 of Manotick's residents are strongly against this proposal. The City must do everything it possibly can to support the strongly and clearly expressed wishes, views and dreams of this Community.

 

As promised in the second last slide of your 30 Oct presentation could you please include these comments in the ARCA report.

 

Brian Millar  P. Eng

1306 Bankfield Rd

Manotick

 

ii)  Comments from Mike O’Neil – Manotick Community Association

Not to mention the impact of ongoing residential development that is already ongoing in Riverside South, Stonebridge and Mattamy / Half Moon Bay (Barrhaven) that will only lead to additional traffic through Manotick. Why is the City approving these new subdivision developments without associated infrastructure? In my mind, it's all about tax money and development charges to subsidize transportation planning myopia that has been ongoing for years. The City needs to adopt a 'build transportation infrastructure before the residents arrive' model that in the long run will save taxpayers money because of forever escalating construction costs. Building appropriate transportation infrastructure 5-10 years after subdivisions have been built is costing us mega-millions (and nobody factors in the waste of gas energy and the impact on the environment that rush hour congestion causes daily because we don't have the roads to deal with the traffic). The subdivisions mentioned above will introduce over 10,000 new residential units to the southern area in the next 5 years. Everybody seems to think that these subdivisions will use the Strandherd Bridge once it is built but that is not realistic given the locations for these new subdivisions and the various options to travel north-south or east-west. My expectation is that the Strandherd Bridge and associated roadways will turn into another Hunt Club within 1-2 years of being built. Also, what do we do in the meantime while the Strandherd Bridge project is being pushed back because of budget cuts and transportation implementation delays. The south end is getting nothing for transportation in the 2008 budget deliberations to date. Less than 18 months ago the Strandherd Bridge project was to be fast-tracked for 2009 and now we are talking about 2011-2014! What a mess. It's time that the parochial interests of ward councillors be put aside so that we can deal with this city-wide transportation debacle. Just because east-west transportation planning was screwed up miserably over many years doesn't mean we need to repeat the same errors in the south end. To say I am frustrated with the inconsistencies in the City's planning decisions is an understatement.

 

(Second e-mail)

Thanks. However, it doesn't answer my fundamental question about why the City approves these subdivisions without appropriate transportation infrastructure and public facilities. As the person responsible for infrastructure / public services, your response just reinforces my belief that critical planning / budget decisions get shuffled around within the City bureaucracy until they finally get approved because the corporate memory has moved on to other more pressing priorities of the day and the immediate revenues to be realized from revenue generators like new subdivision approvals are too large to ignore any longer. As subdivision approval delays persist, volunteer CA members get demoralized while developers increasingly step up the pressure to get their plans of subdivision approved or end up threatening the City with the OMB card. In the case of Manotick and the Minto Mahogany subdivision, that is where we are heading. Hopefully, Ms. Schepers will provide us with some insight into why we approve these large subdivisions without appropriate infrastructure / facilities.

It has become painfully obvious to me over the past few years that city amalgamations occurred just after the millennium to somehow address the fact that cities like Ottawa were broke and had no new sources of revenues to deal with their spending requirements. It hasn't helped that the federal government (the City of Ottawa's largest tenant!) continues to pay lip service to developing a benefits-driven assistance program with well-defined rules / process guidelines to help Canadian cities fix their decaying infrastructure issues before a major catastrophe occurs like the bridge collapse that occurred in Minneapolis earlier this year. Mr. Flaherty was very eloquent in his comments earlier this week and did the Conservative Party a world of good as he sits on a $14B surplus and offers each working Canadian a tax cut next year. All Canadians come to the 'big cities' for vacations, business, shopping and entertainment so why aren't we spending the money to make these cities more convenient to travel in and enjoy for both residents and visitors?

 The sooner government bureaucracies at all three levels adopt a 'build transportation & facility infrastructure before the subdivisions arrive' model, the more money cities will save in the long run and the less traffic stress / inconvenience will be experienced by exasperated city residents / visitors who are fed up with the lack of effective planning for 'urban sprawl' that consistently leads to insufficient transportation infrastructure and public facilities. And I am also positive that larger developers like Minto, Mattamy and others would be more than willing to do these infrastructure / facility upgrades with the development charges they fork out to the cities years in advance of these upgrades actually taking place. How can you not save money with forever rising construction costs and also significantly reduce environmental / traffic issues with that approach! Again, just my personal thoughts but many city residents that I have talked to in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and elsewhere are thinking the same way.

 

Staff Response

National Capital Engineering/Genivar, the consulting firm that did the peer review of the Transportation Overview prepared by Delcan, has prepared the following response to the concerns raised by Brian Miller and Mike O’Neil regarding the Transportation Overview:

 

NCE Limited

A Division of GENIVAR

15 Fitzgerald Road, Suite 100

Ottawa, Ontario K2H 9G1

Telephone (613) 829-2800

Fax (613) 829-8299

www.genivar.com

 
 
Memorandum

 

 

 

 

 

To:

Myles Mahon, City of Ottawa

From:

Christopher Gordon, P. Eng.

CC:

Steven Stoddard, City of Ottawa

Date:

January 9, 2009

Project:

Peer Review Mahogany Community

Project No.:

2007-055

Client Project No.:

 

Re:

Response to inquiries from Mr. Mike O’Neil and Mr. Brian Millar

 

Mr. Mahon,

 

As part of the City’s consultation process for the Mahogany Community DCP, emails were submitted from Mr. Mike O’Neil, Manotick Community Association President, and Mr. Brian Millar, resident of Manotick and former Program Manager of Traffic Engineering with the City of Ottawa.  This memorandum summarizes and responds to Mr. O’Neil’s and Mr. Millar’s comments as they relate to the Peer Review conducted by our group.  Appended to this document are detailed explanations and answers to the technical questions posed by Mr. Millar.  The appended document was authored by Delcan, Minto’s transportation consultant.

 

As a general comment to both submissions, the Mahogany Community Transportation Overview prepared by Delcan Corporation reflects the high level nature of the CDP and is intended to present preliminary conclusions regarding the appropriateness of the Mahogany Community from a transportation perspective.  A more detailed examination of the transportation impacts and needs will be required as part of the future planning process to support the various stages of development including the submission of Transportation Impact Analyses (TIA).   It is required that any subsequent TIA be completed in a manner that is consistent with Council approved guidelines, considering both the subject development and any other approved developments within the impact area. The detailed TIAs will be required to thoroughly assess the impact of the development upon the existing roadway network as well as identify required improvements (for each stage).  Additional opportunities to comment on the detailed TIA’s will be available.

 

Submissions from Mr. Mike O’Neil

 

Email No. 1

 

From: Mike O'Neil [mailto:mike.oneil@nortak.com]
Sent: November 21,2007 5:13 PM
To: Brooks, Glenn; Brian Millar
Cc: Hodges, Sandra; Hewitt, Richard; Manconi, John; rbrooks3140@sympatico.ca; Brian.Tansley@gmail.com; O'Brien, Larry; Harder, Jan; Deans, Diane; Desroches, Steve; McRae, Maria
Subject: RE: Minto Development - Manotick

 

Not to mention the impact of ongoing residential development that is already ongoing in Riverside South, Stonebridge and Mattamy / Half Moon Bay (Barrhaven) that will only lead to additional traffic through Manotick. Why is the City approving these new subdivision developments without associated infrastructure? In my mind, it's all about tax money and development charges to subsidize transportation planning myopia that has been ongoing for years. The City needs to adopt a 'build transportation infrastructure before the residents arrive' model that in the long run will save taxpayers money because of forever escalating construction costs. Building appropriate transportation infrastructure 5-10 years after subdivisions have been built is costing us mega-millions (and nobody factors in the waste of gas energy and the impact on the environment that rush hour congestion causes daily because we don't have the roads to deal with the traffic). The subdivisions mentioned above will introduce over 10,000 new residential units to the southern area in the next 5 years. Everybody seems to think that these subdivisions will use the Strandherd Bridge once it is built but that is not realistic given the locations for these new subdivisions and the various options to travel north-south or east-west. My expectation is that the Strandherd Bridge and associated roadways will turn into another Hunt Club within 1-2 years of being built. Also, what do we do in the meantime while the Strandherd Bridge project is being pushed back because of budget cuts and transportation implementation delays. The south end is getting nothing for transportation in the 2008 budget deliberations to date. Less than 18 months ago the Strandherd Bridge project was to be fast-tracked for 2009 and now we are talking about 2011-2014! What a mess. It's time that the parochial interests of ward councillors be put aside so that we can deal with this city-wide transportation debacle. Just because east-west transportation planning was screwed up miserably over many years doesn't mean we need to repeat the same errors in the south end. To say I am frustrated with the inconsistencies in the City's planning decisions is an understatement.

 

Mike O'Neil

 President, Manotick Community Association

 

Email No. 2

 

From: Mike O'Neil [mailto:mike.oneil@nortak.com]
Sent: November 23, 2007 3:05 PM
To: Schepers, Nancy; Hewitt, Richard; Brooks, Glenn
Cc: bmillar@magma.ca; Stevenson, Bonnie; Desroches, Steve; Harder, Jan; O'Brien, Larry
Subject: RE: Minto Development - Manotick

 

Thanks. However, it doesn't answer my fundamental question about why the City approves these subdivisions without appropriate transportation infrastructure and public facilities. As the person responsible for infrastructure / public services, your response just reinforces my belief that critical planning / budget decisions get shuffled around within the City bureaucracy until they finally get approved because the corporate memory has moved on to other more pressing priorities of the day and the immediate revenues to be realized from revenue generators like new subdivision approvals are too large to ignore any longer. As subdivision approval delays persist, volunteer CA members get demoralized while developers increasingly step up the pressure to get their plans of subdivision approved or end up threatening the City with the OMB card. In the case of Manotick and the Minto Mahogany subdivision, that is where we are heading. Hopefully, Ms. Schepers will provide us with some insight into why we approve these large subdivisions without appropriate infrastructure / facilities.

 

It has become painfully obvious to me over the past few years that city amalgamations occurred just after the millennium to somehow address the fact that cities like Ottawa were broke and had no new sources of revenues to deal with their spending requirements. It hasn't helped that the federal government (the City of Ottawa's largest tenant!) continues to pay lip service to developing a benefits-driven assistance program with well-defined rules / process guidelines to help Canadian cities fix their decaying infrastructure issues before a major catastrophe occurs like the bridge collapse that occurred in Minneapolis earlier this year. Mr. Flaherty was very eloquent in his comments earlier this week and did the Conservative Party a world of good as he sits on a $14B surplus and offers each working Canadian a tax cut next year. All Canadians come to the 'big cities' for vacations, business, shopping and entertainment so why aren't we spending the money to make these cities more convenient to travel in and enjoy for both residents and visitors?

 

The sooner government bureaucracies at all three levels adopt a 'build transportation & facility infrastructure before the subdivisions arrive' model, the more money cities will save in the long run and the less traffic stress / inconvenience will be experienced by exasperated city residents / visitors who are fed up with the lack of effective planning for 'urban sprawl' that consistently leads to insufficient transportation infrastructure and public facilities. And I am also positive that larger developers like Minto, Mattamy and others would be more than willing to do these infrastructure / facility upgrades with the development charges they fork out to the cities years in advance of these upgrades actually taking place. How can you not save money with forever rising construction costs and also significantly reduce environmental / traffic issues with that approach! Again, just my personal thoughts but many city residents that I have talked to in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and elsewhere are thinking the same way.

 

Mike O'Neil

President, Manotick CA 

 

Response to Email Nos. 1 and 2:

 

While there may appear to be a delay in the construction of transportation infrastructure to accommodate a growing community, the system whereby development charges are collected, pooled and budgeted does provide the most equitable and affordable sequence.  For example, if a full 4-lane arterial roadway was constructed in advance of a development (and front ended by developers), there would be a significant added initial cost that would be passed on to home buyers.  Alternatively, if the City elected to construct the roadway, the high capital cost to construct the arterial would place such an enormous amount of strain on City finances.  As such, while the development charges bylaw and the Planning Act, which governs the manner in which Cities grow are complicated, they have evolved to ensure any approved growth is sustainable and equitable to local residents and the City as a whole.

 

Submission from Mr. Brian Millar

 

Statement No. 1:

 

The analysis has not specifically accounted for the imminent big box retail development in the Bridge St and River Rd vicinity as well as potential development on the north side of Bankfield Rd. At the 30 Oct meeting the representative from NCE/GENIVAR said this traffic is accounted for in the estimate of background traffic growth. I strongly reject this statement. We all know the volume of traffic big box developments generate and it is my opinion that even the growth rate suggested by NCE/GENIVAR does not come close to accounting for this type of traffic. 

 

Response No. 1:

 

There exists some ambiguity in the question regarding the background traffic growth and the response provided on October 30th.  To clarify, background traffic growth is included in the analysis to reflect the general increase in travel demand from influences outside of the study area. The influences are developments that are unknown or those whose draft concepts have not been presented to the City.  However, if the land is within the urban area, some zoning has been assumed and is considered in the regional traffic model.

 

As for the potential for a big box outlet to be located on the east side of Manotick, it is premature to comment as there has been no formal development application received by the City.  However, the impacts of any commercial development would be assessed in accordance with the City’s approved Transportation Impact Assessment Guidelines.

 

Statement No. 2:

 

Section 1.0 of the NCE/GENIVAR report states that the Minto Development Concept Plan (DCP) is consistent with the City's Official Plan and Manotick's Secondary Plan. I challenge both of these statements. The City's Transportation Master Plan (part of the Official Plan) contains policies which clearly discourage automobile oriented development i.e. large bedroom communities located substantial distances from employment centers and requiring expensive expansions of infrastructure to service them. This is clearly what Minto is proposing. Given Manotick's existing poor modal split it cannot be argued that the Minto development will be any more transit oriented than Manotick currently is. The Transportation Master Plan contains policies against production of greenhouse gases. Auto oriented development is in conflict with these policies, especially considering the levels of congestion this development will create.

 

Response No. 2:

 

The statement made in Section 1.0 of the Peer Review is intended to indicate that undertaking the exercise of producing a DCP is in line with the OP and Secondary Plan.  This statement is not intended to either support or reject the content of the DCP, simply to acknowledge that carrying out the work was prescribed in the OP and Secondary Plan.

 

Statement No. 3:

 

Section 1.0 of the NCE/GENIVAR report also states that an objective of the DCP is to achieve acceptable transportation service within the community, clearly this objective will not be achieved.

 

Response No. 3:

 

Similarly, the statement made in Section 1.0 of the Peer Review is a general statement and describes the goal of the study.  From a technical perspective, the DCP exercise will result in a development where the community goals, including transportation, will be met.

 

 

Staff Response

The concerns raised by Brian Miller were forwarded to Declan.  Delcan has provided the following response: