Report to/Rapport au :

Community and Protective Services Committee

Comité des services communautaires et de protection

and Council / et au Conseil

21 April 2011 / le 21 avril 2011

Submitted by/Soumis par : Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint, City Operations/Opérations municipals and

M. Rick O’Connor, City Clerk and Solicitor/Greffier et Chef du Contentieux

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Carey Thomson, Deputy City Solicitor

City Clerk and Solicitor/Greffier et Chef du contentieux

(613) 580-2424 x21365, carey.thomson@ottawa.ca

CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE

Ref N°:ACS2011-CMR-LEG-0010

ACS

SUBJECT:

PARKS DEDICATION BY-LAW

OBJET:

Règlement sur l’affectation de terrains à la création de parcs

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend Council enact the Parks Dedication By-law, attached as Document 1, to formally dedicate all properties listed on the City’s Inventory of Parks as currently posted and periodically updated by City staff on Ottawa.ca, as parkland and to declare that such property be used for public recreation purposes.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des services communautaires et de protection recommande au Conseil d’adopter le Règlement sur l’affectation de terrains à la création de parcs, présenté ci-joint comme document 1, visant à désigner officiellement tous les terrains présentement inscrits comme espace vert dans l’inventaire des parcs de la Ville, qui est régulièrement mis à jour par le personnel de la Ville sur ottawa.ca, et de déclarer que ces terrains soient utilisés pour les loisirs publics.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this report is to provide a joint response from the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and the City Clerk and Solicitor Departments on a recommended Parks Dedication By-law that was approved in principle by the Community and Protective Services Committee on January 20, 2011, as a result of its consideration of the Parks Dedication By-law Options Report (ACS2011-COS-PRC-001). The disposition of Committee on January 20, 2011 was as follows:

That City staff be directed to prepare a Parks Dedication By-law that would formally dedicate all properties listed on the City’s Inventory of Parks, as currently posted and periodically updated by staff on Ottawa.ca, as parkland and incorporate an official, public declaration by Council that such property be used for public recreation purposes, and that this By-law be formally listed on a Council agenda for enactment in accordance with Council procedures.

DISCUSSION

Public Declaration of Parks

Council may pursue the enactment of a single by-law that is intended primarily as a public declaration and communication medium to reaffirm the City’s commitment that parkland property be used for public recreational purposes. Such a course of action would allow for a convenient and expeditious process for periodic updating of the inventory of City parks. The by-law could be posted on the City’s website Ottawa.ca and be available for public inspection at all times. The above option would not involve any external costs to the City and could be done solely with existing staff resources.

Subsequent to the disposition of the Community and Protective Services Committee on January 20^th, 201, staff from the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department undertook a review of the inventory of City parks in order to update the listing and to correct anomalies either for the municipal address and/or for the park name. There were approximately one hundred new parks that were added to the inventory. As part of that process, each Ward Councillor was provided with an updated listing of the City parks in his or her Ward and was provided with the opportunity to provide comments back to the Department on or before April 21^st, 2011, the date on which this report is scheduled to be considered by the Community and Protective Services Committee.

The City Clerk and Solicitor Department undertook the drafting of the Parks Dedication By-law attached to this report as Document 1.

In the future, based on a commitment given at the January 20^th, 2011 meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee staff in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department will provide to each Ward Councillor a listing of new parks in his or her Ward prior to them being added to the inventory on Ottawa.ca. This process will allow the Councillor an opportunity to raise any questions or concerns to staff before the park(s) are added to the inventory.

Should a Councillor have any concerns that City property adjoining a park may not be encompassed in the municipal address for the park or, alternatively, that there are other unique or unusual circumstances pertaining to the park, these will be addressed by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department in conjunction with the City Clerk and Solicitor Department. After the matter is addressed satisfactorily, the park(s) can then be added to the inventory on Ottawa.ca.

As an aside, although many parks may have already been dedicated to the City through the subdivision or site plan approval process there is no legal impediment to having those parks added to the inventory of parks at Ottawa.ca and incorporated by reference into the Parks Dedication By-law. The By-law is intended to be a current, official public declaration by Council that all such parkland property is intended to be used for public recreation purposes. As noted in this report, the inventory of parks will be updated regularly by staff in consultation with the respective Ward Councillor.

Although Sylvia Holden Park at 945 Bank Street is currently listed on the inventory of City parks at www.ottawa.ca, it should be noted that Council on June 28^th, 2010, authorized the long-term lease of this property to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) for the mixed use commercial development component of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP). Consequently, at such time as the conditions precedent for the closing of the transaction between the City and OSEG are fulfilled and the Project Agreement and other related agreements between the parties become operative, this park will be removed from the inventory of City parks at Ottawa.ca.

However, at the above-noted meeting Council also protected the park located at 10 Fifth Avenue known as Sylvia Holden Community Park and, alternatively, as Lansdowne Community Park and provided that it would continue to remain under City ownership, management and programming and would also continue as a community park separate and distinct from the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

CONSULTATION

N/A

COMMENTS BY THE WARD COUNCILLOR(S)

N/A

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report.

CITY STRATEGIC PLAN

N/A

TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications with the approval of the recommendation in this report.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1- proposed Parks Dedication By-law

DISPOSITION

Should Council approve this report the City Clerk and Solicitor Department will ensure that the Parks Dedication By-law attached as Document 1, or any amended version of it as a result of Committee and/or Council Motions, is enacted by Council. This report will rise to the April 27, 2011 Council meeting.

Document 1

BY-LAW NO. 2011 -

A by-law of the City of Ottawa (the “City”) to publicly dedicate lands identified on www.ottawa.ca from time to time as either parks or parkland (the “Lands”) as City parks intended to be used and enjoyed by the residents of the City for public recreation purposes.

WHEREAS Parks form an essential part of the greenspace of the City;

AND WHEREAS it has been demonstrated that some lands are being used by communities as a park and are listed on the City’s Inventory of Parkland but have not been formally dedicated as Parks;

AND WHEREAS the City’s Inventory of Parks as currently posted on the City’s website, www.ottawa.ca, indicates there are currently approximately 850 such Lands located within the boundaries of the City and, further, there are approximately another 100 such Lands to be added to the inventory;

AND WHEREAS the Council of the City considers it important to publicly reaffirm its commitment to the residents of the City that such Lands be used and enjoyed by them for public recreation purposes;

THEREFORE the Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:

1. The Council hereby publicly dedicates the Lands identified on www.ottawa.ca from time to time as either parks or parkland to be City parks intended to be used and enjoyed by the residents of the City for public recreation purposes.

2. This by-law shall be effective as of the date of passing.

ENACTED AND PASSED this day of , 2011.

CITY CLERK MAYOR