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
Ref N°:ACS2011-CMR-LEG-0010 |
ACS
SUBJECT:
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OBJET:
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Règlement sur l’affectation de
terrains à la création de parcs |
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.
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.
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.
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 20th, 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 21st, 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 20th,
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 28th, 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
N/A
N/A
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report.
N/A
N/A
There are no financial implications with the approval of the recommendation in this report.
Document 1- proposed Parks Dedication By-law
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
BY-LAW NO.
2011 -
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
A by-law of the City of Ottawa (the “City”)
to publicly dedicate lands identified on either
www.ottawa.ca from time to time as parks
or parkland (the “Lands”) as City parks
intended to be used and enjoyed by the
residents of the City for public recreation
purposes.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Enacted by City Council at its
meeting
of , 2011.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
LEGAL SERVICES
CT/mm
COUNCIL AUTHORITY:
City Council , 2011