Old Ottawa East Community Association and Regional Group Agree to Settlement

On February 18, 2020, the Old Ottawa East Community Association (the Association) and Regional Group (Regional) and the City of Ottawa agreed to a settlement – subject to ratification from the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal – respecting two Notices of Appeal filed by the Association in relation to, respectively, the Official Plan Amendment 228 (OPA 228) and Zoning By-law 2019-258, which effected changes in relation to the Greystone Village Development (the Development) on Main Street, including changes to the Old Ottawa East Secondary Plan (the Secondary Plan).
While the settlement, which was approved by the Association’s Board of Directors, does not address all Association concerns, the Board concluded that it represents a reasonable compromise between the Association and Regional. Of particular note, the proposed Building 2B of the Development, at 10 Oblats Avenue, will be limited to eight storeys, rather than the nine stores permitted by OPA 228. In addition, the amended direction in the Secondary Plan to permit building up to nine storeys in height for medium-rise buildings in the Development has been eliminated and replaced with specific height restrictions that better reflect the community’s objectives as set out in the Secondary Plan. As a result, buildings immediately in front of the Deschâtelets Residence will be limited to four storeys and any building behind Deschâtelets will not be visible from the sidewalk on Main Street, looking down the Grande Allée, thus preserving the viewscape of the Deschâtelets Residence.
The settlement, which amends the height schedule in the zoning by-law to permit an eight-storey development at the Building 2B site and amends the Secondary Plan to include height maximums, by area, will allow the Development, which represents an important milestone in the history of our community, to proceed while saving the Association and Regional the time, effort, resources and uncertainty associated with litigation.
During the appeal process, Regional reached out to the Association to inquire whether a compromise could be achieved, which led the way to finding a resolution satisfactory to both parties. The Association appreciates Regional’s desire to find a common solution to the issues raised in the appeals, and it looks forward to continued dialogue with Regional about this important development in Old Ottawa East.
The appeals would not have been possible or successful without the broad moral and financial support of many people in the community, including those who donated funds to the fund-raising efforts, for which the Association is grateful. The Association also extends its sincerest thanks to members of its working group and negotiating committee, who volunteered substantial time and effort to this process, as well as to Kristi Ross for her legal guidance and representation in this matter, which was essential to this positive outcome for all parties. Finally we would like to express thanks to our councillor, Shawn Menard, for his support throughout this process.