Vote on Dymon Storage to take place Wednesday January 29

Many residents have never attended a meeting of Ottawa Council, despite the major impact the city of Ottawa has on our lives. It is an activity that should be on anyone’s bucket list, and the Council meeting this coming Wednesday Jan. 29 provides an excellent reason to watch your Council in action.

Strong concerns and opposition

This is because the Council will decide on the immediate fate of the Dymon proposal for a storage warehouse at the corner of Clyde and Baseline. Our ward councillor, Keith Egli, has expressed concerns about the project, and your community association, and two neighbouring community associations, have all expressed their strong opposition.

The proposal was barely approved, by one vote, at the Planning Committee. We hope that city council has a different opinion and will vote against a storage space on an arterial main street.

No public participation

There is no public participation at Council meetings – that occurs at the Committee level – but a visible presence at the Council meeting will show to councillors the firm resolve of the community.

Difficult to predict

The meeting begins at 10 am, Wed Jan. 29, at the Council Chamber at City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. W. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the time this issue will be dealt with because the Mayor will first be presenting his 2020 “State of the City Address”, and there may also first be discussion over the city’s climate change master plan.

It seems likely – but not guaranteed – that the Dymon application will not be addressed before 11 a.m., but it could also be much later, especially if the meeting breaks for lunch before.

Loud orange and red shirt

Despite these caveats, residents who have a flexible schedule Wednesday are invited to attend the meeting, arriving a few minutes before 11:00, say, and watch our local democracy in action. Residents will try to sit together, although that may not be possible if the audience is large.

Doug Yonson will be at the meeting from its beginning, and will be wearing a loud orange and red shirt so that you can identify him. E-mail Doug at yonny@alumni.uwaterloo.ca if you have any questions. If you wish to carpool, please contact Jayne Belanger at jayne.belanger1957@gmail.com

2020 Winter Carnival on February 1

The annual Winter Carnival is the main community event of the winter. Most of the popular features from the past will again be offered.

Two hours of the horse-drawn carriage, the fire pit and marshmallows, snow paint, comfort food and drinks inside the building, all the skating a family can hope for and….

…we have a draw for free Sens tickets donated by K-Promotions, but only for members. The good news is, you can sign up as a member at the table during the carnival if you aren’t yet. Ask for Maria.

The carnival starts at 1 pm and lasts until 4 pm, weather permitting. It is free for all, partly because of a sponsorship by councillor Egli.

The horse drawn carriage will be at the community place for two hours between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm

The whole event is free, and if you are not a member of the community association, we hope you will sign up while there.

Note: There is not much parking, so try to come by foot if you can. The roads are narrower in winter due to the snowbanks and we need the space for the horses as well as leave enough space for the first response staff.

The fire pit is a popular feature

Get involved in your City: Synapcity launches City Lab

In January of 2020, Synapcity will be launching City Lab, inspired by its Civics Boot Camp program.

As you may know, Synapcity’s unique quality is its capacity to bring a diversity of people into the conversation, in a space where they feel safe and where their views are respected. The program will therefore see a diverse group of Ottawans as well as Social Innovation students from Saint Paul University join forces to learn about their city and work collaboratively on different case studies representing actual civic issues facing Ottawa, as identified by Synapcity’s partners.

Interactive and experiential, City Lab is designed for those who want to get involved, learn how the city works and collaborate with others to get their voice heard.

More information

Taking place at Saint Paul University on Tuesday evenings from February 25th to March 31st, 2020, City Lab is a series of six three-hour sessions delivered over six weeks.

Applications are now open and the deadline to apply is February 5th! 

Individuals requiring financial assistance for child care or transportation will receive a weekly stipend.

Looking for a dog walker

Mary Heather White is looking for a dog walker for 4 nights a week from Jan 27 to Feb 13 to do the 7pm (or later) walk (30-45mins). I’m near Minto apts. Great little job for students! Any competent dog walker welcome. Please contact maryhwhite_sl@yahoo.com

January 2020 newsletter is now on line

We just delivered the newsletter to many of the households in our neighbourhood. If you like to peruse it on line, or save it for eternity, we have the newsletters on line too.

Dymon Storage building

In January’s issue, you can read about our ongoing concern about the large building to be built on Clyde in the Merivale Triangle by Dymon Storage and the reasons why we think it might not be the best idea. We encourage to express your thoughts via the information provided in the newsletter.

We believe there is no justification for this kind of spot re-zoning at such a key location. If you agree with us that approval of this warehouse represents POOR PLANNING and LOST OPPORTUNITY, please let our city councillor, Keith Egli, know your views as soon as possible. Send him an email at ward9@ottawa.ca with a cc to us at info.FHACA@gmail.com.

Also in the newsletter

Also in the newsletter: update on our winter carnival on February 1, parking by-laws, walking school program, a call for volunteers to run a butterfly garden in Fisher Heights, an update on the snow moles and much more. Download your January newsletter here.

Ice preparations at 31 Sutton Place

2020 Fisher Heights Skating Rink Opening Times

The maintenance crew of our rink has been working hard to prepare the skating rink behind the Fisher Heights Community Centre at 31 Sutton Place. You can find the opening times below in the schedule for 2020. There is limited parking space, so try to leave the car at home.

FHACA disagrees with city planners on Dymon storage on Clyde

As you may have heard in the news, community associations such as FHACA have been trying to stop the construction of a storage facility on Clyde Ave near Baseline.

Housing instead

We strongly believe that the so called Merivale Triangle should be developed for housing. It is a large piece of land on an arterial main street, which could potentially house thousands of people if developed properly. With the future bus rapid transit corridor on Baseline planned, dense housing near rapid transit would be very much welcomed by us, as it brings much needed housing for residents, increases the tax base and may diminish the demand for personal motorised vehicles as the BRT connects with Line 2 of our LRT system at Mooney’s Bay station. A storage facility on rapid transport corridor is not a very efficient use of the scarce space in our ward.

What is next: Vote at City council

Planning committee however voted in favour for the building. The next step is a vote at city council in January. We hope we can still garner some support to stop this building from being build.

More on the storage wars on the CBC website: Dymon on Clyde and an earlier article on this issue on our website can be found here.