Note: these articles were published earlier in our newsletter that is delivered door to door in Fisher Heights. Some articles are slightly adjusted.
Residential listing hints at commercial use
A potential zoning issue is highlighted in the Realtor.ca listing (as of May 28) offering for sale a house on Deer Park Road at the northwest corner of Meadowlands.
The house is the side split model common in the neighbourhood, built in 1961.
The asking price is $829,900 , but a reference in the listing states that its location, as a corner lot abutting Meadowlands, makes it “prime for future commercial zoning (to be verified).”
If that rezoning occurred, it would introduce an isolated commercial use in the middle of an established residential area (known as “spot” rezoning), and might set a precedent for future hop-scotching of new commercial-use islands in seas of residences along Meadowlands.
This issue is theoretical at the moment, as any rezoning request would involve a review by city planning staff and, assuming the new ward councillor is as diligent in this regard as Coun. Egli, meaningful consultation with the community and the community association.
Confederation Heights master plan
Canada Lands Company, the federal agency responsible for the development and redevelopment of vacant, underused or aging federal real estate, has embarked on a Confederation Heights master plan.
It held a second set of public meetings recently, and during it the CLC presented its “vision and guiding principles,” and seek input on the design approach.
Wikipedia has an interesting history of the area, which is bounded by the Rideau River, Data Centre Road, the VIA tracks and Brookfield Road / Hog’s Back Road. Up to the middle 1950s, the area had been a combination of woods, farmland, quarry and the Merkley Brick Yard, which was expropriated in 1954. Three buildings constituted the original Heights at the corner of Riverside Drive and Heron Road. One was the Post Office HQ (SE), on the same side as the current building; the Charles Tupper Building (SW), then and now HQ of the various renamed departments that are now Public Services and Procurement Canada; and the Leonard Tilley Building (NE), originally HQ of the Communications Security Establishment. Later came the original CBC HQ and the continuing Canada Revenue Agency data centre and Health Canada laboratories, and the RA Centre.
The Tilley and CBC buildings have been vacant for many years, and the Tupper building is showing its age.
City seeks feedback on many issues
On the City of Ottawa’s Engage web site (https://engage.ottawa.ca), there are many projects underway where the City is looking for feedback. Relevant documents are also located there if residents are interested in specific projects.
To name a few, there are updates on the Climate Resiliency Strategy; the Community Emergency Management Tool Kit; the Ottawa Recreation, Culture and Physical Activity Survey; the High-Performance Development Standard for Buildings; the Transportation Master Plan; the Waste Master Plan; and the Ottawa Hospital Master Visit the website to see what’s all there!
Fisher Heights & Area Community Association 