Public Comments on Zoning Bylaw Amendment - 1620 and 1636 Maple Grove Road. Faith Blacquiere. Re: Planning Committee October 24, 2017 / City of Ottawa

1. 1
Planning Committee 24 Oct 2017 Item 6 ZBA 1620 and 1636 Maple Grove Road
Public Comment by Faith Blacquiere 20171023
Parts of the 10 Oct 2017 Staff Report have been extracted and comments have been inserted
Pg 1 REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That Planning Committee recommend Council approve an amendment to Zoning By-law 2008-250 for
1620 and 1636 Maple Grove Road to permit a residential subdivision containing approximately 946
residential units, one
Pg 2 elementary school, one local commercial block and three parks, as detailed in Document 2.
Comment:
1. Why does the Recommendation not include the specific zoning exceptions which require
approval?
2. Pg 4 says “approximately 945 residential units” – why does this differ from the
Recommendation? Why do both say “approximately”?
3. Why does this Recommendation not include the O1 corridor parcels?
4. The Key Zoning Map does not include the 3d park (1560 Maple Grove) which is on the east
side of the Carp River and which is not included as a municipal address in the ZBA
5. Council has been approving a huge number of plans for Fernbank and Kanata West lands,
despite having deferred the required transitway, roads and road widenings which were
supposed to support them. In the immediate area, Council has approved 950 Terry Fox (245
units), 570 Hazeldean (600 units), 590 Hazeldean (700 units), and 5618 Hazeldean (1845
units) is in process. This totals 3,390 units, and with Richcraft’s application will total 4,336
units, all of which are expecting completion within the same timeframe. There are also
many more applications in process or approved which will contribute to the congestion of
roads in this area. The planned infrastructure needs to be in place
6. It is highly unusual for 2 City roads to go through the middle of a commercial development.
The 2 north-south roads go through the Grant Crossing Commercial Area immediately south.
These roads have roundabouts which currently experience heavy traffic from the west end
of the City e.g. on Oct 20, 2017 waiting time at about 11:45am was 9 vehicles at the east
road roundabout. The north-south collector to the west will also be required to handle
school traffic and school busses. Having additional traffic going through this commercial
area to access the Richcraft residential area may impact the businesses as many people will
avoid waiting at roundabouts in what they think is a commercial parking lot. Adding an
additional access from Maple Grove through the Area E Commercial block might help
alleviate the problem
Pg 3 Description of site and surroundings
The 46-hectare property is located on the south side of Maple Grove Road and west of the Carp River, as
shown in Document 1.
Comment:
1. Previous reports have indicated the site was 46ha but this included the Richcraft 1560
Maple Grove parcel east of the Carp River and the and the 1590 Maple Grove Kanata West
Pumping Station site
A public works yard and the Bell Sensplex are located north of the site across Maple Grove Road.
Comment:
1. The Bell Sensplex is only across the road from the 1560 Maple Grove parcel

2. 2
Summary of requested Zoning By-law amendment proposal
The purpose of this application is to rezone the subject lands to accommodate a residential subdivision.
The related subdivision application (D07-16-04-0017 and D07-16-13-0026) was originally submitted in
2004 and given draft approval in December of 2007.
Comment:
1. D07-16-04-0017 was submitted in 2004 and given draft approval in Dec 2007
2. D07-16-13-0026 was submitted in 2013 – see below
A Zoning By-law amendment application was also submitted by the applicant in 2004 which was
appealed by the applicant for failure to make a decision. The proposed zoning of the property has never
been considered by Planning Committee and Council (or the OMB).
Comment:
1. The current ZBA proposal, which is only described in this Staff Report, has to be different
than the 2007 version, which is not available, because of the many decisions which were
made since 2007. The ZBA proposal should have come to Council via the development
applications review process rather than just being placed on the Planning Committee
Agenda
In October of 2013, the applicant submitted an application to revise the Draft Plan of Subdivision and it
was approved on September 13, 2016. Staff are now recommending
Pg 4 that the Zoning By-law amendment in support of the approved Draft Plan of Subdivision be
considered by Planning Committee and Council.
Comment:
1. D07-16-13-0026 is not on the DevApps website, but applications for the adjacent numbers
were submitted 8 Oct 2013 (0025) and 19 Nov 2013 (0027). These dates correspond to the
Plan mentioned on the Fairwinds Community Association webpage dated 13 Dec 2013 at
http://www.fairwindscommunity.com/update-re-new-residential-development-in-our-area/
1620 Maple Grove Road
This is the land east of Fairwinds, south of Maple Grove road and north of the shops at Grant
Crossing. Richcraft Homes has submitted an application to revise the approved Draft Plan of
Subdivision. Approx. 803 total dwelling units are proposed. More info about this subdivision is available on
Shad Qadri’s web site… [Note: this link is no longer active]
2. The Document 5 Draft Plan Revision Table says the Draft Plan was prepared 19 Feb 2015,
with revisions on the 23 Feb 2015, 2 Apr 2015, 29 Sep 2015, 8 Mar 2016, and 7 April 2017.
The Plan would have required the 3 year renewal for the 26 Apr 2012 OMB-approved
version before the 26 Apr 2015.
The 7 Apr 2017 revision means that the 13 Sep 2016 DPSD has been revised, therefore that
approved Plan cannot support the new ZBA. New Draft Conditions will also be required.
These should include registration on title of the potential for odours and surface waste
from the Kanata West Pumping Station
The purpose of the Draft Plan of Subdivision, attached as Document 5, is to create the following:
• Three parks, two adjacent to the Carp River on both sides of the river and one adjacent to Poole Creek;
Comment:
1. The Document 5 Draft Plan and Staff Report Pg 13 Zoning Key Plan has 2 parks. Richcraft’s
1560 Maple Grove parcel was rezoned L2[1932]-h in the 11 July 2012 CRRP OPA/ZBA
process and is not related to the proposed ZBA

3. 3
The majority of the site is currently zoned Development Reserve (DR). A small portion running parallel to
the west side of the Carp River is zoned Development Reserve- Exception 1932-holding (DR[1932]-h).
The removal of the holding symbol (“lifting of the “h”) cannot occur until such time as five conditions
have been met. Once all five conditions have been met, the Zoning By-law may be amended (holding
symbol provision lifted) on the basis of the underlying zone. The five conditions which must be met prior
to the holding zone provision being lifted are as follows:
Pg 5 c. The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority will have issued a permit under Section 28 of the
Conservation Authorities Act for the placement and removal of fill in accordance with the Carp River
Restoration Plan and the Environmental Assessment;
d. Filling of the property and an as-built survey will have been completed to demonstrate that the area is
entirely removed from the flood plain; and
e. At all times, the flood storage capacity of the corridor will be maintained at or above existing
conditions.
Three of the five conditions have been met.
Comment:
1. This only relates to the Carp River Restoration Policy Area. The Richcraft development also
requires the Kanata West Pumping Station to be operational
2. Condition 3 has not been met. The MVCA Permit W15/91 issued on the 22 Sep 2015 (expiry
22 Sep 2017) was for the Kanata West Pumping Station forcemain installation on 1560
Maple Grove (the L2-1932]-h parcel and part of 1620 Maple Grove on the DR[1932]-h
parcel, as well as for works on Poole Creek and Watt’s Creek. MVCA had also issued a
permit for the CRRP Tender works. Neither of these permits would meet the 3d condition,
as Richcraft will be required to obtain an additional permit after the ZBA is approved to
construct Pond 5 and to add fill in the Park and Hazeldean Tributary confluence in the Area F
O1, Area H O1[1932]-h and Area J R3Z[1932]-h parcels. MVCA cannot issue permits for
development applications which do not have the required Planning Act approvals
The R3YY[xxxx] zoning is to incorporate a special provision for back-to-back townhouses and the R4Z
zoning is to permit the development of stacked townhouses and apartment buildings in two areas
adjacent to the future rapid transit corridor.
Comment:
1. A review of the Comprehensive Zoning By-Law Part 15 Exceptions indicates that the R3YY
zoning has been used in the Fairwinds and Arcadia subdivisions, both of which are having
major problems with parking and snow removal. These problems should not be replicated
in the Richcraft development
2. The R4Z parcel at the southwest boundary has only one direct access road which leads to
the Richcraft’s north-south collector. This parcel has no access to the transitway or the
North-South Arterial. The walking distance from the west boundary to Richcraft’s north-
south collector to Hazeldean and west to the proposed transit station exceeds 800m. This
parcel will also add considerable congestion to the Collector in the school loading zone. In
addition, other maps have the transitway width wider than that shown on the Draft Plan
and ZBA.
3. The R4Z parcel at the northwest boundary was formerly a Park. The soils in this area will be
problematic for construction of higher density uses. The Poole Creek pathway system will
not be able to connect to the Fairwinds pathway system due to the transitway and North-
South Arterial and due to the lack of aligned roads between Fairwinds and Richcraft. The
early plans of both of these developers omitted the street connection before the transitway
plans, which provide for flyover areas along the North-South Arterial, were completed. This

4. 4
has also resulted in Richcraft having only 1 north-south collector. The roundabouts in the 2
roads through the Grant Crossing Commercial sites are extremely busy at many times of the
day, and will attract significant traffic due to the school
Public consultation Public consultation of the application was carried out in accordance with the City’s
Public Notification and Consultation Policy. A statutory Public Meeting was held in the community for
the proposed Plan of Subdivision and the subject associated Zoning By-law amendment.
Comment:
1. A Google Search did not result in any public for the 2013 or 13 Sep 2016 Draft Plans. No
DevApps item was found for the DPSD revisions/extensions, as was done for 5831 Hazeldean
on the 21 Aug 2015. No reference was found for a 2004 to 2007 ZBA or a the ZBA OMB appeal.
There has been no public meeting or opportunity for public consultation due to this Oct 2017
ZBA not being published in the media or posted on DevApps. The ZBA first appeared on the
Planning Committee Agenda as a “surprise” application with no supporting documents being
made available. The Richcraft development cannot be built until the Kanata West Pumping
Station and CRRP works are completed, both of which are due for completion in 2018. There
is no reason why this ZBA needs to be approved now. Council should defer the ZBA and
direct staff to undertake the required consultation processes and provide supporting
documents
Public comments received included concerns related to the Carp River restoration project, timing of the
development, timing for the park development and school.
Comment:
1. These comments must be from earlier dates since there was no public consultation process
for the proposed ZBA
A future North-South Arterial road and a rapid transit corridor are planned along the west edge of the
site, and a rapid transit station is proposed immediately south of the site at the corner of the Hazeldean
Road and North-South Arterial (Robert Grant Avenue) intersection.
Comment:
1. The transit station used to be south of the Richcraft R4Z parcel, but the transitway plans
were changed in 2010 so that the station is now on the transitway on the Hazeldean Road
flyover southwest of 5649 Hazeldean which is south of the R4Z parcel.
2. The Jan 2012 West Transitway Connection Draft EPR Pg 176 identifies a 40m ROW to include
the transitway and construction easements and indicates that the City will be identifying the
property requirements. Pre-loading areas and drainage requirements (ditch vs storm sewer)
also need to be identified. The DPSD identifies the transitway width as 13.07m (south),
14.55m (near Street 4) and 14.50 (near the Park). The Draft Conditions should include a
condition for Richcraft’s west side development to be dependent on the identification of
transitway requirements so that the transitway is not adversely impacted
3. The North-South Arterial requirements also need to be determined and included in the Draft
Conditions, if required

5. 5
Planning rationale
The Zoning By-law amendment meets the intent of the policies set forth in the Provincial Policy
Statement (2014), Official Plan and the Kanata West Concept Plan.
Comment:
1. There was no Planning Rationale published on DevApps for this ZBA – Why are staff
initiating this without having Richcraft submit an application with a full evaluation?
Pg 7 Official Plan (OPA 150)
The proposed Zoning By-law amendment meets the intent of the General Urban Area land use
designation, as amended by OPA 150, with a range of housing choices, local commercial, a school and
parkland areas. The overall development of the subject lands, achieves the minimum density target of
34 units per net hectare which is required for Developing Communities.
Comment:
1. Kanata West is not subject to OPA150, as that instrument is under appeal. Also, the
applications came in before OPA76, so Richcraft’s development has grandfather rights to
use the 2003 Official Plan
2. The Kanata West Development Area is not a “Developing Community” – that designation
was added in OPA76 and related to lands being added to the urban boundary at that time.
Kanata West is in OPA76 Annex 5 Urban Areas Subject to a CDP and Policy Plan. As such, the
Kanata West Concept Plan required a minimum of 29 units per net hectare.
In addition, OPA76 Section 2.2.2 Policy 18 was conditional on the CDP or Policy Plan being
approved after 10 June 2009, as stated:
For those lands outside of the Greenbelt that are included in a community design plan approved by Council
after June 10, 2009, the following housing mix and density provisions apply [Amendment #76, Ministerial
Modification #5, OMB File # PL100206, September 07, 2011]
a. At least 45% single detached but not more than 55% single detached, at least 10 per cent
apartment dwellings and the remainder multiple dwellings, other than apartments.
b. Overall residential development will meet a minimum average density target of 34 units per net
hectare. Net residential density is based on the area of land in exclusively residential use,
including lanes and parking areas internal to developments but excluding public streets, rights-of-
way and all non-residential uses.
[Amendment #76, OMB File # PL100206, September 07, 2011]
The Council Motion in the OPA76 process increased densities to 34 without considering that
the 15% density increase could impact infrastructure plans
Kanata West Concept Plan (KWCP)
The Zoning By-law amendment is consistent with the KWCP and the Residential Area B designation that
is applicable to the site. The Plan of Subdivision supports the mixing of different dwelling types
throughout Residential Area B with higher densities than would be found in Residential Area A areas due
to the site’s close proximity to a future rapid transit corridor and three major arterials (Maple Grove
Road, Hazeldean Road and future Robert Grant Avenue).
Comment:
1. There is no indication in Kanata West documents that the Residential Area B density being
higher than Residential Area A was related to transitway planning. It was related to Area A
being adjacent to existing development
2. The transitway corridor is adjacent, but there is no access. The Maple Grove and Hazeldean
transit stations are within the required walking distances for only some parts of the site due
to there being only 1 north-south collector to get to Maple Grove or Hazeldean transit
stations
3. There is no road or pedestrian access to Robert Grant Avenue

6. 6
Walking and transit usage will be promoted by providing sidewalks on at least one side of most
sidewalks and recreational pathways within the Carp River, Poole Creek and Hazeldean Creek corridors.
Comment:
1. The Hazeldean Tributary was supposed to have a stonedust pathway
2. The CRRP Tender did not include the Hazeldean Tributary bridge which is to connect the
Richcraft and Commercial area. Responsibility for this bridge construction should be in the
Draft Conditions
3. If the pathways are not built on tableland and/or at the 100 year level, they will reduce
flood storage and experience frequent flooding, thereby requiring extensive maintenance
4. The pathways in the Carp River are designed to be flooded. In 2017, this has prevented
Arcadia residents form accessing the pathway system for most of the summer and fall.
Notice should be provided in Purchase and Sale Agreements
The proposed design will support pedestrian and cycling connections to the rapid transit station, the
Hazeldean Road Community Level Retail District to the south, the watercourse corridors and parks, the
proposed elementary school, and the local commercial centre planned to the north
Comment:
1. There are 2 rapid transit stations
2. The Area E local commercial centre was not in the 2004 Draft Plan and was not listed on the
Richcraft Kanata West Implementation Plan summary which was used for the road network
design. There are extreme amounts of retail in Stittsville due to many of the Kanata West
Business Park lands being developed as retail uses. Placing a retail centre here will
contribute to congestion on Maple Grove
Proposed Zoning
The R4Z zoning is being applied to two areas on the west side of the subdivision in close proximity to the
proposed rapid transit corridor where higher density residential housing in the form of stacked
townhouses and low-rise apartment building is encouraged.
Comment:
1. See the comments above re lack of access to the transitway corridor, walking distance and
the Kanata West plans not requiring additional residential density along the transitway
The proposed small commercial development block located on the south side of Maple Grove Road will
be zoned Local Commercial (LC) to allow for a variety of small, locally-oriented convenience and service
uses. This zone also provides an opportunity to accommodate residential or mixed use development.
Comment:
1. If Richcraft adds residential or mixed-use development, the impact needs to be evaluated
2. If local commercial is required, the ZBA should restrict the use to the desired retail uses
The proposed residential and open space areas located along the west side of the Carp river and subject
to the “Carp River Restoration Policy Area”, as previously discussed, will be zoned R3Z[1932]–h and
O1[1932]-h), which has the same holding provision to ensure that no development will occur until the
aforementioned conditions have been met and the holding provision has been lifted.
Comment:
1. There is no mention as to whether PIED has been given Delegation of Authority to lift the
holding provision, or whether another ZBA needs to come to Council

7. 7
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal impediments to the adoption of the recommendations in this report.
Comment:
1. There has been no public consultation for this Zoning By-Law – this would be considered a
legal impediment by the public
The applicant’s legal counsel has advised the City that should the zoning by-law be adopted and clear its
appeal period, the outstanding appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board will be withdrawn.
Comment:
1. None of the Kanata West documents mentioned this. The ZBA is not available and the
appeal is not on the OMB website. The normal process would have been for OMB to
consolidate the ZBA appeal with the DPSD appeal
2. A 23 Oct 2017 response from the OMB planner indicates that the ZBA appeal file is closed,
as stated:
The file number is PL110444 and it is technically closed by the Board at this time.
This was done by another Planner and not myself so I can only assume there was confusion over whether
the ZBA was still being appealed due to the appeal for the subdivision being closed. At this time I am
reluctant to re-open the file without first hearing from either the City or the appellant. If, as you state, the
intention is for the ZBA to be withdrawn then there is no rush to re-open the file just to close it again. That
can be done once the matter has been resolved at the City. I thank you for your attention to this matter
and will be making a note of the circumstances and the potential that this matter will need to be reopened
This means that Council does not have to consider the Richcraft attempt to have the new
ZBA approved with a condition that they will only withdraw the appeal if Council approves
the new ZBA
Pg 9 TERM OF COUNCIL PRIORITIES
The project addresses the following Term of Council Priorities:
EP2 – Support growth of local economy.
Comment:
1. If this priority were considered as a planning ground, every planning application would be
approved regardless of what it contained
APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS
This application was processed by the "On Time Decision Date" established for the processing of Zoning
By-law amendment applications. The application was on hold for an extended period of time while
subdivision issues were resolved.
Comment:
The 2007 ZBA is said to be an active OMB appeal on the basis of Council’s “failure to make a
decision”. This revised ZBA was not on DevApps as an new application, so how could it be
processed by the “On Time Decision Date”?
When the revised 2013 DPSD was submitted, the public were being referred to the DevApps
website, but the DPSD is not online with other 2013 applications. Why was the revised ZBA not
posted?

8. 8
Pg 13 Document 3 – Zoning Key Plan
Comment:
1. The transitway ROW adjacent to Area B is wider in other maps and earlier Draft Plans – see
above
2. The Hazeldean Tributary extends too far west. The north-south part of this corridor was
built with a 16m width due to the 5649 Hazeldean landowner’s expectation that a wide strip
would be required for the Hazeldean Transit Station, which was later changed to a flyover
location
3. The 5649 Hazeldean parcel to the south on the Draft Plan and ZBA map disagrees with the
GeoOttawa parcel overlay
4. A second Maple Grove access could relieve some of the congestion on the Richcraft north-
south collector
5. When is the Kanata West Pumping Station going to be rezoned from DR?
Pg 14 Document 4 – Consultation Details Notification and Consultation Process
Notification and public consultation was undertaken in accordance with the Public Notification and
Public Consultation Policy approved by City Council for Zoning By-law amendments. A public meeting
was held in the community for the concurrent subdivision application.
Comment:
1. The Staff Report claims this is the 13 Sep 2016 DPSD. There was no public consultation
associated with that date. The 7 Apr 2017 DPSD in Document 5 also has no public
consultation
Summary of Comments and Responses:
Comment:
District Park: The District Park for Kanata West will be located in the last area that is scheduled to be
developed due to servicing issues. The District Park may not be developed for another 10 years.
Comment:
1. The “10 year” date was also used in earlier public comments
2. The District Park has been moved a considerable distance away to the northwest parcel
south of H417

9. 9
Response:
The conditions of draft plan approval for the subject subdivision application require the owner to convey
three park blocks to the City. One park will be located adjacent to the Poole Creek corridor and the
other two parks will be situated on either side of the Carp River corridor.
Comment:
1. The reference to the “3d park” implies that the Draft Conditions relate to a DPSD earlier
than the 11 July 2012 Carp River Restoration Policy Area OPA/ZBA approval of the
LC2[1932]-h zoning
2. The Draft Conditions need to be updated
Pg 15 Comment:
Carp River, Poole Creek and Feedmill Creek: At the time in 2004 when the Plan of Subdivision and
Zoning By-law Amendment applications were submitted, comments were received with concerns
regarding the Carp River restoration project and proposed development in any flood plains and possible
flooding.
1. The Carp River Watershed/Subwatershed Study was not finalized until Dec 2004. The Carp
River Restoration Class EA was completed in June 2006, and is described in the following
response
Response:
Since the applications were submitted, many processes and approvals have taken place including the
Carp River, Poole Creek and Feedmill Creek Restoration Class Environment Assessment. The purpose of
the Class Environmental Assessment Study was to develop, evaluate and recommend preferred
rehabilitation alternatives for the Carp River, Poole Creek and Feedmill Creek within the Kanata West
development area. The Carp River Restoration Plan involves full restoration within the Kanata West
reach including a change to the channel as well as the following design elements: increased
Pg 16 sinuosity; reduction in channel cross-section; creation of ponds and deltas; “nested” channels;
varied substrate; riparian vegetation planting; and a pedestrian pathway as part of larger regional and
local pathway systems. The Poole Creek Restoration involves four areas that require local improvements
including channel realignment, removal of an island and channel narrowing, removal of debris and an
old bridge, valley wall treatment, creation of a delta marsh and riparian plantings. Feedmill Creek
Restoration involves four areas that require local improvements including channel realignment,
increased sinuosity, aquatic connections to the Carp River, local bank treatment and riparian plantings.
Comment:
1. Many changes were made in the CRRP Tender
2. The Draft Conditions need to include the Poole Creek Restoration requirements
The Carp River Restoration Plan Final Design has been approved and Phase 1 has been constructed.
Work is now proceeding on Phase 2.
Further information on this matter can be obtained from the City of Ottawa web site.
Comment:
1. The CRRP Tender was issued in July 2015. Phase 1 and Phase 2 are substantially completed,
and the Phase 3 channel between Maple Grove and Hazeldean has been constructed, but
not all of the design features have been completed. The first 3 phases will likely be
completed late Fall/early Winter 2017 or early 2018
2. The link should have been provided:
http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/water-and-environment/air-land-and-water/beaches-rivers-and-streams/subwatershed-12/carp
This site only contains links to the 2011 and 2012 Kanata West Overall Monitoring Plan and does
not include the others which were supposed to be published annually