How Ottawa’s new zoning by-law will dramatically reshape housing, streetscapes of Old Ottawa East

The City’s new zoning rules boost housing density throughout our community while triggering debate over height, sunlight and neighbourhood character.

JOHN DANCE

After three years of public and developer “engagement,” City Council recently approved a new zoning by-law (ZBL) which will increase housing construction and expand opportunities for housing options, especially in central areas like Old Ottawa East (OOE).

Driven by growing housing shortages and pushed by both federal and provincial governments, City Council has increased potential residential densities virtually everywhere in OOE.

Community members sought changes to a number of the proposed provisions and, with the support of Councillor Shawn Menard, achieved some success, but there remain provisions that continue to be challenged in OOE, most notably the increased allowable height in a number of residential zones and the impact of tall buildings on residences to their rear.

Generally, over the next few decades there will be the replacement of single-family homes with multi-unit buildings and, as a result of reduced car parking requirements, more on-street parking.

As a result of the new zoning provisions driven by provincial and federal requirements, four dwelling units will be permitted on any OOE lot. A developer could alternatively sever the vast majority of current lots into two severed lots, permitting eight units on a current lot having a width greater than or equal to 9 metres.

Increased Allowable Height Challenged

Under the ZBL, Residential (“R”) zones are replaced by Neighbourhood (“N”) zones and in OOE the density levels have been increased by at least one level. For instance, R1 properties that dominated much of the west of Main Street and Brantwood Park neighbourhoods are now mostly N2 or N3. The additional allowable housing in these zones is a result of reduced setbacks and parking requirements, and increased height and more units being allowed on a lot.

The increase of allowable height from 8.5 to 11 metres for the N1 and N2 zones has been challenged by the Old Ottawa East Community Association (OOECA). Supposedly, the increase – sought successfully in the final ZBL draft by developers – will permit three-storey buildings.

However, Anthony Leaning, Chairperson of OOECA’s planning committee, has demonstrated that the “old” limit of 8.5 metres already allows three-storey structures that the City says is the justification for the 11-metre height. Furthermore, Leaning demonstrated that the 11-metre height will allow four-storey structures, which is one storey more than what the City’s Official Plan contemplates for the N1 and N2 zones.

Front-yard Setback Success

With the support of Councillor Menard, a number of residents and the Community Action for Environmental Sustainability (CAFES) pushed back on the City’s proposal to reduce residential front-yard setbacks to three metres and, in the end, the City agreed to 4.5 metres.

As OOE resident Don Fugler argued, a residence located three metres from the lot line would not permit the growth of a canopy tree. “The draft ZBL will not encourage the maintenance or the growth of large trees when there is new construction in older neighbourhoods,” he noted in his submission to the City’s planning and housing committee (PHC). “Permitting only three-metre setbacks will contravene the Official Plan mandate of encouraging tree canopy in Ottawa.”

While Fugler and others wanted a six-metre front-yard setback, the compromise of 4.5 metres was seen as a significant improvement over what the City and developers had wanted.

Unfortunately for canopy trees, at the same time as the ZBL was under consideration, the provincial government enacted a developer-friendly “gift” of an “as-of-right” variance of up to 10 percent for setbacks so that the City-approved 4.5-metre setback becomes essentially a 4-metre setback for any developer who wants it.

Impact of Tall Buildings on Rear Neighbours

Previously, the rear of six to nine-storey buildings along Main Street and Hawthorne Avenue had to be set back above the fourth floor so that neighbouring residences behind, such as those along Glenora Street or Graham Avenue, would not be over-shadowed as much. Now, the setback will be above the sixth floor.

The new ZBL change “will cause significant loss of daylight into living spaces and rear yards and it exceeds shadowing impact that is typical of the rest of the new by-law,” Leaning noted in a presentation to PHC.

“The proposed angled plane at 2½ storeys higher than in the 2008 zoning by-law results in most of the available daylight being obscured,” Leaning wrote in a follow-up letter to City staff. “Almost nowhere else in the proposed by-law are the impacts on daylight into living spaces and rear yards as great as this.”

The OOE Secondary Plan (OOESP) states, “To reduce the impact on adjacent low-rise areas, building setbacks will be required from both the front and rear property lines and above the first, second, third or fourth floor of all new buildings, within the Mainstreet designation. The City will implement these setbacks through the Zoning By-law.” For undisclosed reasons, the City appears to be ignoring the secondary plan requirement.

Peculiar Zoning of River Shoreline

The new ZBL has zoned some properties along the Rideau River that seem to conflict with the OOESP and how the related flood plain lands can be used. Councillor Menard introduced a motion to correct this but only two PHC members supported the motion.

Specifically, the river property just south and north of the McIlraith Bridge is zoned for residential use but it’s all flood zone and City-owned. Similarly, the river property along Brantwood Drive is zoned residential yet the OOESP designates it as “passive open space.”

Community association members intend to send related changes in the context of a proposal to create a linear river park for the length of OOE.

Former OOE planning chair Paul Goodkey pledges to pursue changes to the ZBL in order to exempt much of the portion of OOE south of Clegg Street from being part of the “evolving neighbourhood overlay,” a provision which allows greater density and height than what is allowed nearer Echo Drive.

Although City planners say the new ZBL will result in “gentle density,” they will only monitor increased intensification at the ward level so the extent to which a particular community such as OOE is affected will not be monitored, let alone controlled.