On Wednesday, the Planning and Housing Committee unanimously approved a re-zoning request for 37 Wildpine that would permit a four storey, 94-unit apartment building, and a semi-detached home containing two dwelling units. It will now rise to City Council for final approval on January 22, 2025.

I agreed with the conclusions of city planners that the requested zoning was in line with Ottawa’s Official Plan which supports a variety of housing types within existing neighbourhoods. It’s also located in one of the most walkable areas in suburban Ottawa, close to food stores, health services, schools, churches, and retail.

Another positive aspect is that over 60% of the land on this site will be conveyed to the City of Ottawa as greenspace. This includes most of the forested area on the north half of the site, along with additional land along Poole Creek on the east side. And there’s still a possibility to extend a pathway along the east side of the site in the future, although there are floodplain constraints.

The land in green represents the approximate location of of the property that will be conveyed to the city for preservation as a natural area.

I want to acknowledge the feedback we received through the review process from residents and neighbours, including a petition submitted by residents against the re-zoning. Many of the community concerns were around the impact from construction as well as road safety.

The proposed development would include a connection between Ravenscroft and Wildpine. These two streets are cul-de-sacs, dating back 30 or 40 years to Goulbourn Township days. They’ve always been planned to connect, but there is still a lot of concern about what that means for traffic and safety.

There is lingering concern from the construction a few years back of the four-storey retirement building on Wildpine. Construction caused a lot of disruption, and there are still problems with parking from visitors and service providers.

This development will bring change, and it will have a high impact on residents, and there will be more traffic.  If approved, the developer will be required to prepare a construction management plan that minimizes impacts on neighbouring residents, such as blasting/excavation, parking, dust control, noise, etc.

There are still outstanding issues around traffic that need to be addressed through the site plan process and beyond. For example, it’s very likely that we’ll need a turning signal added to the lights on Stittsville Main.  We’ll also going to have to revisit current parking restrictions on the street, and we’ll be looking for feedback from residents before we make any changes.

The site plan for this development has yet to be submitted. We’ll share any updates on my web site at glengower.ca/development/ and in my email newsletter.

–Councillor Glen