The City’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee today approved its portion of Draft Budget 2024, which includes $3.47 million in net operating funding and $7.1 million in capital funding. That funding includes $6 million to renew rural infrastructure, such as roads and guiderails, and more than $1.1 million toward construction of a planned new community building in the Rural East community.
When added to funding approved through other Committees, the City’s draft budget invests about $64.5 million in rural infrastructure including more than $35.1 million in roadwork rehabilitation and resurfacing, pathways and sidewalks, $18.3 million for bridge and culvert rehabilitation work and $5.1 million for buildings and parks, including accessibility improvements.
The Committee also recommended granting a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR) for one Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project proposed in Ottawa’s rural area, at 4186 William McEwen Road. The facility would use lithium-ion batteries to store electricity coming off the power grid and release it at times of high customer demand to help make the grid more reliable and cost effective.
While the Province is the regulator, municipalities have authority over where new renewable energy generating and storage projects can be located. As a result, before such projects can proceed, Council must indicate support in the form of an MSR. Granting an MSR is general in nature and proposed projects would still need to comply with all City development approvals, permitting and regulatory requirements before they could be built. The committee did not recommend granting an MSR for three other BESS facilities considered today.
The Committee considered amendments to the City’s Site Alteration By-law, which sets out the rules and practices to regulate site alteration activities, such as removing topsoil from land, excavating, altering a property’s grade and clearing vegetation. The Committee directed staff to revise some of the changes being proposed to the natural environment protections and notification provisions of the by-law. Staff will bring a revised report to a future meeting of the Committee for further consideration.
Recommendations from today’s meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, December 6.