South Bear Brook Wetland Evaluation

Launch of the Wetland Evaluation

In November 2021, the City of Ottawa hired Parsons Corporation, an independent consultant, to carry out an evaluation of wetlands in the headwaters of South Bear Brook under the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS) and the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES).  The need for a wetland evaluation was triggered by Ottawa City Council's approval of new urban lands in a portion of the area bounded by Leitrim Road, Farmers Way, Thunder Road, and Ramsayville Road (the future Tewin community). 

Provincial policy and guidance documents recommend that a wetland evaluation be conducted whenever development is proposed within or adjacent to wetlands that could qualify as provincially significant under OWES. Provincially significant wetlands are subject to PPS and Official Plan policies of “no development or site alteration” within the wetlands and “no negative impact” from adjacent development.  Typically, existing land uses and uses that do not interfere with the wetlands are permitted.

Public Engagement

A virtual public information meeting was held on March 3, 2022, from 6pm to 8pm.  The purpose of the meeting was to explain the Provincial requirements, the need for the wetland evaluation, the process for conducting the evaluation, the timing, and the possible implications.  There was also an opportunity for participants to ask questions of City staff.  Approximately 50 people attended the public information meeting.

Following the public meeting, the City of Ottawa mailed out Permission to Enter Request Forms to property owners in the wetland evaluation study area.  These forms requested permission from landowners for City staff and biologists from Parsons to enter lands to identify and assess wetlands.  Property owners were asked to mail or e-mail their responses to the City.  The City received responses for nearly 200 properties in the study area, and the majority of landowners granted access to their lands.  Neither City staff nor the City’s consultant entered private properties for which permission to enter was not given.

The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System requires that wetlands and their boundaries be identified on the ground whenever possible for greatest accuracy.  However, where access to property is denied or not available, wetlands and their boundaries can be identified through interpretation of aerial photography.  Refusal to provide permission for entry does not prevent the identification and evaluation of wetlands on private property.

The map below shows the area where access to private property was requested and the preliminary wetland mapping for the study area.

A wetland evaluation consists of two parts:

1. Mapping of the wetland[s] according to the methods in the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES).
2. Evaluation of the wetland significance on four principal components: biological, socio-economic values, hydrology, and special features such as species at risk.

Each component is worth 250 points, for a theoretical total of 1000 points. A wetland that scores 200 points or more in either the biological or special features component, or 600 points or more in total, qualifies as provincially significant.  Size is an important factor for determining the wetland score. The occurrence of rare species, such as Species at Risk, and the presence of important breeding habitat for waterfowl or fish are key factors, for determining the special features score.

A wetland evaluation is considered complete and final once a trained wetland evaluator attests that they have undertaken an evaluation in accordance with the OWES.  Once complete, the wetland evaluator must submit the evaluation to the municipality or planning authority for planning purposes and to the Ministry of Natural Resources for record keeping and updating of provincial mapping.

The City hired the engineering company Parsons Corporation to carry out the wetland evaluation for the South Bear Brook Wetland.  Parsons confirmed that it is not conducting any related work for the proponents of the Tewin community and does not have any other conflicts of interest.

The OWES was developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and is overseen by the Province.  In late 2022, the Province passed Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 which included substantial changes to the OWES methodology and approvals process.  Since the timing of the OWES changes overlapped with the wetland evaluation, the City of Ottawa requested that Parsons update the wetland evaluation accordingly. 

Parsons staff carried out field work for the wetland evaluation during June and July of 2022.  The initial scoring for the wetland evaluation was completed in October 2022.  The wetland evaluation scoring was updated in July 2023 to comply with the revised OWES methodology.

The South Bear Brook Wetland received a total score of 754, including a sub-score of 250 for the special features component.  The wetland qualifies as provincially significant, as the total score exceeds the threshold of 600 and it also scored over 200 in the special features component.

The complete Wetland Evaluation Data and Scoring Record for the South Bear Brook Wetland is available here.  

Parsons submitted the complete wetland evaluation and mapping to the Ministry of Natural Resources in December 2023, and the Province updated the wetland’s status to provincially significant in January 2024.

The map below shows the boundary of the provincially significant South Bear Brook Wetland.  The total size of the provincially significant wetland is 561 hectares.  The Tewin community boundary is also shown for reference. The extent of the wetland in relation to individual property parcels can be viewed using the City of Ottawa’s geoOttawa web portal.

Since the South Bear Brook wetland qualifies as provincially significant, the PPS and Ottawa’s Official Plan oblige City staff to bring a report to Council recommending an Official Plan Amendment to designate the affected area as Significant Wetlands. That designation triggers the protections for wetlands in the City’s Official Plan.  In the event of a subsequent planning or development application, the Official Plan prohibits development and site alteration within significant wetlands and any negative impact from adjacent development.

Designation of the wetlands as significant also triggers a subsequent process by the relevant Conservation Authority (CA) to regulate the wetlands. Under the CA regulations, alteration or interference with a provincially significant wetland requires a permit and is generally prohibited.

Affected property owners may apply to the Ministry of Natural Resources under the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program (CLTIP) to have their property taxes reduced on the wetland portions of their properties.

Official Plan amendment and Zoning By-law amendment

City staff will begin the process to initiate an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) to designate the South Bear Brook Wetland as Significant Wetlands in the Official Plan. City staff will also bring forward a corresponding Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA) at the same time.  Both the OPA and the ZBA will be subject to the requirements of the Planning Act and approval by Ottawa City Council. The process requires an open public meeting.

Once the OPA and ZBA have been initiated, all properties owners within 120 metres of the provincially significant wetland boundary will receive a formal information package by mail.  The package will provide a summary of the proposed OPA and ZBA along with detailed location maps.  Property owners and other interested parties will have 30 days to provide written comments and will be able to register for future notifications on the proposal.  The information package will provide more details on the timelines for Council to consider the proposal.

Opportunities for public review and appeal

Wetland evaluations are technical reports, carried out by qualified evaluators according to the methods and standards of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES).  In identifying and evaluating wetlands, the evaluators will apply their professional judgement.  The results of technical wetland evaluations are not subject to direct appeal.  However, wetland evaluations are always subject to revision based on more current information.

Anyone disagreeing with the identification of provincially significant wetlands may hire a qualified wetland evaluator, at their own expense, to carry out wetland mapping on their properties. The updated wetland mapping and evaluation can be submitted to the Ministry Natural Resources for revision of provincial mapping.  Changes that are accepted by the Ministry must also be sent to the City of Ottawa to update Official Plan schedules and the Zoning By-law.

The designation of significant wetlands by City Council through an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment is a Planning Act process.  It is subject to the requirements of the Planning Act, including a public meeting at which written submissions and public delegations can be made. Owners of the properties covered by the amendments and other public entities have the right to appeal the decision of City Council to the Ontario Land Tribunal if they submit comments to the City of Ottawa.  The Ontario Land Tribunal may consider evidence on whether the wetlands really qualify as provincially significant.

Further information is available by contacting:

Tara Redpath, Senior Planner (Acting)
South Bear Brook Wetland Evaluation 
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West 4th floor, mail code 01-14
Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1
Tel.: 613-580-2424, ext. 16822
Email: South Bear Brook Wetland Evaluation