April 2024
New Zoning By-law: Draft one of the new Zoning By-law draft provisions
We're excited to start the next big step of the city’s growth and development with the imminent release of the first draft provisions for Ottawa’s new Zoning By-law.
Over the next one and a half years, three drafts will be released, with each iteration building on the consultation and engagement of the previous version.
The first draft provisions and maps will be released on May 31, 2024. However, a staff report will come first at a joint meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee being held on April 29, 2024. The report will go into deep detail on the proposed zoning rules with analysis and rationale for every section of the draft Zoning By-law.
The consultations will start on May 31 and continue until the fourth quarter of 2025 with the third draft of the proposed by-law, ensuring ample opportunity to provide comments and input.
Engagement activities on the first draft of the by-law will continue until October. These activities will include virtual open houses, regular coffee chats with planners, community meetings. Feedback received will inform the second draft of the Zoning By-law.
What's Happening?
- Report to Joint Committee: The process kicks off with the report's release on April 29, setting the stage for our engagement strategy.
- Draft provisions unveiled: May 31, the provisions and zoning map of the first draft will be released on the project’s engagement page on Engage Ottawa.
- Engagement period: From June 2024 through October 2024, we invite you to participate in shaping the second draft of the Zoning By-law.
Ottawa is protecting more places for nature conservation
On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, conservation partner groups and City staff from the Planning, Real estate, and Economic Development Department (now known as the Planning, Development and Building Services Department) met for a Rural Ottawa Land Conservation and Stewardship Workshop. The workshop allowed local experts to share practices, discuss regional priorities, and highlight the expertise and resources currently available for their collective goals of protecting natural lands. Additionally, the workshop highlighted case studies, new mapping, and assessed challenges and opportunities. The City also shared information about past efforts, what exists today, priorities, and resources available.
Additionally, each partner provided updates on their work in rural Ottawa and the surrounding region. These partners represent local government and not-for-profit groups that are actively involved in voluntary land conservation and stewardship with rural landowners.
The groups that attended the workshop included:
- Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
- Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
- South Nation Conservation Authority
- Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation
- ALUS Lanark
- ALUS Ontario East
- Nature Conservancy of Canada
- Ducks Unlimited Canada
- National Capital Commission
- Friends of the Stittsville Wetlands
- Mississippi-Madawaska Land Trust
- Friends of the Carp Hills
When ideas and resources are shared, more can be accomplished. Ongoing and new collaborations with conservation partners and interested landowners are essential for sustaining Ottawa and the region’s natural landscape, ecosystems, and wildlife habitats. We encourage you to reach out if you are interested in more information or are considering how to preserve part of your rural property. The City is working with partners and landowners on property acquisition, conservation easements, severances, eco-gifts, and other voluntary ways to enhance conservation in rural Ottawa.
You can reach out to one of the partners listed or the City’s Natural Systems and Rural Affairs land conservation project lead – Adriana Hulse (Adriana.hulse@ottawa.ca).
February 2024
City Builders newsletter: your feedback
Our goal with the City Builders newsletter is to bring you informative and engaging content. Your perspectives and interests are essential to us, and we're dedicated to tailoring our newsletter to meet your preferences and needs.
As we continue our journey of keeping you updated on city developments, projects, and community initiatives, we'd love to hear directly from you. Your insights will play a pivotal role in shaping the future editions of our newsletter.
We would like your thoughts on:
- What's Missing: Is there anything you believe our current newsletter is missing?
- Interests: What topics or themes would you be interested learning more about?
- Suggestions: Do you have any suggestions, ideas, or contributions for future newsletter content?
We invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations by completing this very short survey.
Together, let's build a newsletter that reflects the interests and aspirations of our vibrant community. Thank you for being an integral part of this journey!
City celebrates immigrant entrepreneurs at TiE Entrepreneurial Summit
On November 10, 2023 the City of Ottawa recognized five local entrepreneurs for their significant contributions to Ottawa’s economy. The Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards were presented today during Ottawa’s TiE Entrepreneurship Summit (The Indus Entrepreneur).
The 2023 Immigrant Entrepreneur Award recipients are:
- Basavaraj Halli – CEO and Co-Founder, farmNXT, GoFor Delivers & ezSCM.ai
- Dr. Helen Tang – Founder & CEO, Helen Tang Real Estate
- Amit Chawla – Founder & President, Capital Home Medical Equipment
- Ty Arslan – President, Auspice Safety
The Youth Immigrant Entrepreneur Award recipient is:
- Drayton Mulindabigwi Jabo – Chairman/CEO, The Novas Group
For more information about each award recipient, please visit ottawa.ca/IEAwards.
The Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards recognize the success and contributions of individuals who were born outside of Canada and now make Ottawa their home. Since the awards began in 2012, 45 local entrepreneurs have been recognized by the City of Ottawa.
Quote - Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa:
Entrepreneurs, like those we are honouring today, directly contribute to the success of Ottawa's business community and are a testament to the diversity and the entrepreneurial spirit that defines our city. Congratulations to this year’s award recipients of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. And a special congratulations to the first ever recipient of the Youth Immigrant Entrepreneur Award – celebrating the passion, creativity, and potential of our future entrepreneurial leaders.
Engagement Series 3 for the Solid Waste Master Plan has launched
From now until March 7, 2024, the City will be engaging with residents across Ottawa on the Draft Waste Plan presented as the Draft Solid Waste Master Plan to City Council on December 6, 2023.
Visit ottawa.ca/wasteplan to complete the public survey and/or participate in one of four in-person open-houses and two virtual information sessions.
Federal Greener Homes Grant Program winding down ahead of schedule
The Federal Government announced in early February that the Greener Homes Grant Program would be concluding much earlier than anticipated. The program, which was launched in late 2020, experienced significantly higher uptake than anticipated, with over half a million applications across the country.
Those who have already received their pre-retrofit home energy assessment should still be able to access the rebates provided through the program.
Fortunately for Ottawa residents, the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program continues to support energy efficiency home improvement projects. This program allows all those in Ottawa who own small residential properties to access a 20 year, 4.33 per cent interest rate loan that can cover a broad range of energy efficiency and climate adaptation costs, as well as other measures like adding a rental suite to a property. The program also offers an incentive for heat pumps.
Hydro Ottawa Webinar: Simplifying data collection for building benchmarking
Hydro Ottawa will be hosting a webinar on streamlining the process of data collection for the purposes of participating in benchmarking programs, such as the City of Ottawa’s Better Buildings Ottawa program.
The session will focus on the following:
- The value of benchmarking and tracking your consumption data.
- How to request electricity data from Hydro Ottawa and how we can help.
- Insightful hints on how to use your data effectively.
- What the City of Ottawa is offering to encourage more buildings to participate.
- How you can share your data with the City of Ottawa.
Register for the Ottawa Hydro webinar on simplifying data collection for building benchmarking.
City grants available to non-profit groups for environmental projects
The City of Ottawa is now accepting applications for the 2024 Community Environmental Projects Grant Program.
The program provides funding to non-profit organizations interested in undertaking small-scale, community-based initiatives that support an environmentally sustainable Ottawa.
Past funds have been awarded to a wide range of projects including:
- Community workshops
- Education campaigns
- Environmental rehabilitation
- Greening initiatives, such as planting native species
- School projects, such as pollinator gardens
The application deadline is Friday, April 5 at 4 pm.
Successful Community Environmental Projects Grant Program grant recipients must complete their projects by June 30, 2025. For details on eligibility criteria, the application process, profiles of past projects, and to complete an application form, please visit ottawa.ca/cepgp.
For more information on the program, please contact:
Tara Redpath
Community Environmental Projects Grant Program Coordinator
613-580-2424, extension 16822
cepgp@ottawa.ca
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X Platform and Instagram.
June 2023
Calling all community members – have your say in the development of the Trees and Forests Outreach and Engagement Strategy!
The Trees and Forests Outreach and Engagement Strategy is recommendation #23 of the City of Ottawa’s council-directed Urban Forest Management Plan. This strategy will propose tree and forest-related stewardship, outreach, and educational developments with the goal of enhancing existing programs and incentives and creating new opportunities for the community to further understand and care for its trees and forests.
The City of Ottawa’s trees and forests are an integral component of health and sustainability, providing countless benefits to the community, economy, and environment. The development of a Trees and Forests Outreach and Engagement Strategy will ensure that these benefits are maintained and amplified.
Community members can provide valuable opinion and information related to this strategy through the [engage.ottawa.ca/forestry-strategy] request for Input Page on Engage Ottawa.ca. This input will help to shape the strategy and allow the City to support the tree and forest-related initiatives that matter the most to those living and working within Ottawa.
More information about the Urban Forest Management Plan and the Trees and Forests Outreach and Engagement Strategy may be found at engage.ottawa.ca/forestry-strategy. Spread the word about the City’s Trees and Forests Outreach and Engagement Strategy and related Request for Input!
How can we prepare for extreme heat and wildfires?
In the past month we have experienced recording breaking temperatures and off the charts air quality warnings. Extreme heat and wildfire smoke affect everyone and can have detrimental impacts for at-risk populations, including people who work outside, people experiencing homelessness, people who have pre-existing health conditions, young children, pregnant people and older adults. These events give us a stark reminder that climate change in Ottawa means we will continue to see more severe cycles of warmer temperatures and potential increases in wildfires or smoke.
The City is developing a Climate Resiliency Strategy and we want you to share your ideas on how we can all build our resilience to the impacts of extreme heat, extreme weather and other climate impacts. To learn more and share your ideas visit the Climate Resiliency Strategy page on Engage Ottawa.
There are also practical steps you can take today to prepare our families and communities from heat and wildfire related risks. Ottawa Public Health has information on preparing and protecting yourself from risks of extreme heat through Beat the Heat and the Outdoor Air Pollution resource pages.
The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation has created a Home Heat Protection and Apartment and Condo Heat Protection and FireSmart™ Home infographics to share cost effective ways to prepare your home for extreme heat events and wildfire.
Visit the new Aquaview Rain Garden!
On May 26, the City of Ottawa, through its Rain Ready Ottawa (RRO) program, was joined by EnviroCentre, the Greater Avalon Community Association (GACA), Councillor Catherine Kitts, and community volunteers to install Ottawa’s newest rain garden at the Aquaview Community Building. This new community asset not only adds a beautiful garden to the Aquaview neighbourhood but will also serve as a demonstration of a rain garden in action.
What is a rain garden?
A rain garden is a bowl shaped garden that is designed to collect stormwater and manage it with water loving plants. Rain gardens allow stormwater to slowly absorb back into the ground and return to groundwater, reducing harmful runoff in the process and keeping Ottawa’s waterways healthy. Full of native and flowering plants, rain gardens bring the added benefit of creating habitats for local wildlife, such as butterflies, birds, and bees.
Interested in learning more about rain gardens and how you could get up to $2,500 to install your own? Visit ottawa.ca/rain or sign up for a rain garden course through RRO’s e-learning series.
ByWard Market Strategic Alignment Initiative and Public Realm Plan Update
On June 14th, 2023, City Council approved a staff report with the overall goal to move forward on a series of transformational initiatives aimed at improving Economic Prosperity, Diversification and Resilience; Community Safety and Well-Being; Place keeping; Place making; and Advocacy and Fundraising within a new ByWard Market district.
After exploring options to improve ByWard Market management, programming and operations, a single district governance and operating model was selected as the preferred approach to revitalize the area. The ByWard Market District Authority will use the existing Municipal Services Corporation legal structure, with a new Board of Directors, expanded operating mandate and new branding. The new authority will be responsible for:
- Maintaining the streetscapes and public areas;
- Enhancing the resident and visitor experience through public realm enhancements, installations, animation, branding and pageantry;
- Supporting and advocating for property, small-business and entrepreneurial interests;
- Hosting special events and activities;
- Advocating for investment within the operating boundaries of the ByWard and Parkdale markets; and
- Undertaking initiatives that improve community safety and well-being.
For more information on the revitalization of the ByWard Market, please visit ottawa.ca.
May 2023
Lansdowne 2.0
Coffee Chat series
In the coming weeks, we will be launching the Lansdowne 2.0 Coffee Chat series, a weekly gathering where staff or the public can ask questions, learn about the project, and share your thoughts directly with the Director of the Lansdowne Park Project from the comfort of your home or office.
The coffee chats will be held every Wednesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on Zoom, starting in June.
In addition to the Lansdowne 2.0 Coffee Chat, the Public Realm/Urban Park survey is now on Engage Ottawa. This survey provides an opportunity prioritize and share your suggestions regarding the development of the public realm and urban park areas within Lansdowne Park.
On May 17, 2023, we hosted a public engagement session on the Lansdowne Public Realm/Urban Park and presented 25 ideas that have been captured from various engagement efforts. You can view the 25 ideas that were proposed here.
Be sure to stay tuned for more exciting opportunities to engage with the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project. Any questions, comments, or concerns can be sent to LansdowneRenewal@Ottawa.ca.
We thank you for your continued input and engagement and we look forward to shaping the future of Lansdowne Park together!
Lansdowne 2.0 virtual public engagement session
The City of Ottawa is hosting a Lansdowne 2.0 virtual public engagement session.
The Lansdowne 2.0 Public Realm/Urban Park virtual engagement session will be on May 17th at 6 pm.
As part of the Lansdowne 2.0 project and as a follow up to the many ideas that have come forward through various public consultations held for the Aberdeen Square and the Urban Park, the City would like to hear from you on the prioritization of the list of ideas that have been brought forward and gleaned from the public through previous engagements. The intent to improve the site by making the urban park more welcoming and support increased use of the park for an enhanced public experience.
Format: Staff presentation followed by a question and answer period. Register for the session by following this link. Please send any questions in advance of the public information session to LansdowneRenewal@ottawa.ca.
Learn more about Lansdowne 2.0.
Thank you and we hope to see you there,
Lansdowne Project Team
New Low-rise infill housing design guidelines
The City of Ottawa will be hosting a virtual public information session on Tuesday, June 6 at 6:30 pm on the newly released draft Low-rise Design Guidelines. Residents are invited to attend the session to hear from City staff and take part in a Q&A about the guidelines.
The new 2023 guidelines will provide design guidance to City staff, industry and ressidents on how low-rise housing should be designed and delivered in the context of infill and intensification in the urban area of the City.
Residents are asked to register in advance by using the link below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqfuygqjMvH9NfPJg3J0g-XvMKdvJ3mH7_
For more information please email low-rise@ottawa.ca
Hintonburg Pumphouse conservation and redevelopment project
This is to notify you that progress is being made in developing design concepts to to preserve the ruins of the historic Hintonburg Pumphouse and improve public use and access to the Ottawa River shoreline. Public engagement websites, information sessions, and site visits are now available.
A project webpage is available at Engage Ottawa, where you can learn about the history, opportunities, recommended design solutions and the next steps in the development of plans. Full details can be found here.
Have your say on the Climate Resiliency Strategy
Ottawa’s climate is changing. Overall Ottawa will become much warmer and wetter over the coming decades, with more extreme heat days, heavy rain and extreme weather events like severe winds, floods or winter storms.
The City is developing a Climate Resiliency Strategy to guide how Ottawa can prepare for and respond to the anticipated impacts of changing climate conditions. The Climate Resiliency Strategy is one of eight priorities of the Climate Change Master Plan.
There are several opportunities for you to contribute your ideas to help design the strategy.
- Visit Engage Ottawa to learn more about climate trends and risks and share your ideas through a virtual comments board
- Participate in person at one of the community dialogue sessions being organized by Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability (CAFES) and community associations with support from the City.
- Join the virtual community dialogue on June 19
- Organize your own climate conversation with your friends or neighbours. Contact climatechange@ottawa.ca for resources to help.
Visit Engage Ottawa for more details on ways to get involved.
2021
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