NEWS ARCHIVESApril 25, 2008 Carp River flooded with recommendations The City of Ottawa’s Auditor General’s findings of the Carp Water Study and Related Projects audit was released this past Wednesday. The audit determined there were a number of discrepancies in the original study. The City is hopeful that this audit, coupled with a third party engineering process, will assist the City in determining if they can move forward with the development of this land. The Auditor General concluded there was an error relating to the water table modeling used to determine the sustainability of the land; the original study did not take into account the full implications of water runoff from development along the Carp River. The AG recommends staff avoid any perceived conflict of interest by not using the same consultant a developer has used on a project. City Staff will hire a third party engineering firm to independently review the engineering work of the Carp River. This firm will evaluate the consultants modeling error for the restoration assessment. Development, which has happened or will happen in Kanata West and will have no immediate impact on the Carp River, will continue. However, development along the river will not occur pending the result of the independent review, and no project will move forward if there is concern stemming from the results of the independent review. I would like to thank the AG and City Staff who brought this issue to the forefront. I hope the results of this audit yield greater
considerations in the development process to ensure there is no risk to the
health and safety of the public. Frustration mounts over delay of Coyote Park There have delays in the construction of the proposed Coyote Park located in the southern end of the Deer Run subdivision south of Coyote Crescent on the east side of West Ridge Drive. This park is proposed to consist of a soccer field, play structures, half court basketball and other play amenities. The plan of subdivision for Deer Run notes the design of Coyote Park, and states the developer must bring the park to a level of quality that the City requires, so the City can install park features. In this case, the developer is required to raise and prepare the land to a standard suitable for a soccer field and other park features. As the developer has refused to fulfill their obligations for the park development due to costs, the City's legal council will now take enforcement action to have the terms of the plan of subdivision enforced. On April 21, I held a quickly organized public meeting with local area residents to explain the next steps the City will be taking in this process. This has been a very frustrating issue for the community and I can assure you I am doing everything I can to have this park developed as soon as possible, as I know this park is in very high demand for the community. I encourage you to please contact my office to be added to
our email contact list to receive future updates on this matter. You can reach
my office at Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca or
613-580-2476. Official Plan Review With respect to the 60 Sweetnam file, the major issue was the City's Official Plan and how it defines infill and compatibility. Currently, the definitions of infill and compatibility are very vague and left to individual interpretation. This year the City's Official Plan is being reviewed and I will urge the City to make proper definitions for these terms. Urban intensification and urban boundary review are two of the three Key Aspects of the Official Plan important to our community. The urban intensification proposal includes a clear definition of the term and the need to establish an intensification target citywide and by area. More importantly, a strategy for the successful implementation of intensification is necessary. In the case of urban boundary review, the preliminary proposal notes the City should establish a “performance-based” urban boundary. The Official Plan would identify Future Urban Areas and require various criteria be met before these lands are developed. One of the key criteria would be achievement of a citywide intensification target. A public meeting will be held in the future. In addition, my office will hold our own public meeting strictly for west-end residents. I will keep you informed of the dates of these meetings as more information surfaces. I encourage residents to please submit comments on the
Official Plan review. Please send your comments to my office and to
plan@ottawa.ca. 240 Westridge public meeting I am hosting a public meeting on May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stittsville Library located at 1637 Stittsville Main Street. This meeting is to discuss the proposed plan of subdivision for 31 single-detached dwellings and one public street at the site of 240 West Ridge Drive. The site is located on the west side of West Ridge Drive, south of Abbott Street and north of Deer Run Park. It is proposed that the public street would have two intersections, which would align with the southern intersections of Eliza Crescent and Greenhaven Crescent. For more information please contact my office or the City Planner: Kalle Hakala at 613-580-2424 x16228 or Kalle.Hakala@ottawa.ca. You can view the proposal by visiting my website at
www.shadqadri.com/planning.htm. A sad commentary on the state of our City On April 19, my wife and I teamed up with Safer Ottawa, a grassroots initiative aimed at ridding the downtown core of discarded drug paraphernalia, to gain first-hand insight into the plight of downtown, and the increasing drug usage in our City. It was an eye-opening experience. Forty-eight complete needles and syringes, a dozen crack pipes, and 3-5 pounds of saline containers, cookers, filters, wipes, screens and the only non-government issued piece of equipment, lighters, were collected in less than four hours. Seeing drug deals occur in broad daylight is evidence that we have a major problem in our city. But it is not restricted to the downtown core – it has mushroomed outwards, and is encroaching on Ottawa’s suburbs. It is my belief that we need to approach this problem from three angles. First, we need a treatment facility constructed in our community to help combat this growing problem. A safety net must be established before the future resources of our community fall through the cracks, and surrender to the power of drug addiction. We need to conduct a full-scale review of this program, coupled with an emphasis on needle exchange, rather than needle give-away. Through this process, we can offer better face-to-face interaction between drug users, and those who can provide support. Lastly, we need to create harmony between public health officials and police management. We are all working under the canopy of public health and safety. Harm reduction should not be focused solely on users, but the protection of innocent bystanders must fall under its umbrella as well. I firmly stand behind the Mayor’s four key pillars of combating the drug issues in our community: education, treatment, enforcement and accountable harm reduction. The safety of our city, our community and our residents is
at stake. We must strategize our direction as we move forward. Please stay off sports fields and ball diamonds While we are all anxious for peanuts and cracker jacks, the City is asking residents to stay off sports fields and ball diamonds to allow the turf to grow. Access to ball diamonds has been postponed until May 12; excess snow and water on the field has caused the delay. Access to sports fields has been postponed until after May 15. Organizations with official City contracts can still use the facilities, however, only on the dates specific on their contracts (weather permitting). Thank you for helping to keep our fields in great
condition and enjoy your season! One-day depot for household hazardous waste May 3 Do you have hazardous waste that you need to get of? The City is here to help, offering a one-day depot for household hazardous waste on May 3. The depot will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the federal government parking lot between 405 Rochester Street and 550 Booth Street, just south of the Queensway. This depot provides a convenient way to help keep the environment free of hazardous household waste. Household hazardous waste includes item such as energy
efficient light bulbs, turpentine, aerosol containers, fire extinguishers, pool
chemicals, barbecue starters and propane tanks. “Always Listening and Acting on Your Concerns” As your Councillor, I always welcome your keen input and ideas on how we can sustain and improve Stittsville-Kanata West. Please contact our office anytime by phone at 613-580-2476 or by e-mail at shad.qadri@ottawa.ca. Please note that you can also contact my ward office every Monday and Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and every Wednesday from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. at 613-580-2424 ext. 33440 or 33442. Also, feel free to stop by anytime at 1532 Stittsville Main Street. I will not be available at my ward office on May 2 for the 1-5pm public drop-in. Sincerely, [ close window ] |
