KANATA NORTH NEWS Marianne Wilkinson Councillor, Kanata North ZONING ISSUES
Last week more than 150 residents packed the hall to discuss two proposals - to construct a 16 storey apartment with 125 units at 2 The Parkway and for Mintos 156 stacked townhouses and 4 freehold townhouses on land between March Road and Sandhill. Many questions were raised about the impact of these proposals on the Beaverbrook Community (the proposal for 2 The Parkway) and on St. Johns heritage church and cemetery (the proposal for 760 March Road). For 2 The Parkway this meeting was an introduction to the process. Staff has not yet received input from technical agencies on items such as servicing and traffic. Input from the public continues to be received by the planner who will then evaluate all material and make a recommendation to the Planning Committee and Council next year. The official meeting, with a detailed presentation on the proposal by the owner will be held on Dec. 12th starting at 7:30 pm in Halls A & B of the Mlacak Centre. Comments from the public can continue to be sent in until after that meeting and that input will form part of the report recommending an appropriate zoning. I appreciate the interest and participation by so many and will be working with planning staff to ensure that the final zoning will respect the design standards that were followed in developing the Beaverbrook Community. The Minto development is scheduled to go to the Planning Committee for zoning approval on Jan. 24th. The major outstanding issue for me on this proposal is the units that will back towards the St. Johns cemetery. Stacked townhouses have four levels, a lower bedroom level, a living level, the living level for the upper unit and a bedroom level above. There will be a hedge along the cemetery border but that wont be high enough to screen the cemetery from the living level of the upper unit so Ive asked Minto to look at building townhouses in that area. To see information on both proposals go to ottawa.ca/devapps, select Ward 4 and go to the address of the project that interests you. All submitted reports are there for you to find out more about these proposals.
THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS
Many thanks to the Kanata Seniors Council, for holding the West Ottawa Seniors Summit last Friday. The Council is a voluntary organization that provides many services and speaks for seniors in our community. The input from this session will be sent to the City to be included in the preparation of an Older Adult Plan for
the City. Many recommendations on issues such as transportation, housing, social services and medical facilities were put forward and I will be working with the Seniors Council and my council colleagues to ensure that they are dealt with in the Plan. Congratulations to Diane McNulty and members of the Kanata Haven Youth Centre on the Flash Back & Fast Forward event at the Youth Centre. I was pleased to join the celebration that featured a performance by local musicians and look forward to future activities. The Kanata Food Cupboard continues to support those in our community who are having a hard time making ends meet. I encourage you to come to the official opening of their Christmas site, where they sort donated food for use in upcoming months and prepare food baskets and gifts for their clients. The official event starts at 4 pm on Sat. Dec. 3rd and will be followed by everyone pitching in to unload the two OC Transpo buses that will come from a day long collection of food at the Loblaws stores in Kanata. Thanks to Ken Hoppner for donating the use of 2 The Parkway for the Christmas site.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION
Waste Management has placed copies of Assessment Reports on their proposal for an additional landfill site on their property on Carp Road. The City is finalizing negotiations with Plasco for a waste to energy facility at the Citys Trail Road landfill site. The agreement would have Plasco build and operate the plant with the cost to the City being a charge per ton of waste (called the tipping fee) roughly equivalent to current costs of operating the landfill per ton. The agreement is expected to come to Council within the next month. A new outlet centre has been announced for land in Kanata North situated north of Highway 417 and west of Huntmar. Development is not anticipated to begin for at least a year while zoning, planning approvals and servicing is undertaken. The centre should open in 2013. Plan to attend AccessAbility activities on Dec. 9th and the Mayors Christmas Party on Dec. 10th. Details are on the city website. Ill be singing carols with the Mayor and other former Mayors on Dec. 4th at the Villa Marconi. Council has approved the location for the future transitway connection from Lincoln Fields to Pinecrest which will not require removing homes on Roman Ave. Approval to create a bus only connection from the Pinecrest ramp to the 417 eastbound will mean that buses will not have to merge into traffic at that location.
CHRIS LOWRIE
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Lowrie, a long time resident who did so much for the community, particularly for those with disabilities. My condolences go out to her husband Ian and family at this difficult time.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Sat. Dec. 3, 4-6 pm, official opening of Kanata Food Cupboard Christmas site and unloading of OC Transpo buses from the Loblaws food drive, 2 The Parkway Tues. Dec. 6, 5:15 pm, Vigil at the Resource Centre, in memory of murdered women, 2 MacNeil Court Fri. Dec. 9, AccessAbility Day, City Hall Sat. Dec. 10, 2-6 pm, Mayors Christmas Celebration, Aberdeen Pavilion, Lansdowne Park Mon Dec. 12, 7:30 pm, Official Meeting re Zoning, 2 The Parkway, Mlacak Centre Halls A & B Contact me at 613-580-2474, email Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca, or visit www.mariannewilkinson.com to keep up to date on community matters.
