Big changes are coming to how Ottawa manages urban growth

$1.8M fee is not a 'disincentive' to applicants, say city staff

Owners of land outside of Ottawa's urban boundary will soon be able to apply for it to be eligible for suburban development whenever they'd like, instead of having to wait for the city to launch its own review.

But the ad hoc process will cost them $1.8 million in fees.

City planners had to come up with a new application process in a hurry after Ontario dictated an overhaul to the existing process in its latest provincial planning statement.

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"It's potentially a very big change for Ottawa," said Kitchisippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, chair of the city's planning and housing committee.

Leiper said the city needs to evaluate parcels of land in a "holistic and comprehensive" way about once a decade.

"The provincial decision to allow applications to add lands to the urban boundary at any time has the potential to be a little Wild West," he said. "There are almost certainly land owners around the periphery of the city who are probably looking at this provincial decision as a payday, as a windfall."

The shift comes after Ontario's most recent expansion plans became plagued by scandal, first related to the southern Ontario Greenbelt and later the unilateral expansion of urban boundaries in Hamilton and Ottawa — decisions the province ultimately reversed.

Change frustrates councillors

The city last reviewed its overarching planning document in 2021, adding 1,281 hectares of greenfield land.

The politically charged process saw council add the controversial Tewin development into the mix despite being scored poorly in the city's review — a decision that's still sparking debate.

"Can we get a refund on our official plan?" Orléans South-Navan Coun. Catherine Kitts facetiously asked at a technical briefing on Friday.

"It feels like the dog ate our homework and we have nothing to show for all our hard work."

Others echoed that frustration, questioning whether overworked planners will be able to accommodate the new workload on top of other pressures heaped on them by rules aimed to speed up development.

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"My heart is pounding right now," said College Coun. Laine Johnson. "My palms are sweating because I know how under fire the planning department has been."

Ottawa recently updated its infrastructure master plan and development charge bylaw, and is currently working on the next version of its comprehensive zoning bylaw and transportation master plan.

Royce Fu, the city's manager of policy planning, assured councillors they'd be able to take on the work, while remaining hopeful that developers will take a more "collaborative" approach.

Fee meant to cover city costs

The city is offering developers two options.

They hope that landowners will bring their case to staff as part of their next review of the city's growth management — set to happen years earlier than originally planned, but not until later next year. If they do, the city will look at their case for free.

But if a developer wants staff to consider an application outside that period, they'll need to pay $1.8 million in fees to cover the city's costs.

"The fee is not intended to be a disincentive. It's intended to [recover costs] for the effort that is required in order to update our master plans," explained Derrick Moodie, planning services director. "The fee is much greater than anything we have ever seen in the city before."

Moodie said the scale of these developments would likely "offset" that cost.

Jason Burggraaf, the executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association, likewise believes the fee is "not as unreasonable as it seems" given the sheer amount of potential growth.

Developers will also have an option to stop the process early and get a partial refund, after initial feedback from staff.

Updated growth projections

The application process will see staff draw on outside expertise to answer three questions:

• Does the city need more land?
• Can the current infrastructure support it?
• Why should one area be chosen over others?

Land that was highly rated in the last official plan process is likely to score very well again and could see a "modest reduction" in fees, said Fu.

The broader picture is that it's not a matter of if Ottawa will need more room to grow, but when.

The province is also calling on the city to rely on population projections issued by the ministry of finance annually. Recently released figures show Ottawa should be planning for an additional 240,000 people to move to the capital by 2046.

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"We're talking approximately 60,000 more houses than we're currently planning in our zoning bylaw for. Ottawa's perpetually behind in terms of its growth projections," said Burggraaf.

"We need to step it up in terms of intensification, in terms of zoning, in terms of expansion lands. Every possible avenue to get more housing is going to be needed moving forward."

Staff will present their plans to a joint meeting of the planning and agricultural and rural affairs committees next Wednesday, with an aim to seek council approval the following week.

That would ensure the process is in place before the province's new rules come into effect on Oct. 20.