Lansdowne 2.0 undertaking appealed to Ontario Land Tribunal

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The Metropolis of Ottawa’s plan to revitalize Lansdowne 2.0 has been stalled by an enchantment to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

In a memo to the mayor and metropolis councillors on Wednesday, Sean Moore, the town’s performing director of the Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Undertaking, stated an enchantment had been introduced ahead by the Glebe Group Affiliation.

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The estimated $419-million Lansdowne 2.0 plan, handed by council in fall 2023, contains constructing a brand new occasion centre and north-side grandstands for the stadium together with two residential towers and retail house.

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The contentious plan spurred dozens of delegations at metropolis corridor, with critics denouncing an absence of inexpensive housing and a monetary burden to the town, amongst different components. In the meantime, Ottawa Sports activities and Leisure Group, the town’s associate at Lansdowne Park, says the present services have fallen into such a state of disrepair that the corporate fears it might be lacking out on big-name music acts and different sports activities gigs.

Metropolis council gave its preliminary stamp of approval to the plan, however because the Glebe Group Affiliation has appealed, the motions councillors handed “is not going to come into full power and impact and would require willpower by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for disposition,” Moore wrote in his memo.

Established in 2021, the Ontario Land Tribunal hears issues associated to land-use planning, environmental and pure options, heritage safety, land valuation, land compensation, municipal finance and extra.

Moore’s memo stated a listening to could be scheduled “in response to the subsequent obtainable date on the Tribunal’s calendar, with the Metropolis’s Authorized employees advocating for a date on the Tribunal’s earliest availability.”

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Within the meantime, Moore says, the town will nonetheless transfer ahead with elements of the undertaking, together with nailing down procurement choices and figuring out standards for promoting the air rights. The town estimates these air rights will likely be valued at $39 million.

Carolyn Mackenzie, chair of the Glebe Group Affiliation’s planning and growth committee, stated the group submitted the enchantment to the provinncial tribunal as a result of it felt it “didn’t have an entire lot of selection” after Lansdowne 2.0 obtained the preliminary nod from council regardless of what she referred to as insufficient public session on key components.

She stated she hoped the enchantment would lead to a “rethink” of Lansdowne 2.0.

The group affiliation’s enchantment cites two main considerations: the brand new location for the occasion centre and the peak of the 2 residential towers, she stated.

Relocating the occasion centre to the east aspect of the stadium “goes to lead to a reasonably large lack of priceless or essential inexperienced house, which goes to impression on essential public gathering house, in addition to heritage belongings,” Mackenzie stated.

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As effectively, the 2 residential towers are proposed to be as much as 40 storeys tall, which is “not acceptable in scale or situated on the location,” she added. 

The group affiliation may be accused of taking a “not-in-my-backyard” method, Mackenzie stated, however “no person’s homes are going to be shadowed by the towers. That is in regards to the impression of public gathering house for residents throughout the town.”

Moore’s memo stated metropolis employees would proceed to replace council because the state of affairs unfolded.

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