Development Concept for the West Sector of Montreal Road, as suggested in a 1991 City of Vanier Discussion Paper (Source below).
At a City-sponsored planning forum on April 26, 2012, Councillor Peter Hume (Chair of the City’s Planning Committee) identified the importance of updating certain neighbourhood plans, ensuring that the zoning within each is up-to-date and in line with the City’s Official Plan – in order to facilitate greater certainty and predictability vis-à-vis new development. In his remarks, Hume referred specifically to Vanier as one example.
This week, we learned that the City has initiated a process towards doing so – reviewing and updating the City’s Official Plan policies and zoning by-law, specific to Vanier, so they better align and reflect the goals of Traditional Mainstreet zones. Timelines are short. So, given the importance of the Montreal Road corridor for residents and businesses today, this is the time for the community conversation to begin. What is our vision for this area, and how might we ensure that the City’s Official Plan offers policy direction to make this a reality? We’ll learn more in the coming days, but a look to the past may be helpful to understand how we got here.
Today, policy direction for development on and around Montreal Road comes from a Vanier-specific policy statement referred to as a “Site Specific Policy,” appended to the current City of Ottawa Official Plan. The area covered by the Policy, and now subject to review, is identified in a map provided by the City. The Policy was first created when Vanier was an independent municipality, and as such, was planning for the many needs of a distinct city, outlined by the Citizen’s David Reevely. Upon amalgamation, the Policy was simply adopted by the City of Ottawa, and appended to the new City’s Official Plan – to remain, on paper, as a policy guiding development in “downtown Vanier.”
The Policy has roots that date to the 1980s when considerable attention by City of Vanier and business officials was directed to the renewal of Montreal Road (see previous post, for example). Specifically, a 1987 study commissioned by the City of Vanier recommended that the downtown (along the Montreal Road corridor) be sub-divided, for planning purposes, into three sectors – still evident in today’s Site Specific Policy.
A ‘West Sector,’ lying from the Rideau River to the Vanier Parkway, was identified as an area ripe for significant commercial (and office) use, with an emphasis on large-scale redevelopments and minimal residential property. A Discussion Paper published by the City in 1991 offers one glimpse of the visions for this sector (image above), with large developments (ranging from 15,000 to 35,000 square metres) intended to anchor this Primary Employment Centre. Still today, a map included in the Site Specific Policy continues to reflect a similar vision – even centred around a non-existent road network (for example, with Jeanne Mance crossing the Vanier Parkway).
The area from the Vanier Parkway to Lajoie / Lallemand, referred to as the Central Sector, was to be the heart of a “French Quarter,” an area designated “to express the cultural identity of the community” through its cultural and commercial offerings, attracting visitors and local residents alike. Building heights would be lower than to the west, with a focus given to ground-floor uses and even interlinking systems of courtyards and pedestrian walkways. To the east, the East Sector receives scant attention, with the exception of referencing construction of a possible gateway into the community.
Of interest, the Site Specific Policy makes use of traditional planning tools like zoning and site plan control, but also encourages the use of less traditional means, including design guidelines or design principles, particularly for the French Quarter. Separate from the Policy, guidelines were offered on streetscaping and on architectural and physical features, all to aid in creating the desired ambiance of the French Quarter. Still today, we enjoy the red brick sidewalks, black iron fencing, traditional style lampposts and buried hydro lines in the Central Sector that resulted from these ideas.
Today, nearly 25 years after the Policy was written, the review is welcome. City officials point to split zoning and out-dated terminology. Further, while Montreal Road is today designated a Traditional Mainstreet, one might point to further issues with certain restrictions in the current Policy. For example, in the West Sector, in order to emphasize commercial development, large developments were limited to residential components of 30 percent or less – an amount some may see as low for the mixed environments of today’s mainstreets.
Of course, in other ways, we may wish to retain aspects of the Policy. The strong pedestrian orientation, with emphases on linking the Rideau riverfront and inland areas with pedestrian pathways, is noteworthy. So too is a the “requirement that a pedestrian-oriented street life is to be facilitated” in the Central Sector. Further, taller buildings may be appropriate in areas designated for larger developments. At the entry to Vanier, via the Cummings Bridge, tall buildings overlooking the River, and situated near the office towers of Place Vanier, may serve a gateway into the neighbourhood. Perhaps other gateway features, similar to a monument earlier envisioned at the western gateway, may also be desired.
We are still learning how the review of the Site Specific Policy will evolve, and it is expected that residents will learn more at an Open House in late January where City officials will also seek community feedback and suggestions. Given that a revised plan is to be considered by the City’s Planning Committee by the end of May (might one imagine a number of development applications in the queue?), timelines are short.
Through the efforts of community associations and the Beechwood Village Alliance, we’ve seen a discussion grow on the future of Beechwood. What about Montreal Road?
(Mike Bulthuis)
This week, we learned that the City has initiated a process towards doing so – reviewing and updating the City’s Official Plan policies and zoning by-law, specific to Vanier, so they better align and reflect the goals of Traditional Mainstreet zones. Timelines are short. So, given the importance of the Montreal Road corridor for residents and businesses today, this is the time for the community conversation to begin. What is our vision for this area, and how might we ensure that the City’s Official Plan offers policy direction to make this a reality? We’ll learn more in the coming days, but a look to the past may be helpful to understand how we got here.
Today, policy direction for development on and around Montreal Road comes from a Vanier-specific policy statement referred to as a “Site Specific Policy,” appended to the current City of Ottawa Official Plan. The area covered by the Policy, and now subject to review, is identified in a map provided by the City. The Policy was first created when Vanier was an independent municipality, and as such, was planning for the many needs of a distinct city, outlined by the Citizen’s David Reevely. Upon amalgamation, the Policy was simply adopted by the City of Ottawa, and appended to the new City’s Official Plan – to remain, on paper, as a policy guiding development in “downtown Vanier.”
The Policy has roots that date to the 1980s when considerable attention by City of Vanier and business officials was directed to the renewal of Montreal Road (see previous post, for example). Specifically, a 1987 study commissioned by the City of Vanier recommended that the downtown (along the Montreal Road corridor) be sub-divided, for planning purposes, into three sectors – still evident in today’s Site Specific Policy.
A ‘West Sector,’ lying from the Rideau River to the Vanier Parkway, was identified as an area ripe for significant commercial (and office) use, with an emphasis on large-scale redevelopments and minimal residential property. A Discussion Paper published by the City in 1991 offers one glimpse of the visions for this sector (image above), with large developments (ranging from 15,000 to 35,000 square metres) intended to anchor this Primary Employment Centre. Still today, a map included in the Site Specific Policy continues to reflect a similar vision – even centred around a non-existent road network (for example, with Jeanne Mance crossing the Vanier Parkway).
The area from the Vanier Parkway to Lajoie / Lallemand, referred to as the Central Sector, was to be the heart of a “French Quarter,” an area designated “to express the cultural identity of the community” through its cultural and commercial offerings, attracting visitors and local residents alike. Building heights would be lower than to the west, with a focus given to ground-floor uses and even interlinking systems of courtyards and pedestrian walkways. To the east, the East Sector receives scant attention, with the exception of referencing construction of a possible gateway into the community.
Of interest, the Site Specific Policy makes use of traditional planning tools like zoning and site plan control, but also encourages the use of less traditional means, including design guidelines or design principles, particularly for the French Quarter. Separate from the Policy, guidelines were offered on streetscaping and on architectural and physical features, all to aid in creating the desired ambiance of the French Quarter. Still today, we enjoy the red brick sidewalks, black iron fencing, traditional style lampposts and buried hydro lines in the Central Sector that resulted from these ideas.
Today, nearly 25 years after the Policy was written, the review is welcome. City officials point to split zoning and out-dated terminology. Further, while Montreal Road is today designated a Traditional Mainstreet, one might point to further issues with certain restrictions in the current Policy. For example, in the West Sector, in order to emphasize commercial development, large developments were limited to residential components of 30 percent or less – an amount some may see as low for the mixed environments of today’s mainstreets.
Of course, in other ways, we may wish to retain aspects of the Policy. The strong pedestrian orientation, with emphases on linking the Rideau riverfront and inland areas with pedestrian pathways, is noteworthy. So too is a the “requirement that a pedestrian-oriented street life is to be facilitated” in the Central Sector. Further, taller buildings may be appropriate in areas designated for larger developments. At the entry to Vanier, via the Cummings Bridge, tall buildings overlooking the River, and situated near the office towers of Place Vanier, may serve a gateway into the neighbourhood. Perhaps other gateway features, similar to a monument earlier envisioned at the western gateway, may also be desired.
We are still learning how the review of the Site Specific Policy will evolve, and it is expected that residents will learn more at an Open House in late January where City officials will also seek community feedback and suggestions. Given that a revised plan is to be considered by the City’s Planning Committee by the end of May (might one imagine a number of development applications in the queue?), timelines are short.
Through the efforts of community associations and the Beechwood Village Alliance, we’ve seen a discussion grow on the future of Beechwood. What about Montreal Road?
(Mike Bulthuis)
Additional Sources:
Haigis, MacNabb, De Leuw Ltd, Planners and Landscape Architects (1987) “Montreal Road Commercial Area Revitalization Study” Volume 2, Part 1, Final Study Report: Streetscaping. September.
City of Vanier (1991) Discussion Paper on Commercial Development in the City of Vanier. Department of Planning and Development. City of Vanier. April 1991.
Haigis, MacNabb, De Leuw Ltd, Planners and Landscape Architects (1987) “Montreal Road Commercial Area Revitalization Study” Volume 2, Part 1, Final Study Report: Streetscaping. September.
City of Vanier (1991) Discussion Paper on Commercial Development in the City of Vanier. Department of Planning and Development. City of Vanier. April 1991.