Planning committee votes in favour of new Civic master plan

A rendering of the proposed design for the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus, which is scheduled to open in 2028. This image shows the view of the campus from Dow's Lake. (Image courtesy of The Ottawa Hospital)

OTTAWA -

The plan for a new $2.8-billion Ottawa Hospital Civic campus has cleared a hurdle at city hall.

Planning committee voted to endorse the plan on Monday, in a meeting that carried over from a long debate that started on Friday morning.

More than 50 people spoke at the meeting. Many emphasized the need for a new state-of-the-art health care facility in the city's core.

Others objected to the planned use of green space, including a parking garage in Queen Juliana park near Dow's Lake.

Planning committee voted 6-2 in favour of the master plan, with councillors Jeff Leiper and Shawn Menard opposing.

But the committee did pass a motion calling for the federal government to protect green space at the Central Experimental Farm, along with another motion calling for the creation of a communtiy group to oversee the traffic impacts of construction.

The new Civic campus is expected to open in 2028.