OTTAWA -- Two City of Ottawa standing committees will resume debate Tuesday morning on whether to expand the urban boundary for future development.
After eleven hours of presentations from city staff, developers, community groups and residents, the committees recessed for the evening. Dozens of delegates spoke at the meeting, which was held on Zoom, but with more than 100 people registered to weigh in, councillors and staff needed at least another day.
City staff are recommending adding up to 1,650 hectares to the urban boundary to allow for the construction of thousands of new houses over the next quarter century.
The City expects Ottawa's population to grow to more than 1.4 million by 2046, which would require close to 200,000 new homes.
The urban boundary is the line between the urban and suburban parts of the city and the rural parts. In practice, it's land that is already considered ready for development because it is close to, or already has, access to municipal infrastructure like water mains. Expanding the boundary would encourage the City to expand those services further out from the core to accommodate new homes.
Those in favour of expanding the boundary, such as developers, say the housing market will ultimately drive the decisions about where people want to live and many homebuyers still want detached homes with yards. Those opposed to expanding the boundary argue that the future of Ottawa is through intensification, by building homes closer together, higher up, and creating walkable neighbourhoods where amenities are accessible without the need for a car.
The joint meeting of the Planning Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee is being held virtually. You can watch the livestream on the City's YouTube channel.
Monday's livestream can be watched here.
The vote, once complete, would go to full City Council at the end of the month for approval.
It's considered one of the most contentious issues this term of council will have to deal with because it will affect the housing market in Ottawa for decades to come.
What City staff are recommending is expanding the boundary by between 1,350 hectares and 1,650 hectares, or about 900 to 1,100 downtown city blocks, roughly. In a report tabled for the meeting Monday, Staff say this approach would permit the City and the housing industry to "lay the groundwork to facilitate more intensification through the introduction of new housing forms to achieve the reallocation of ground-oriented units (single-detached, semi detached and row housing) that are typically provided in greenfield areas, back into existing communities."
The land that would be added to the expanded urban boundary would be selected based on criteria staff say would ensure the most cost-effective use of the land and would prioritize "new residences close to existing commercial areas, existing places of employment and most importantly close to existing or already-planned rapid transit."
