New plan for the Glebe includes four-storey limit for new buildings on section of Bank Street

OTTAWA -

Building heights are being capped at four storeys along a section of Bank Street in the core of the Glebe as part of new guidelines for future growth.

Ottawa's planning committee approved the Bank Street in the Glebe Secondary Plan, which defines permitted height and density on the main street in the Glebe.

"The plan would help ensure intensification happens in ways that protect the Glebe's heritage character and building on the community's pedestrian-oriented nature," said the city in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Under the plan, maximum building heights are capped at four storeys along Bank Street from First Avenue to Holmwood Avenue.

"Some mainstreet properties towards the north end of the Glebe that are relatively large, under-developed or currently incompatible with the planned mainstreet character are proposed to receive an increase in maximum building height permission from four to six storeys," said the report for the planning committee.

Some six-storey development would be permitted on larger properties while buildings taller than nine storeys will only be allowed in the area of Bank Street and Isabella Street.

"It balances the heritage context with the need for increased intensity and a traditional mainstreet," said coun. Shawn Menard, noting there will be "significant density" added to Bank Street.

"It's going to maintain the charm, the uniqueness that exists there now while adding density that is context specific for the sites that have been looked at."

As part of the Bank Street in the Glebe Secondary Plan, the city-owned parking lot at the corner of Bank Street and Chamberlain Avenue will be prioritized for affordable housing.