Residents voice concerns over proposed 25-storey high-rise in Stittsville

Residents in Stittsville are upset over a proposed plan to build a 25-storey apartment building on Hazeldean Road.

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Montreal-based developer, Devmont is proposing a residential development containing 431 apartments in two buildings, with heights of three and 25 storeys. The site at 6310 Hazeldean Road is located west of Carp Road across the street from Stittsville Corners Shopping Plaza.

"25 storeys seems unbelievable in Stittsville, I am a little bit concerned about the location," said Tanya Hein, a resident of Stittville.

"It is not that we can’t have larger buildings in this area, it is just that this particular area isn’t well served for the residents who are going to be living there," she said.

The building also includes 389 parking spaces for residents and 86 spaces for visitors, accessed from a site entrance on Hazeldean Road.

Hein says parking will be an issue and could spill out onto other roads and parking lots.

"The parking the developer is proposing is less than one parking spot per unit, which is fine if you have access to great transit or walkability, but that is not this location," Hein said.

"Yes, we are going to have to have more density, everyone knows that and accepts that, but I think what a lot of people want to see is more mid-rise buildings, not this."

The land is currently zoned by up to five stories, but that would need to change to roughly five times that.

Caitlin Bauer is a Carleton University student and says transit is a big issue for her.

"We don’t have infrastructure to support a 25-storey building," she said.

"I am worried about the transit, there is only one bus that is by that location and Carp Road is already over-packed and busy."

Nancy Therrien is president of the Stittsville Village Association and says the area "has changed drastically."

"There has been a lot of growth, probably a little too much. We will see how it goes, but I don’t think there is going to be too much approval for this 25-storey building," she said.

"I don’t think it is the right spot for it. The traffic already the way that it is, it is too congested."

Therrien also said she is concerned there may not be any affordable housing in the plan.

"We need more affordable housing and I don’t think that is what is coming," Therrien said.

Coun. Glen Gower will be holding an information public consultation meeting on Feb. 20.

"This is unprecedented for Stittsville," he said.

“Provincial governments and federal governments are telling cities you need to approve more housing, and more density. That is what we are seeing in the suburbs now.”

Gower says the reason for more high-rises coming to suburbs like Stittsville and Kanata is largely due to housing crunch facing most cities across Canada.

"We are in housing crisis in Ottawa around supply and affordability and we have a huge demand for more rentals and apartments, which is why we are seeing developers bring these proposals forward."

There is still a long ways to go before the building is done. It is being currently being reviewed by city staff and also requires committee and full council approval.

Gower says he is already hearing from residents.

"We are hearing a lot of concerns from residents both on transportation, road infrastructure and transit," he said.

But Gower says there will be some improvements in the area in the coming years. He says Carp Road will be upgraded starting in 2025 to make it two lanes on each side with sidewalks.

Gower, who is also the head of the city’s transit commission says that OC Transpo service changes will be coming this spring, which would increase some trips to that area of Hazeldean Road.

He says more investment from other levels of government is required to make sure the entire area is better suited for higher density development.

"One of the challenges is, we are seeing a lot of growth and proposed growth in the area, but we are really struggling as cities, not just Ottawa but across Canada to keep up with up that growth," he said.

"With all the other infrastructure, its finding the money to keep up that is a big challenge."