In March of 2019, the City of Ottawa began the process, as required by the Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statement, to develop a new Official Plan, which will run in coordination with the reviews of the Infrastructure Master Plan, Transportation Master Plan and the Development Charges By-law. All aspects of the Official Plan will be reviewed and updated, including secondary plans for urban neighbourhoods and rural Villages. This will provide a vision for the future growth of the city and a policy framework to guide the city's development.

Please note these discussions will continue until the Fall of 2021, in order to allow for more community and stakeholder feedback. My office and I will ensure these and other important consultations periods are always well advertised via my newsletter, website and social media communications. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter and Facebook page so you can always have the most up-to-date information on these important opportunities.

Since March 2019, numerous opportunities for consultation on the City’s Official Plan were provided to our community, which included local meetings with the Osgoode Ward Business Association (OWBA), the Osgoode Ward Advisory Committee (OWAC), and the Ottawa Federation of Agriculture (OFA), where I gave multiple updates with City Staff. As well, the City’s Joint Planning and Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee have sat numerous times since 2019, in some cases extending into multiple days at a time. These meetings are still available for viewing on the city’s website at Ottawa City Council - YouTube. Furthermore, the planning staff working on the Official Plan hosted the Transect discussions this past November, which were online due to COVID-19.

Today at council we reviewed the Growth Management Strategy Report, which is a main component of the New Official Plan and details the Urban Land Expansion.

On January 26^th, the Joint Planning and ARAC Committees provided direction on how to select the additional 1,281 hectares of land provincially required to meet the expansion, which Council approved in May 2020. This is necessary for the projected population growth to 1.5 million residents by the late 2040s. However, when staff came back with which lands to include in their reports, they still needed to select 270 hectares of alternative lands to meet their expansion requirements.

This leads us to the more recent meetings, which have made larger headlines. I can’t stress enough that no proposal is currently active or has been submitted regarding Tewin. Originally, the “concept of Tewin” was not given a great amount of consideration because it was not aligned with the land selection criteria that City Council gave to planning staff. However, using criteria from the Council-approved Growth Management Strategy, staff presented several additional options for the extra 270 hectares and the Committee members directed them to use an option that did a focused analysis for a new satellite community east of Leitrim and west of Carlsbad Springs, with Algonquin land interests, referred to as Tewin. The Joint Committee gave city staff the green light to embark on a focused analysis of this option and received approval from City Council today.

When I was elected in 2014, and again in 2018, I promised to represent and make the best possible decisions for the residents and communities of Osgoode Ward. Therefore, I support the Tewin concept motion and the Urban Boundary expansion for the following reasons:

• The framework of the Tewin project best fits the goals of the New Official Plan, following the 5 Big Moves and the 15-minute neighborhood model we as a city are looking for.
• I was very intrigued by and convinced that the One Planet Living framework will ensure that Tewin is developed in a way that fosters sustainability. The prospect of Ottawa having two One Planet Living communities — the first one is Zibi on the Ottawa River — is very appealing and would give Canada’s capital far reaching credibility on an international scale for encouraging sustainable urban planning. 
• The new Growth Management Strategy will ensure growth stays within the city limits and as close to the urban core as possible. Using the Tewin lands would accomplish this.
• I believe this potential community could produce a wide array of jobs for our area, as well as bring many city services closer to the residents of Osgoode Ward, such as parks, arenas and community centres, and also give residents access to over 600 hectares of Natural Heritage Area (this land would be untouched).
• This could lead to exploring the previously failed Ring Road, connecting Highway 416 & 417, bypassing the urban core and routing traffic outside our rural villages.
• I heard directly from local community members as well as leaders from groups who understand what positive changes can come from the Tewin project, many of which are supportive. This includes organizations like the Emerald Links and Carlsbad Community Associations, OWBA and OWAC.
• This would complete the originally planned suburban city border between urban core and our rural countryside. Tewin would be located where the previously planned Carlsbad Satellite City in the 1970’s.
• I have also spoken with our former MPP and area Cabinet Minister, Lisa MacLeod, who informed me that she, along with Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark and staff from Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford’s office, were briefed by the Algonquins of Ontario. Minister MacLeod, who knows the parcel of land well, asked directly about the soil quality and has assured me she is satisfied with the results.
• This echoes the findings of the Tewin Project, that found soil conditions are not unlike those encountered within portions of other developments, that have been built or are under construction within the City of Ottawa. These include Riverside South, Kanata West and East, and Greenboro.
• The quote below is from one of the 1974 reports, which assessed a wide range of building types, and speaks to the viability of developing large areas of the Tewin Lands.
  • “It is clear that it is possible to construct the buildings required in the proposed development, provided that the appropriate use is made of the land available.”

As City Council did approve this area for urban expansion today, there are still many years of planning ahead and many opportunities for public participation in the planning process. Tewin has stated, in writing, to the City their intention to pay for the design and construction of servicing and infrastructure through development charges, area specific charges, landowner contributions and other funding mechanisms.

As mentioned earlier, an official submission for this development has not yet been made and until such time, I suggest visiting Tewin’s website at www.tewin.ca. Once a proposal has been filed with the City of Ottawa, it will be available online at www.devapps.ottawa.ca/en.

I encourage you to visit my website www.GeorgeDarouze.ca, where I am regularly posting information for public consultations. Please also feel free to reach out to my office via email at [email protected] where my team and I are happy to respond to any questions.

Constituents who have concerns should also email the New Official Plan team at [email protected]. All feedback sent to this account is reviewed by City planners working on the project, and I welcome you to include me on that correspondence. You can also register your comments through the Engage Ottawa website, which is a great resource for the public on upcoming consultations.

George Darouze

Osgoode Ward 20 Councillor | Deputy Mayor

February 10, 2021