| Great news for Portobello South!
The PSCDA has been informed that the extension of Provence Avenue may be greatly accelerated. Residents will recall that the extension, which is necessary to connect Provence Avenue from Brian Coburn Boulevard to Innes Road, would normally be constructed and paid for by the developer. However, since the developer has no immediate plans for the lands, the extension was not going to occur in the near future.
Councillor Blais will present a proposal to the City to do the work and recuperate the costs from the landowner when the land is ultimately developed. A report will be coming forward to the City’s Planning Committee next Tuesday to secure the necessary funding.
Residents are encouraged to write to the Committee Coordinator to ensure the City of Ottawa is aware of your support: Christopher.Zwierzchowski@ottawa.ca. A full report is available on the City of Ottawa website.
Rock Knoll Park Project to go Forward
The City of Ottawa has recently announced
that the development of the Rock Knoll Eco Park directly beside
the École élémentaire publique Des Sentiers on Nantes will go
ahead most likely with a Spring 2012 completion date. The Parent
Council of the school was key to starting the project by
adopting the park and then applying for grants to plant trees on
the property and developing plans on holding outdoor education
classes there. Councillor Stephen Blais recently unveiled the
concept plans for the new park that will be located off of
Nantes Street. The city is investing $200,000 to make the first
phase of the park open by 2012. The work on the park, beginning
soon, will include trails, interpretative plaques, seating
areas, eco-play structures and a park shelter/performance
space/outdoor classroom. There will also be a series of nature
trails. Two public consultation meetings were held one in August
and one in October. At the meeting in October some opposition
was raised by residents on Nantes Street citing traffic concerns
and potential safety issues. The location of the structure that
can be used for outdoor classroom instruction was relocated on
the plan to be in a more visible area to discourage any misuse.
Councillor Blais reassured residents that he will monitor and
deal with any issues that arise in the future. In the end the
overall support for an additional park in the neighbourhood was
strong and the park will go ahead perhaps with a new name in the
future.
Opposition to the Habit for Humanity
Project
Also this summer, the Notting Gate community
was informed that through a public consultation meeting arranged
by Councillor Stephen Blais held in August that
Habitat for Humanity
had purchased land at the corner of Nantes and Portobello and
that they were planning to build townhouses to house and assist
several families. At that meeting, though some tough questions
were asked, in general, most of the attendees seemed to be in
support of the project. The PSCDA invited Habitat for Humanity
to attend the community barbeque held in September in order to
answer questions and present their project to the wider
community. Later in September a concerned group of citizens
(most of whom live on Nantes and therefore would be most
directly affected by the development) met with Councillor Blais
and asked that an additional public consultation meeting be held
after notices were placed by the City of Ottawa informing local
residents that the next step was rezoning of the property. The
meeting was held in October and the opposition to the project
was strongly voiced. It is clear that most residents in Notting
Gate are not opposed to the mandate and charitable work being
undertaken by Habit for Humanity. Those who are opposed were
mostly concerned with the design plans, the fit with the
existing homes and the impact of the density of having up to 11
three story townhomes on a relatively small irregularly shaped
lot. The impact of potential future traffic and parking issues
was also discussed. The period for consultation on the zoning
issue has been extended by the City of Ottawa until November 11th.
A sub-committee who will be providing further input to the City
and who will be working with Habit for Humanity on revised plans
that address at least some of the concerns is being organized by
Caroline Reindeau (caroline.reindeau@rogers.com).
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