Weekly newsletter: November 19, 2024
Hi everyone!
It was great to see so many out for the Santa Claus Parade on Sunday! Some of you may have noticed I was getting quite warm on the float. No regrets, though, I’d rather be overdressed than cold.
Now, let’s prepare ourselves for five weeks of 16 versions of the same few Christmas songs…
2025 budget, early thoughts
Committee budget meetings begin this week. Public information session tonight at 6:30 pm, no registration required.
City Council tabled its 2025 municipal budget↗ last week, which proposes an overall property tax increase of 2.9 per cent with transit factored out.
The tabled budget includes a proposed 8 per cent increase to the transit levy, which brings the overall property tax increase to the equivalent of 3.9 per cent.
Most of my early thoughts surround the transit budget.
It’s irresponsible to propose a third budget in a row which includes “placeholder” funding from upper levels of government. In essence, the proposed budget deliberately includes a gap that may or may not be covered.
Based on the previous two budgets, I’m leaning towards that gap not being covered, considering Ottawa is not alone in Ontario or Canada, with challenges in transit funding.
The longstanding funding model of fares, taxes, and occasional top-ups worked for 125 years when Monday-to-Friday commuters were reliably present. Despite changes in our commuting habits since 2022, which now seem to be permanent, there’s still a preference for status quo or one-time cash injections with no sustainability plan.
Think about this—when non-profits ask for corporate sponsorship, they are usually expected to create a sustainability plan. The City should be no different when it asks upper levels of government for funding.
I shared concerns with the approach to transit funding when the Mayor launched his Fairness for Ottawa campaign back in August, and those concerns remain the same.
I had hoped to share my proposal to change the way we fund transit around now, but my workload over the summer and most of the autumn has delayed that until after the budget cycle is complete.
(Note: the Mayor shared an update on yesterday indicating he will reconsider the proposed 120 per cent increase in the cost of a senior’s bus pass.)
Over the next month, the budget will be discussed in detail at individual committees. All meetings start at 9:30 am unless noted otherwise.
Tues. Nov. 19 (today) – Environment and Climate Change Committee
Wed. Nov. 20 (tomorrow) – Planning and Housing Committee
Thurs. Nov. 21 – Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee
Mon. Nov. 25 – Transit Commission
Mon. Nov. 25, 4:00 pm – Police Service Board
Tues. Nov. 26 – Community Services Committee
Thurs. Nov. 28 – Transportation Committee
Mon. Dec. 2 – Audit Committee
Mon. Dec. 2, 5:00 pm – Ottawa Board of Health
Tues. Dec. 3 – Finance and Corporate Services Committee
Tues. Dec. 3, 5:00 pm – Ottawa Public Library Board
Thurs. Dec. 5, 10:00 am – Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
The budget will return to Council on Wednesday, December 11 at 10:00 am for final consideration, amendments, and a vote.
Are you interested in learning more and sharing your feedback about this year’s budget? Councillors Brown, Desroches, Hill, and I are hosting a public information virtual session tonight at 6:30 pm. No registration is required.
I’m hoping to make our future budget consultations truly consultative, along with an overall plan to improve my resident engagement strategy beyond what I do now. More details in a future newsletter!
Sortation facility
Site plan application for 60,715 square metre sortation facility at 99 Bill Leathem now active. Development file is available online↗.
Broccolini has submitted a site plan application to construct a 60,715 square metre sortation facility at 99 Bill Leathem Drive. (Note: this is not the Canada Post proposal—that project was paused by the corporation earlier in the year.)
The current proposal is a new application, not a reactivation of the 2021 application, which many residents may recall.
The proposed development covers over 30 hectares and includes 59 loading docks, a fenced yard for up to 482 trailers, and 1,185 employee parking spaces. It also includes 6,900 square metres in parkland dedication, likely to be a fenced dog park.
According to the documents online, the developer is aiming for a construction completion timeline in 2026. Actual start of operations may be a little later. The facility is expected to operate 24/7 and employ 2,000 to 2,500 people.
Drastic changes to planning legislation by the provincial government since 2021 have removed a Councillor’s ability to withdraw City staff’s authority on files that conform with zoning.
That means City staff have the ultimate authority to approve or reject this application based on documentation and completion of required studies, since it conforms with the site’s existing zoning.
The applicant may seek a minor variance to increase the building height by about seven metres later in the year. As it will not add any floor space or change the use of the building, it will likely proceed through Committee of Adjustment↗, which is an independent quasi-judicial panel comprised of citizen members.
The legislative changes also take away the public hearing requirement for a file like this, but despite that, I am working with City staff and Broccolini to host a public information session to keep residents informed of the development proposal.
The current proposal uses the entire lot between the Longfields/Bill Leathem roundabout and where Leikin curves towards Merviale Road, while the previous application in 2021 left about half the lot open for future similar development.
Compared to the 2021 application, the current proposal will generate more traffic, with half the truck trips expected to use Fallowfield to/from the 416, while the other half are expected to use Prince of Wales to/from Hunt Club. Nothing will use the residential portion of Leikin or head south via Merivale and Prince of Wales.
Many residents have already expressed concerns about the proposal via social media and email, mostly focusing on transportation infrastructure.
As with all development, it’s up to the City to respond to impact data provided by a developer. In this case, I will use this application to push for funding for the widening of Fallowfield and Prince of Wales in next year’s Transportation Master Plan discussions.
Separately, I started discussions with City staff about upgrading the Woodroffe/Fallowfield intersection before the application was active, but it ties in nicely. I plan to have some options to share with residents for discussion early next year.
Basically, the only thing I can do with this file is mitigate its impacts, and I will work hard to ensure it's easier on you.
As shared earlier, I am working with City staff and Broccolini to host a public information session to keep residents informed about the proposal. Details will be shared once that has been agreed upon and set up.
The full development application, including the site and landscaping plans, transportation impact assessment, and others, are available here↗.
Greenbank pathway
Pathway resurfacing as interim solution until future reconstruction and upgrade.
Last week, City staff provided an update and plan for the Greenbank pathway through the Greenbelt.
The pathway is in a condition that’s no longer maintainable. A heavier investment must be made, but multiple unknowns have pushed the timeline into unknown territory.
One potential impact identified earlier was a future HydroOttawa project related to an as-yet-unscheduled expansion of the Canada Food Inspection Agency laboratories, although they have since agreed to bear the costs of remediation.
The City pathway is also on federal Greenbelt land, so the NCC are the ultimate approval authority.
With those great unknowns, City staff proposed temporarily shelving full pathway reconstruction and upgrades in favour of a like-for-like resurfacing project in the interim.
That option extends the life of the pathway by at least 10 years while staff gain clarity with surrounding projects and works and their impacts with relevant parties.
Staff have already budgeted $1.5 million for the resurfacing, meaning it can proceed in 2025 if estimated costs are at or below that figure. Otherwise, it will proceed in 2026.
It may seem like a throwaway cost, considering there is an ultimate plan to reconstruct and upgrade the pathway, but given the timeline has so many unknowns and the pathway’s current state, staff have recommended resurfacing as the best option now in the interest of usability.
Over the next two months, staff will find a more definitive cost estimate, refine the overall idea, and begin a functional project design. A further update will be shared with us in January.
Purple streetlights
Fun bit of trivia to end this week’s newsletter. No, I did not take that photo while driving.
Have you noticed the MTO’s new LED streetlights on the 417 between Maitland and Parkdale emitting different shades of blue and purple?
It’s not the MTO testing out a cyberpunk look for the highway, but rather a defect with the light heads.
LED chips normally emit a blueish light, so a layer of phosphor is applied to absorb the blue and emit white instead. If you look closely at the LED chips and lights in your home (when they’re off), where the light comes from is a deep golden yellow. That’s the phosphor!
When the phosphor’s adhesion begins to fail, the material cracks and delaminates. The more LED chips lose their coating in a streetlight head, the more blue is emitted. Since the material failure is not consistent, different lights are emitting different shades of blue and purple, while some are still white.
Cities and transport authorities across North America with LED streetlights have experienced the same issue at varying degrees, but the City of Ottawa’s LED streetlights have so far been unaffected.
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Thank you, as always, for your continued readership and engagement. You are the funding gap to my transit budget.
To share your feedback, feel free to just reply to this newsletter or send me an email!
-Wilson