MPCA responds to Councillor’s paper on new zoning bylaw 

The following submission is in response to Councillor Rawlson King’s paper on Draft Three of the City of Ottawa’s Zoning By-law.

Key Points from the Manor Park Community Association

Population growth will decrease

The Official Plan (OP) and the Zoning Bylaw (ZBL) are based on the premise that Ottawa’s population will grow by 400,000. The OP promised gentle densification of up to three units per lot. Now because of provincial regulations, there can always be a minimum of four units per lot. Even though the MPCA has supported the reduction of sprawl into rural areas and gentle densification in the core and suburbs, we have instead ended up with up to 16 units per lot, high rises in non-good transit corridors and still, suburban and rural sprawl.

The 400,000 predicted increase in Ottawa’s population is invalidated by recent immigration and employment policy shifts that represent a watershed moment in the country’s approach to population growth. The federal government’s decision to sharply reduce both permanent and temporary resident admissions — particularly international students and temporary foreign workers — marks a deliberate pause in population growth which has slowed to near zero. CCPA Analysis: Predicts cumulative federal job losses could reach over 57,000 by 2028, with the majority in Ottawa-Gatineau. Ottawa lost 9,000 jobs in October.

The underlying push for accelerated growth is no longer valid. Although no one can argue that house and rental prices are very high, the real housing crisis remains for people who are unhoused and who struggle on low paying wages. 

Uneven densification

The city has approved an OP amendment for the redevelopment of Manor Park Estates  which accounts for an increase in community density of 600 per cent, despite having projected only a  —  now discredited  —  40 per cent population growth over the next 25 years. 

It is inappropriate to upzone the entire community when one major development already exceeds intensification targets. 

Provincial standards offer built-in intensification

Under current provincial regulations, every lot in Ontario is permitted to accommodate up to four units. This already provides a foundation for intensification without the need for sweeping upzoning.

Neglect of social infrastructure

Neighbourhood livability has been sacrificed by the new ZBL in favour of a transect-based, one-size-fits-all model. 

There is no urban planning, no available funding, nor any zoning authority to ensure adequate parks, schools, libraries, or retail on main streets. The continuing loss of retail on Beechwood is an excellent example. There is no mechanism to guarantee access to medical or retail services, nor are the needs of children and seniors being addressed. In the Inner Urban Core especially, there is limited land available for future parks and recreational spaces.

Inner urban neighbourhood height increase to 11 metres

City staff have misrepresented agreed OP-appropriate height limits for inner urban N1 and N2 zones. As demonstrated in the previously shared Nov. 5, 2025 study by builder Paul Goodkey, a height of 8.5 meters is sufficient to accommodate three-storey units and support increased density. Raising the limit to 11 meters will result in significant loss of privacy and sunlight in older neighbourhoods. Manor Park does not support this change.

School closures will reduce available parkland

Ontario Regulation 374/23, enacted under the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023, grants the Minister of Education authority to approve school closures and determine the disposition of school lands.
It is reasonable to expect these lands will be sold to developers, further diminishing opportunities for public green space in Ward 13 where a number of schools are on the block for closure.

Hemlock

Hemlock Road leads into Beechwood Ave. It should not be zoned a minor corridor because it is narrow, and commercial uses are not appropriate when parking is not easily available and parking itself on this rapid moving street is dangerous. With the opening of Hemlock to Wateridge and the potential exit from the Kettle Island corridor on to Hemlock, space will need to be reserved to move vehicles, and it will not be appropriate to have business there. If there are too many locations for commercial enterprise, we won’t get the desired 15-minute walkability because things would be too scattered. Best to focus on St Laurent North up to Blasdell and no further as this commercial is already started and  fits into the already approved OPA of the Manor Park Estates.

The six-storey homes, now approved for Hemlock if a minor corridor, could now be built to a full mid-rise. The traffic created on Hemlock by Wateridge and the OPA plus other developments makes increased height beyond 8.5 on Hemlock from the school to Beechwood dangerous for bike lanes and entrance and exit into homes. On the Rockcliffe section homes back onto the Hemlock and Heritage will be threatened.

Misleading claims about greenspace, tree canopy, and carbon reduction

The city is misrepresenting greenspace in Manor Park by including areas such as the Aviation Parkway and Manor Park Public School grounds — neither of which are under city ownership nor control.
The proposed Kettle Island truck route threatens to destroy the Aviation Parkway as a quiet, healthy recreational corridor.
The city has failed to commit to preserving tree canopies that shade homes. The loss of mature trees will increase household energy costs due to reduced natural cooling and insulation.
Front and rear yard setbacks are insufficient to support healthy tree growth or meaningful greenspace, and no studies have been conducted on the impact of tree loss on watershed management in riverside neighbourhoods.

Lack of integrated strategy: siloed management

Zoning staff have declined accountability for the outcomes of the ZBL, citing too many external variables. This “it will all work out” attitude is unacceptable.
There is widespread concern about the lack of coordination with other departments, particularly those responsible for infrastructure and transportation planning.
A unified, cross-departmental strategy is needed to implement the OP and ZBL in a way that fulfills the city’s goal of becoming “the most livable mid-sized city in North America.”
Currently, there are no measurable outcomes to guide the city decisions’ alignment with its long-term goal. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Affecting Manor Park and other communities:

• Reduce intensification targets to match current realities and to halt their effects in driving up speculation and housing costs, contributing to lack of affordability, especially in the urban core.

• ransit to reduc the need for cars and parking. 

• Launch a comprehensive implementation strategy for the Official Plan and Zoning By-law stage interventions to achieve integrated outcomes: strengthened social fabric, regional economic vitality, and improved environmental and human health.Include a strategy on the increased noise levels target reduction of individual HVACs. In the current OP, where there is one now, there will be at least four. 

• Break down departmental silos and foster partnerships.

Improve the ZBL with rules to:

• stop renoviction until the developer is permit-ready;

• tax vacant land if construction does not start within 1 to 2 years; 

• require adequate storage on multiplexes for garbage, bikes  —  not racks which are not secure or weatherproof  —  strollers and other outdoor equipment;

• commit to three independent evaluations to measure the impact of 15-minute neighbourhoods and aggressive intensification at 5-, 10-, and 15-year intervals;

• decrease setbacks to maintain mature and new tree growth, reduce height to 8.5 metres, and keep N2 zones at 8.5 meters;

• increase rear and front yard setbacks to provide sufficient space  for mature trees; 

• reduce hard surfacing;

• hold developers accountable for sustaining tree growth. (Kavanagh Canada example).