Capital Ward Bulletin - November 28th

Ottawa Christmas Market and Tree Lighting at Lansdowne Park

It’s that time of year again! Come on down to Lansdowne Park for the Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday and help kickoff the new Ottawa Christmas Market! The tree lighting occurs on Friday November 29 at 6:00 pm and it will be followed by a performance by acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk at 7:00 pm.

This will be the first day of the Ottawa Christmas Market, which will continue Fridays through Sundays until December 22. It will all come to life under a canopy of thousands of Christmas lights. There will be musical performance alongside vendors offering unique gift items, and seasonal food and drink from traditional market cabins.

You can check out more details at their website: ottawachristmasmarket.com.

Climate Forum Results

On November 15 and 16 more than 100 people gathered for a day and a half at Bayview Yards in Ottawa to discuss the climate crisis and define priority actions that must be included in Ottawa’s new Official Plan. It built on the People’s Official Plan for Ottawa’s Climate Emergency, a grassroots initiative launched last April. Dianne Saxe, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, provided a recorded opening address for the workshop, sharing her thoughts on urban expansion, smart intensification, rural development, canopy cover and access to greenspace. For background on the initiative and the organizations involved, and some of the key outputs so far, follow this link: http://greenspace-alliance.ca/index.php/policy/policy-ottawa-city-hall/workshop-on-climate-solutions-and-ottawas-new-official-plan/

Arena Optimization Report

The City of Ottawa has postponed their report on Arena Optimization to the new year. This report will be presented initially to the Community and Protective Services Committee and will consolidate public feedback and present draft standards for the city’s 44 ice-pads. The objectives of the project are to balance user demand with service delivery, mitigate the risks of aging infrastructure, understand lifecycle investment gaps, population and activity trends, and optimize the use of recreational facilities. While online public consultation has closed, recreational staff will be conducting a public skating drop-in survey has begun until December.

For more information see: https://engage.ottawa.ca/recreation-facility-infrastructure-standards?tool=map.

Multicultural Festival at Lansdowne, November 30^th, 2-11pm

Ottawa’s Multicultural Community will be celebrating the various traditions, fashions and heritages that come together to make the National Capital Region such an amazing place to live at the World Multicultural Festival taking place Saturday November 30th, 2019 at Lansdowne Park.

Guests will be treated to live performances from around the world including Latin America, the Caribbean, India, Europe, Africa and Asia. Visitors will also have the opportunity to take part in cultural workshops, indulge in tastes for every palette at the Global Food Market, and shop for an array of fashions, artwork and collectables at the Festival Marketplace. Included in this year’s festival will be the Charity Pageant with contestants from across the globe showcasing their unique heritage and raising funds to support Ottawa’s own Bruyère Foundation.

Queensway—OOE Consultation

As many of you have likely heard, the provincial Ministry of Transportation will be conducting Queensway bridge replacements in Old Ottawa East in the coming years. The MTO’s plans include acquiring or expropriating a number of businesses along Hawthorne and Main, with no promises to allow for any future development.

This is a significant problem for our community.

In the coming weeks, in partnership with our local MPP, Joel Harden, we will be holding a public forum to seek feedback from the community and hopefully convince the MTO to find a better solution that does not irreparably damage the neighbourhood.

Date, time and location will be announced once they are confirmed.

Town Hall on Transit

Join Shawn and others at a Town Hall on transit organized in concert with MPP Joel Harden:

"We will be joined by special guests, Sarah Wright-Gilbert, citizen transit commissioner, Clint Crabtree, president of ATU local 279 and Sally Thomas, a para-Transpo rider and activist.

Light refreshments will be served."

When:
November 30, 2019 at 1pm - 3pm

Where:
Centretown United Church, 507 Bank St, Ottawa

RSVP here

Rally to Save Public Healthcare

The Ontario Health Coalition and the Ottawa Health Coalition are having a large regional public event to save our health care services from cuts, closures and mergers. There will be live music, speakers, noisemakers, visual presentations, hot chocolate, snacks and more!

When:
December 07, 2019 at 11am - 12:30pm

Where:
Lansdowne: TD Place Arena

RSVP here

Capital Ward Holiday Party

Join us for a holiday party at Banditos. There will be festive treats for folks to eat. Eat, drink and be merry with Shawn and the rest of the Capital Ward crew.

Where:
December 19, 2019 at 5pm - 8pm

Where:
Banditos, 683 Bank St

RSVP here

From the Montreal Massacre to the Incel Movement: Exploring the current gender-based threat of violence

In honour of the women who died 30 years ago at the Ecole Polytechnique, and to raise awareness of a possible threat of mass violence against women, we are hosting a panel discussion focusing on the “Involuntary Celebate” or “Incel" movement. The deadly Toronto Van attack recently brought this phenomenon to the forefront. What is this movement? Who is involved? And what can we do to prevent this new form of hate crime and promote healthy communities?

When:
Friday, December 6, 2019 from 9am to 11:30 am
Coffee and information tables at 9 am, program starts at 9:30 am

Where:
Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive
The Chamber

Panelists:

• Marie-Hélène Rivest, Social Worker, Équipe Clinique Polarisation
• Stephanie Carvin, Assistant Professor of International Affairs, Carleton University
• Dillon Black, Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women
• Abid Jan, United for All, United Way East Ontario

Chair:
Julianne Dunbar, CPO Board Member and Senior General Counsel and Director General of the Military Police Complaints Commission

Panelists’ remarks will be in English only. Questions will be encouraged in both official languages.

R.S.V.P. to register

R4 Phase 2 Zoning Review

A liveable city needs affordable housing suited to a range of household types, tenures and incomes. The city's R4 family of zones is intended to permit low-rise apartment buildings, which are an essential part of a healthy and diverse housing mix.

However, the existing R4 rules were established decades ago, and are increasingly misaligned with today's realities of lot fabric, land costs and changing demand. Instead of regulating low-rise apartment development, the current zoning typically prevents or discourages it. This has exacerbated an ongoing and increasingly dire shortage of rental apartments, rising rents and hardship for the one in three Ottawa households who rent their homes.

The R4 Phase 2 Zoning Review will help to improve housing affordability and choice in neighbourhoods in and around downtown by enabling and encouraging the development of small, affordable and context-sensitive infill apartment dwellings within the current R4 zone.

The proposed zoning changes will:

• Revise the lot width and area standards to permit as-of-right low-rise apartment buildings to be developed without the need for lot consolidation or variances;
• Enable buildings of eight to twelve units, within the currently permitted envelope and height limits, on R4 lots that otherwise would have been restricted to three or four units. These changes will tend to produce more affordable and adaptable two- and three-bedroom apartments, instead of the large but expensive units encouraged by the current zoning;
• Introduce basic design standards to the zoning, including requirements for facade articulation and for doors, windows and balconies facing the street. This will help to ensure that new apartment buildings are not anonymous and faceless boxes, but instead integrate with and contribute to the public realm;
• Modify current amenity area requirements to focus on intensive, quality greenspace and trees more appropriate to an urban site and context; and,
• Ensure that surface parking is not permitted to replace, encroach upon or degrade the green spaces, trees, walkways and other functional areas needed to ensure a compatible infill apartment building.

The proposed zoning changes will apply only to lands currently zoned R4, and only within a defined part of the inner urban area (being generally Wards 12 through 17.) Within those lands, substantive changes will apply only to the Three-unit Dwelling, Low-rise Apartment Dwelling and Stacked Dwelling typologies as defined by the Zoning By-law. (Figure 1.)

Figure 1: Map of the R4 Phase 2 Study Area

The City is seeking feedback on these proposals no later than January 31, 2020.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

You can keep up with news on this project by checking the project website at Ottawa.ca/R4Zoning.

Addressing trauma: Resources to help you

CPO has developed information sheets to help neighbourhoods affected by violence and trauma. Visit our website for resources and handouts for residents, community leaders and service providers, including what to do when a violent incident happens or how to help a child deal with trauma.

Support networks to help affected communities
Post Incident Neighbourhood Support Networks (PINS networks) are now available in many communities city-wide to help coordinate support and resources for neighbourhoods affected by violent or traumatic incidents. These networks, set up in partnership with the Rideau Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre, engage local leaders and mobilize local resources to address needs, coordinate community discussions and share information.

Trauma informed approaches
To learn more about trauma informed approaches, take a look at these video resources from our two Speaker Series events on trauma:

• Trauma, violence and its effect on children in our community is available on the Rogers YouTube channel, and
• The documentary, Resilience: The biology of stress and the science of hope, about the Adverse Childhood Experiences study is available at the Ottawa Public Library.