'Betrayed' Riverside Park residents protest school redevelopment

More than 150 Riverside Park residents showed up for a tense public meeting Wednesday about a proposed retirement community to be built on the site of the former Bayview School.

People wanted to have their say on a proposal they argue contradicts a concept plan that was supposed to guide development and limit density in the neighbourhood.

There were clashes with facilitators, while some residents walked out of the meeting.

• Former Bayview School site could become home to retirement community
• ANALYSIS | Riverside Park residents angered by sudden changes to Bayview school plan

About 20 people also protested before the meeting with signs saying "community ignored" and "no densification without representation."

Craig Searle, president of the Riverside Park Community Association, was one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal.

"Betrayed. Unheard. Ashamed of the city process. It's unbelievable to me," he said.

"We were promised low and medium density, and what we're getting is high density. We were told back in the day that there'd be no commercial and now there's commercial going in."

Concept plan cast aside

Searle said the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's definition of low density would have limited the property to 400 units, but the proposal suggests building 615 residential units on a 4.3-hectare lot on Riverside Drive.

Canoe Bay Developments Inc. said the mix of low-rise townhomes and six-storey apartment complexes would be marketed for people who want to downsize after their children leave home, while remaining in their neighbourhood.

There would also be a three-storey strip — one floor of commercial tenants topped with two floors of apartments — along Riverside Drive and a 0.6-hectare park on the south end of the development.

A community concept plan was developed for the Bavyiew School site after the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board closed the school. Council approved it in 2009.

The site was sold to the Ottawa Community Lands Development Corporation, the city's land development agency, which then sold the parcel to Canoe Bay after a request for proposals was issued that did not follow the terms of the concept plan.

'Bubble concept' followed, says developer

Gary Harper, one of Canoe Bay's partners, said his company responded to a request for proposals from the city and didn't expect the issues around the earlier plan. 

He said he has tried to respond to some concerns.

"We've put the low-density housing around the outside. We've put the medium density in the middle exactly as the bubble concept requested. We followed all of that," Harper said.

He also pointed to closing off the road from Springland Drive to cut off through traffic and responding to a request from a local nursery school about opening a daycare in the second phase.

• ANALYSIS | 'Revised' Bayview school site plan loses field house for commercial strip

"We went through all of their wish lists," Harper said. "[But] to keep it affordable for the retirement side of it, which is what the model is going to be, I need the volume."

Mistrust for process

Sean Moore, the city planner working on the file, said the city doesn't define density in terms of a number but rather according to the impact on the community and the nature of the project.

A handful of people raised concerns about the impartiality of city staff and the trustworthiness of the developer.

Eva Kuszel, who lives north of the proposed site, asked several pointed questions about the outer buildings encroaching on existing properties and whether they'd even be used by seniors.

"This has been a sham right out of the gate, I have uncertainties of what direction this development is going in and who it will be catering to," she said.

"What guarantees do I have that this will stay as a seniors' community?"

Canoe Bay said most units will be rentals which will be bundled with optional fees for on-site services for retired people.

Stefanie Morris, a consultant working on the plan, said the strip mall will be restricted to two storeys and the parkland — which will be surrendered to the city — will be written into the site plan. 

There is no zoning explicitly and exclusively for retirement homes.

Councillor opposes strip mall

River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington said there were problems with the process that led to the sale of the land and changes in the community's concept plan.

The concept plan only required that council and the planning committee be informed of changes, without requiring they approve them, he said.

"Has it changed? Yes, but we still have low-and-medium-density housing and a park," he said.

Brockington said he has concerns about the strip mall facing Riverside Drive and is trying to work with the developer to have it oriented towards the residential buildings.

Brockington said he's preparing to raise the issue at planning committee.