What Ontario's urban boundary reversal means for Ottawa
A 'huge win' to some local politicians is a 'difficult decision' for Ottawa builders
Some Ottawa councillors are applauding the Ford government's scrapping of a controversial expansion to Ottawa's urban boundary, while suggesting the late move could prove both costly and complicated.
Ontario Housing Minister Paul Calandra announced Monday that provincial changes to the city's official plan will be reversed after an investigation found "too much involvement from the minister's office."
In Ottawa, that means the 654-hectare expansion pushed on the city by then-housing minister Steve Clark is no more.
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The major increase in land available for development included agricultural land and was done without consultation, prompting politicians to call it a recipe for expensive urban sprawl.
The planned expansion included a contentious plot of land on Watters Road that had never been part of the city's expansion discussions, and which was found to have been sold in 2021 to a group made up of Progressive Conservative party donors.
Where is the affected land?
The province's modifications to Ottawa's official plan boosted the expanded urban boundary from more than 1,200 hectares to over 1,900, opening up areas in the east, south and west to more development.
All 654 hectares will now be removed from the document, including large swaths east of Findlay Creek, in South March and near the future Bowesville LRT.
Orléans MPP Stephen Blais called the reversal a "huge win" for Ottawa residents, making specific mention of the 37 hectares of farmland in his riding, which the city had considered too valuable an agricultural resource to lose.
What other changes to the official plan are being rolled back?
Calandra said new legislation will roll back all aspects of the Ontario changes to the official plan, "except in circumstances where construction has begun or where doing so would contravene existing provincial legislation and regulation."
That could include the province changing allowable building heights, including an increase from four to nine storeys along "minor corridors" in the downtown core.
"That's really going to impact Ottawa's intensification plans," said Jason Burggraaf, the executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association. "It's a difficult decision to see happen."
Coun. Glen Gower, a member of the planning committee and chair of the transit commission, said it should also restore wording surrounding 15-minute cities that was weakened by the province — for instance, replacing the word "must" with "should."
A statement from the City of Ottawa said staff have reached out to the province to get more information related to the announcement and what it means for the city.
Can the reversal be reversed?
While the province may close the door on its official plan involvement, a window of opportunity has opened for the city to maintain certain changes.
Municipalities have 45 days to update ministry staff to "submit changes and updates" to what was approved by council prior to Ontario's involvement.
That could allow newly elected councillors, who were not part of initial deliberations, to weigh in.
Calandra said projects that "are already underway" may also be exempted.
Burggraaf said putting housing on the expanded boundary lands would take five to 10 years, but developers have likely already done substantial planning work that should not be discounted.
"I really want to make sure that the city looks at those decisions very closely and does what's best for future residents," he said.
What about the city's costs?
The city has already put a year of work into mapping out how its policies adhere to the modified official plan, which includes providing services to those 654 hectares of undeveloped lands.
"For example, next week we have our infrastructure master plan that's coming in front of committee and council," said Gower. "It's setting out the capital planning for wastewater, and drinking water, and stormwater."
Coun. Shawn Menard said the late decision will have a very real impact on the city's finances, given the amount of time staff have spent to craft that 233-page document in a way that includes the new greenfield projects.
Several municipalities have already reached out to the province for reimbursement related to the Greenbelt reversal. Calandra said Ontario would "assist" municipalities with related planning and staffing costs.
How does this affect Ottawa housing goals?
The city has signed on to a 10-year goal from the province to add 151,000 units to the housing supply over the next decade, with provincial funding tied to meeting those targets.
The actual pace of development has, so far, fallen well short.
"If we cut off those pieces of land, then we're really impeding ourselves from reaching our targets," said Burggraaf.
Menard disagrees, arguing the city should focus on intensification within urban areas that would be cheaper in the long run and support the city's environmental and affordability goals.
Will land deals still be investigated?
Weeks before Calandra's announcement, Menard and 10 other councillors called on Ontario's auditor general and integrity commissioner to investigate Ottawa's urban boundary expansion as thoroughly as it did lands in the GTA.
This announcement doesn't change his view.
"Obviously you can't just say 'OK, we're reversing it, so it's done,'" he said. "There were bad decisions made there."
Menard said the auditor general's office has responded to say it's looking into it.
Provincial opposition members signed on to the call, with interim Liberal leader John Fraser, who represents the riding of Ottawa South, questioning if the Watters Road property passes the smell test.
How do we know this won't happen again?
Both Menard and Gower hope lessons will be learned from this experience.
"[The province needs] to make sure that if they're gonna do that, it's gotta go back to those cities. Make sure there's consultation. Make sure there's [a] full breadth of information," said Menard. "In this case, that wasn't done."
The province's modifications were not subject to appeal, which Gower said raises concerns about transparency and accountability.
"As long as there are these gaps or holes in the policy process, I think there's still a risk that we could end up with problems in the future."
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With files from Arthur White-Crummey