G. Gower - Retain the Minor Corridor permissible heights in accordance with the November 2022 Ministry approval of the City’s new Official Plan

The recitals

• there is a housing and homelessness crisis in Ottawa resulting in hardship and affordability challenges for residents throughout the city and a need to expand the supply of housing
• the City’s Municipal Housing Pledge with the Province requires the City to make all efforts to achieve the goal of 151,000 new homes within 10 years
• upon approval of the City’s new Official Plan in October 2021, Council approved a reduction in the proposed height limit within Minor Corridors to a consistent four-storeys in all Minor Corridors
• the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved the City’s Official Plan in November 2022 with several adjustments including revising Minor Corridor permissible heights as follows: • Downtown Minor Corridors, from 4 to 9 storeys• Inner Urban Minor Corridors, from 4 to 6 storeys• Outer Urban Minor Corridors, from 4 to 6 storeys• Suburban Minor Corridors, from 4 to 7 storeys
• the Provincially approved height limits were generally consistent with staff recommendations at the time Council was considering the new Official Plan
• reverting back to the 2021 approved height limits would remove opportunity to supply housing opportunities in mid-rise forms, and impact applications which were already submitted since the Ministry approval of the Official Plan
• in 2022 through Bill 23 the Provincial Government required that three residential units be permitted as-of-right (a principal dwelling unit plus two additional units) for all detached dwellings, semi-detached, and townhouse dwellings on serviced residential lots, subject to existing regulations governing secondary dwelling units which placed unreasonable size and location restrictions on them
• Ottawa By-law 2023-425 came into full force and effect on November 15th, 2023, aligning Zoning By-law 2008-250 with Bill 23 and going even further to demonstrate Council’s commitment towards expanding housing choice by removing meaningful differentiation between principal and additional units within the same building and thereby ending exclusionary zoning in Ottawa
• the Council approved Municipal Housing Pledge as well as the City’s application to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund rely on increased opportunities to create housing units throughout the City
• staff are continuing to advance the rewrite of Comprehensive Zoning By-law 2008-250 to implement the various policies of the Official Plan including growth management and housing intensification directions with the intent of bringing forward a first draft for Council’s information in 2024 and the final by-law in 2025
• through implementing the City’s New Official Plan through the development of a new Comprehensive Zoning By-Law, Ottawa can achieve higher densities across the City and within neighbourhoods in a balanced approach city-wide
• the Infrastructure Master Plan recommendations will include an Infrastructure Capacity Management Program to ensure adequate capacity in existing local pipe systems to support city-wide intensification proposals