Pollinator gardening presentation on Zoom – Feb. 8

The McKellar Park Community Association invites you to join Berit Erickson for a virtual photo tour of her pollinator garden and backyard habitat gardens. She’ll share what she’s learned about pollinators, their favourite flowers, and habitat requirements. Discover how to design, plant, and maintain your own pollinator garden. The Zoom presentation will take place on February 8. Meeting opens at 7:00 pm, presentation runs from 7:30 to 9 pm. Register in advance at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lcOGprTIrGtM7LiRtmoavNPEDs7YuzCN5. For further information on pollinator gardening, visit cornerpollinatorgarden.net.

FCA weekend Official Plan workshops

Federation of Citizens’ Associations of Ottawa is holding workshops on four subjects covered in Ottawa’s Draft Official Plan. The draft calls for the City’s urban core to be denser, with areas near transit and downtown particularity impacted. If you wish to make your thoughts known, submissions should be made by February 17th on the plan need to be made. You can also let the MPCA know and we will pass on your thoughts to the FCA. 

LRT Stage 2 Slurry Plant Operations Public Webinar, January 28, 7pm

If you have any questions to be discussed at the webinar, it is very helpful to submit them in advance.

[from Jeff Leiper’s Kitchissippi Ward newsletter]

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With Stage 2 LRT construction well underway across Kitchissippi Ward and the city, some residents in the neighbourhoods along Richmond Road have raised concerns about the slurry plant, to be located sandwiched between 655 Richmond Road and the SJAM Parkway. Our office and the LRT Stakeholder Relations Team have been fielding many questions related to the operations of the plant, with concerns about issues like noise, vibrations, exhaust and traffic.

In conjunction with the LRT Stakeholder Relations team, our office will be hosting a ZOOM webinar where we will connect residents with the contractor, Kiewit-Eurovia-Vinci (KEV). After a short presentation from our Stakeholder Relations team, representatives from KEV will take questions about the operations of the slurry plant.

Here are the ZOOM details for the webinar:

Slurry Plant Operations Public Webinar

Thursday, January 28

7pm

ZOOM

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84078428686
Webinar ID: 840 7842 8686
Passcode: 936825

See you there!

Invitation to Bay Ward public meeting, January 20

After the next municipal election in November 2022, McKellar Park will be part of Bay Ward. Theresa Kavanaugh has invited residents of McKellar Park to her first Bay Ward public meeting of the year, 6:30 pm January 20th, in order to get to know Bay Ward and its community associations.

Participants need to sign up to receive the Zoom link for the meeting.

The meeting will have two parts.  The first part will cover COVID-19 with Brent Moloughney, Deputy Medical Officer of Health from Ottawa Public Health attending to answer residents’ questions. Questions can be submitted in advance. The second part will have Bay Ward community representatives introduce their associations and neighbourhoods and McKellar Park will also give information about our neighbourhood.

Notice of Temporary Road Closure – Redwood Avenue

see Notice from Stakeholder Relations, Rail Construction Program, City of Ottawa

Text of notice is as follows:

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This notice is to advise that, as part of the Stage 2 O-Train Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, a section of Redwood Avenue will be temporarily closed for underground utilities relocation work.

What
Road closure for utilities relocation for the future LRT tunnel. There will be a section of Redwood Avenue closed during this work.

When
Mid-January through April 2021. Construction activity will occur daily between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Weekend and overnight work will occur periodically.

Why
Underground utilities are being relocated to make space to excavate and build the LRT guideway and the New Orchard and Sherbourne stations.

Where
Redwood Avenue between Byron Avenue and Richmond Road.

Anticipated Impacts
Traffic detours are planned during road closure periods, with posted signage. Pedestrian mobility will be maintained with detours around work zones. No utility service interruptions are expected. Residents can expect noise from equipment to remove asphalt, and movement of material. Dust control will be in place including street sweeping.

Future work is required in this area. Additional construction updates, such as changes to work sequencing and the duration or impact of this work will be communicated via the Stage 2 project e-newsletter.

To receive these electronic updates please sign up at Ottawa.ca/Stage2 and click ‘Connect with us.’ Be sure to select updates for “Sherbourne Station”.

City of Ottawa Draft New Official Plan: Request for feedback by February 17, 2021

The City of Ottawa has requested feedback on it’s draft Official Plan by February 17, 2021.
Once ratified the New Official Plan will provide the framework for new zoning in our City and that in turn will have a profound effect on our neighbourhoods. It has been generally recognized that the area within the Greenbelt needs to be denser.

While the Official Plan document itself may seem overwhelming, the City has provided residents with a set of one-pager summaries on topics of interest, plus an evaluation form for each one pager. MPCA encourages residents to explore these one-pagers and provide feedback directly to the city by February 17th. Please find the link here.

Thanks for your interest in our neighbourhood!

Meeting Minutes Posted

Minutes of Community Association meetings recently were updated to include:

• Byron Estates Site Development meeting, 2 December 2020, and
• Annual General Meeting, 23 November 2020

Neighbours Looking for Assistance

 As some of you may know, in mid-2018 the City Council passed a bylaw amendment to rezone three addresses on Roosevelt Avenue near Richmond Road in Westboro to permit Domicile Developments to build a six storey condo with retail establishments on the first two storeys. This decision was taken despite local opposition. Councillor Jeff Leiper and four other Council members from urban wards voted against the bylaw amendment because it could set a precedent leading to over-intensification on residential streets. 

A group of concerned neighbours formed the Westboro Residents Group to appeal Council’s bylaw amendment before the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) on the grounds that the bylaw amendment is inconsistent with Ottawa’s Official Plan and the Ontario Planning Act. The Board of the McKellar Park Community Association shares the group’s concern that the proposed development represents a serious incursion of over-intensification into an established residential neighborhood. 

The Westboro Residents Group needed to hire legal, urban planning and architecture professionals to advance its appeal. The appeal finished in December and a decision is expected in 2021. Because there is no system of public subsidies for LPAT appeals, local residents have to raise money to foot the bill. Thanks to the generosity of the community, the Westboro Residents Group has raised approximately $72,000. Unfortunately, another $18,000 is needed to pay outstanding professional fees. 

Please make a difference by contributing $50 or $25 to a cause dedicated to keeping Kitchissippi Ward a great place to live. If you would like to make a contribution you can send an e-transfer to 

westbororesidentsgroup@gmail.com (answer to the security question: Starbucks), or deposit a cheque at the TD Bank Branch on Richmond Road to the Westboro Residents Group account. You can also send an email to the email address above to arrange for a cheque pickup and deposit.

Understanding the Impact Between Municipal Ward Boundaries and School Board Electoral Zones – Ottawa-Carleton District School Board

In early December the Ottawa Carleton School Board issued the statement below which says that school catchment areas are not affected by ward boundaries.  Given that there are new ward boundaries, the OCDSB will begin a review of school board electoral zones in January 2021. The McKellar Park Community should pay attention to this, given that many of us had expressed concerns when the ward boundary discussion was before City Council.  Do any of you follow the OCDSB meetings and would be willing to keep the MPCA apprised of any discussions and whether there is a place where the MPCA and / or residents can or should have input? Please let us know.

https://ocdsb.ca/news/understanding_the_impact

Masks are now needed at public rinks, see exceptions at bottom of order.

From Jeff Leiper’s Newsletter Dec 30/20

Covid update: rink mask order

Councillors received this afternoon a new order issued by the GM of our emergency and protective services mandating the wearing of masks when skating outdoors. The note reads:

“In my capacity as General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services, I am exercising my authority delegated under S.3A of the Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law as outlined in the attached Order.

“I am satisfied that such an Order is necessary for public health and safety based on the following, with concurrence from Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Vera Etches:

·        Ottawa Public Health and EPS’ By-law & Regulatory Services have observed and received significant information about large gatherings at outdoor skating rinks since early December, which have increased concerns about potential transmission of COVID-19

·        The size and dimensions of outdoor skating rinks is relatively limited such that maintaining 2-meter physical distancing is often not sufficiently practicable

·        The Enforcement Task Force implemented a voluntary-compliance approach, including signage, that has not been effective in limiting contact between rink users

·        There are no alternative and immediate enforcement mechanisms available to the City of Ottawa to ensure distancing to limit virus spread

·        Due to the current Reopening Ontario Act regulations and the Province-wide Lockdown in place in Ottawa, there is an anticipated high-demand for recreational activities under the circumstances which may lead to large gatherings.”

The order is as follows:

ORDER

This Order is issued pursuant to Section 3A of the City of Ottawa Temporary Mandatory Mask By-law 2020-186 (as amended) and establishes Designated Unenclosed Public Spaces where masks must be worn for public health and safety reasons 

Mandatory Mask in Designated Unenclosed Public Space Requirement: 

Every person who enters or remains on outdoor ice skating rinks operated by the City of Ottawa or on the City’s behalf, including publicly accessible areas that are within a fifteen (15) meter distance of the edge of the ice surface, shall wear a Mask in a manner that covers their mouth, nose, and chin. 

Duration: 

Effective December 30, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. until January 28, 2021 at 12:01 a.m., twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week. 

Exemptions: 

• As prescribed by By-law 2020-186 (as amended) including but not limited to young children, persons with medical or cognitive conditions, persons engaged in athletic/fitness activity 
• Outdoor rink operators when performing rink maintenance when the public is not on the surface of the ice rink

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