Breaking down the province’s new housing rules

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Good morning!

Heck of a week for weather. As exhausting as the last week-and-a-bit has been for news, it was at least briefly rejuvenating to get outside and walk around. Even managed to take my bike out for a short trip.

In one sense the unseasonably warm weather was troubling — weeee, climate change! — but you have to take in that sunshine whenever you can. The cold and grey months are coming after all.

Anyway, let’s get to the newsletter.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Friday: +11 🌡️ -5 | ☀️

Saturday: +15 🌡️ +2 | ☀️

Sunday: +13 🌡️ +5 | ☀️

Monday: +13 🌡️ +8 | 🌧

HOUSING

Province allows more housing, set to weaken wetland conservation

What happened: The Ontario government announced it will change municipal housing rules across the province to ease the housing crisis. The biggest change is to allow the construction of up to three units of housing on any lot, without needing any by-law amendments by the city.

• You can read the government’s breakdown of their plan here.

What the rules mean: A homeowner could add two apartments, or a coach house to their lot without needing to get the city to approve a zoning change, something that can cost both time and money, CBC reported. A new three-unit building could also be built on the property without needing city approval.

• This would mark a large change to rules for most suburban neighbourhoods across the city, where they are zoned only for single-family homes.

Effect on the city: The province’s plan sets a goal of 151,000 new homes in Ottawa by 2031 — that’s 51,000 more than incoming mayor Mark Sutcliffe promised to build. There aren’t many details how that number will be achieved, CBC reported. According to documents obtained by TVO the government expects this change to add only 50,000 homes province-wide, out of a needed 1.5 million.

Repealing conservation rules: The province will also gut protections to wetlands and other sensitive environmental areas, The Narwhal reported.

Conservation authorities will no longer be able to consider “pollution” or “conservation of land” when deciding whether to approve projects. The plan would create a number of loopholes to allow developers to build on sensitive lands, and also will allow the province to override the decisions of conservation authorities.

Some other changes: The sweeping legislation will do more than alter zoning rules. Here’s a quick rundown:

• The community and council won’t have any input on the design of buildings with 10 or fewer units, according to CBC.

• Development charges — which pay for roads, sewers, water services and so on — will be dropped or lowered for a host of new builds to bring down housing costs, the Ottawa Citizen reported. But it’s not guaranteed the builder will pass on those savings to home buyers, instead of pocketing the extra margins.

• Reduce development charges on construction along transit corridors.

• The foreign buyers tax will be increased to 25 percent from its current 20 percent.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

☀️ 23.4 C: At this temperature, Wednesday was an all-time heat record for Oct. 26, and the humidex rose as high as 28. [CTV]

💰 $500 million: The amount of overpayments to public servants through the broken Phoenix system the government needs to recoup, but might run out of time to do so. [The Canadian Press]

🚨 133 km/h: Police stopped a tow truck going this fast on Limebank Road, in an 80 km/h zone. The tow truck was temporarily seized. [CTV]

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CONVOY

RCMP, OPP considered taking over convoy command

What happened: The RCMP and OPP lost confidence in the ability of the Ottawa police to handle the convoy protest, and considered taking over — until Peter Sloly resigned as chief, CBC reported from the convoy inquiry.

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said he was concerned Ottawa police weren’t able to move ahead with a plan to clear downtown, and the situation had stagnated. In a meeting with RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki, Carrique said he was willing to take over if local police wouldn’t, or couldn’t, move ahead.

• Texts between Lucki and Carrique were released that show the RCMP commander was toying with the idea of deputizing military members and putting them in RCMP uniforms to work as unarmed security, according to CityNews reporter Cormac Mac Sweeney.

Tow truck confusion: Ottawa police thought it had tow trucks lined up for use to clear convoy trucks. But a letter entered into evidence suggests the OPP was compelling tow trucks using Emergencies Act powers, CBC reported. At the heart of the inquiry is whether the federal government was justified in invoking the Act.

QUICK HITS

👟 The YMCA will sell its downtown Argyle Avenue facility, because upgrading the 1969-building will be too expensive. It will remain open for two years to residents, community programs, and people using its gym.

🌲 Six trees were planted in Merivale Gardens Park as a memorial to the six people who were killed in the Eastway Tank explosion. [CBC]

🏥 CHEO cancelled surgeries due to record demand caused by COVID, the flu and RSV. The paediatric unit is at 134 percent capacity, the ICU is at 124 percent, and the ER is seeing 100 more patients a day than it was built to handle. [Ottawa Citizen

😷 Internationally trained nurses can now be temporally certified to work in Ontario hospitals, in the hopes of easing staffing shortages across the healthcare system. [CBC]

📉 Shopify posted a loss of US$158.4 last quarter, down from a profit of more than US$1 billion over the same period last year. Revenue was up slightly from last year to US$1.37 billion from US$1.12 billion. [The Canadian Press]

🏢 The city approved the construction of two new rental towers at Pimisi Station on LeBreton Flats, as well as a number of other high rises across town. [CTV]

EVENTS

Your weekend guide

Friday

Dracula, the Opera, tonight and tomorrow: World premiere of this opera at 82 Kent St. of the tale you know so well. Tickets start at $27.50.

Aalaapi | ᐋᓛᐱ, until Oct. 29: Meaning “keeping quiet to hear something beautiful” in Inuktitut, this is part radio documentary, part performance at the NAC, exploring the lives of five young Inuit women. Tickets start at $36.

Saunders Farm Fright Fest, nights until Oct. 31: Classics like the Haunted Hayride and new spooky adventures like the Cemetary Crypt are all on offer at the annual Halloween event outside the city. Tickets start at $45.

Sawmill Haunt, until Oct. 31: Don’t feel like going out of town, but want that Saunders experience? Head to Lansdowne for this underground hant. Tickets start at $28.25.

Haunted Walk, all weekend: The original spooky walk through downtown, hear all the city’s ghost stories at several historic locations. Tickets $25.

Diefenbunker Toddlers’ Halloween Hunt, 10 am-1 pm: Trick or treat in the city’s west-end bunker. Plenty of activities for kids, and of course candy. (Baby carriers are easier than strollers in the bunker.) Tickets $7.

Saturday

Pumpkinfest, until Monday: A Halloween family playground at Proulx Farm at 1865 ch O'Toole, temporary tattoos and face painting, a ride through the mysterious forest, a petting zoo, and the chance to pick your own pumpkin from the patch. Tickets $17, with the second half-off if you come in a costume.

Trick or Treat with the Mayor, 5 pm-8 pm: Tour City Hall and get some treats along the way, with costumed characters throughout the building. A donation of a non-perishable food item is all you need for admission.

Ghost Adventure along the Ottawa River, 6 pm: It’s fun for the whole family as you try and capture a ghost. Part escape room, part scavenger hunt, part geocaching. Tickets start at $36.

Sunday

Trot or Treat for Ausome, 10 am-1 pm: Ottawa’s biggest free Halloween party for children with autism. Register your trick-or-treaters, grab your costumes and join other autism families for games, activities, and treats!

Food and Events (Insiders Only)

How to get them: Insider members get a curated food event list in our Thursday Insider email, as well as early access to restaurant reviews. Try an Insider membership for only $1 for your first month - there’s no risk and you can cancel anytime.

⚽️ Atlético Ottawa play in the Canadian Premier League final against Hamilton’s Forge FC this Sunday.

🏈 The Redblacks’ defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin IV was named the team’s top defensive player, and the top overall player in the CFL team awards. [Ottawa Citizen]

🤕 Josh Norris could be out for the whole season after injuring his shoulder; but this new-look Sens team is built to be resilient. [Sportsnet]

🥅 Goalie Cam Talbot is getting closer to returning after injuring a rib in training camp. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏒 Sens forward Mark Kastelic signed a two-year deal worth $835,000 per season. The 23-year-old has two goals in the first six games this season, and was a late-round draft pick in 2019. [CTV]

Upcoming games

Senators @ Panthers | Saturday, 4 pm | TSN5 and TVA Sports 2

Redblack vs Ti-Cats | Saturday, 5 pm | Tickets | TSN and RDS

Atlético vs Forge FC | Sunday, 6 pm | Tickets | OneSoccer

GOOD NEWS

FireFit: CTV Morning’s Stefan Keys tried his hand at the Ottawa Fire Services’ FireFit Challenge, and he did pretty well. “Impressed would be an understatement, he did amazing trying the FireFit Challenge for the first time,” the fire service tweeted.

Insiders: A German treasure worth seeking

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the members-only food stories you’ll get in the Captial Eats Insider

I’ll start with a little etymology. There’s a German term, schnitzeljagd, which means treasure or scavenger hunt. It does not however have anything to do with a flattened and fried piece of meat.

Schnitzel are also little paper cuttings, scattered through the landscape, on which would be scribbled clues that would then lead to more schnitzel until the treasure was found.

No such effort was required in tracking down Schnitzel Works at 1400 Cyrville Rd.You now know where it is and if you’re in the mood for traditional German comfort food this fall, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ottawa’s downtown looked very different from above in this 1941 archive photo posted by Reddit user CEO_of_613. [Reddit]

• Watching the noodles get made in-house is worth the trip alone to 98 La La Noodle.

• Over at Apt613, they’re looking for help to put together a list of the city’s best cultural spots. [Apt613]

• Looking for a new member of your home? This one-year-old cat Noireau is up for adoption. [CityNews]

• The house-made food at Kitchen Maroo is fantastic, make sure to try the shrimp spring rolls.

• The U.S. chain Chick-fil-A plans to open a location here in Ottawa. [CTV]

• Next week, Nov. 5, is the Shine a Light on our Community Gala, at the Centurion Conference and Event Centre, tickets are on sale now for $95.

• Fill out this form to have your event or announcement featured in community highlights

TOP PHOTO

Reader Alan Bacon sends in this shot of the Canal as the leaves have started to mostly fall away.

Have you got great shots of the city? Send them in! We love running reader follows to share with the Lookout community.

OTTAWA WORDLE

Congrats to Beverly, Voyer, and Chantal, who all correctly guessed this Monday's quiz question, and knew that Gatineau Park first opened in 1938. Nice work!

Think you’ve got what it takes to solve this week’s Ottawa Wordle? Play now.

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