Faircrest Heights Community
Association Spring General Meeting May 10th 2010
FHCA President Tony Le Moine called the
meeting to order at 7:36 p.m..
President’s report: He thanked the executive
committee for its continuing work. Having explained that the Treasurer
was out of the country, he noted that the FHCA had 84 paid-up members
(42 of whom were present). That was sufficient to maintain adequate
operating expenses, which included two newsletters a year, liability
insurance, and membership in the City association of community groups.
He also confirmed that an Alta Vista-wide garage sale was
scheduled for Saturday 12 June. Addressing vacancies on the
committee, he was finalizing position descriptions which, once approved
by the committee, would be posted on the FHCA website. There was a
question from the floor about whether there were other garage sales in
the area. He said he was unaware of any and preferred to support the
aforementioned event even though it was being organized by a
non-resident.
Faircrest Park: Joyce Wright has
happy to issue her final report after spending 12 years bringing the
project to fruition. All residents were invited to an official opening
at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 18th. Five trees needed to be
replaced, but she thanked the installers for their work and had seen
individuals, families and other groups using the park already. The
President thanked her for her persistence.
* * *
* *
David McGuinty, MP: Thanking the audience
for their participation, he explained that there had been a noticeable
trend in other areas of citizens “checking out” of the democratic
process. Nine years overseas had given him new appreciation of democracy
at home.
- Development: He listed a series of
projects in his constituency, including community centres, Canoe
Club and Terry Fox track and field facility upgrades, and new soccer
pitches. He met with the National Capital Commission every 3-4
months; discussions included a McCarthy Woods housing proposal. The
federal government had shared no information
with him on The Ottawa
Hospital (TOH) lands. A proposed parole office in the
Train Yards area had been controversial; he had persuaded Justice
Minister Rob Nicholson to revisit the issue on grounds that these
facilities were best located in a downtown core.
- Energy conservation: The OneChange
light bulb replacement initiative which began in Ottawa South
was now a $25-million venture that had spread to other provinces and
to a number of American states.
- Light rail: He was still trying to
persuade the Ottawa Airport Authority to accept service to
its terminal but speculated that resistance was due to the fact that
the airport generates significant revenues from its parking
facilities.
- Seniors: Too many in his constituency
were having trouble making ends meet due to steadily rising costs
of various consumables such as food and utilities. He was working
with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to address the issue of
pensioners on fixed incomes.
- Parliament: Having led a Liberal caucus
“charge” against wasteful negative government advertising
distributed in constituencies held by opposition Members of
Parliament, he proposed that all government advertising be subject
to “objective analysis by an “advertising commissioner” and/or the
Auditor General. He had two private bills ready for
introduction in the House of Commons, but he declined to provide
details. Another currently before the House is designed to prohibit
cellular telephone service providers from charging an
unjustified “system access fee”. As Liberal critic on environmental
and energy issues, he had been pressing the government on such
things as petroleum exploration in the Arctic, endangered species
and toxic waste.
Asked about the contentious Terry Fox Drive
extension in Kanata, he said there had been some issues about the scope
and integrity of the environmental assessment (EA) of the project. He
said the federal government has buried “poisonous” sweeping proposals to
change the overall EA process in a 900-page budget bill. He had urged
Environment Minister Jim Prentice to table an EA-specific bill in
the House and was still waiting for a response. He acknowledged that the
EA process could be streamlined and made more efficient with the help of
provincial and municipal governments. Returning to the road construction
issue, he said more roads axiomatically mean more cars and that a light
rail project, which has been under discussion for a decade, would be a
quality-of-life venture which would draw and hold more people and
business to Ottawa.
*
* * * *
Peter Hume, City Councillor: He echoed
McGuinty’s observation that the light rail project had been set
back a decade and that even if federal funding were available
immediately, a lot of new planning was required. He hoped the project
could get started within the next four years and said it would be a
challenge to bring it in on schedule and under budget. Ottawa’s
reputation had been “blemished” by the current city administration’s
decision to cancel the original project despite the fact that a
significant penalty had to be paid to the consortium that won the
original bidding process. He also said Infrastructure Ontario help might
be needed for a new procurement.
He thanked the FHCA executive for its service to
the community and for the advice and feedback to his office. He too
singled out Joyce Wright for her perseverance on Faircrest Park
before addressing a number of issues left from the fall FHCA meeting:
- Immaculate Heart of Mary School: He had
met with city staff and school board officials who explained that
they were not, as he had thought, holding onto the property for
eventual sale to a developer. Rather, they were keeping it with the
expectation that the school could be re-opened. That being said, the
city had use or control of the back half of the property, bordering
on Billings Avenue, and that it was seeking a lease agreement to
formalize that. The city also retained first right of refusal on the
entire property if the board did decide to sell it. The goal in the
meantime was to make the property more community-friendly with FHCA
input, and there was money in the city budget for this. He was
hopeful that a plan could be ready by fall for implementation next
spring.
- Lynda Lane: The city was refining its
plan after receiving community feedback, and needed to go back for
implementation funding. It was retaining the “rural” cross-section
on the east side and a more “urban” cross-section on the west side
which would involve drainage and lighting. It was not likely to be
addressed by city staff until the fall.
- Infrastructure projects: He pointed out
that all currently-approved projects must be “substantially”
completed by next March 31st if federal and provincial
funding is to be sustained. Current projects included more roadworks
on Pleasant Park Road, including a narrowing at Cavendish, as well
as Smyth Road resurfacing, which had to be coordinated with TOH.
Other projects included sports fields at Hillcrest School and
Franco-Cité, sidewalks in the Train Yards area, Riverview Park and
Belfast Road. There was a question from the floor, which had clear
general support from the meeting, about whether the “atrocious”
condition of sidewalks along Smyth could be addressed while crews
work on road resurfacing. He said there was “no harm in asking”
whether deficiencies could be at least patched.
- TOH campus. Although he had heard
nothing official, having been kept in the dark by federal officials,
it was rumoured that the National Defence Medical Centre site would
not be vacated until 2022. The “silver lining” in the situation is
that the community planning has been
done already. He said the main entrance was being modified to
incorporate a westbound right-turn lane off Smyth, which would be
coordinated with the resurfacing. The contractor had been asked to
quote a price and if it was not reasonable, it would be put out for
tender.
-
Alta Vista Transportation Corridor:
Preliminary design of a link with TOH had been completed. It
necessitated the corridor being routed under the CN Rail
right-of-way and over the OC Transpo roadway before it could be
linked to Riverside Drive and the hospital campus. He expected work
to begin the next “construction season” and take three years. Also,
a multi-purpose pathway is being considered with a view to
construction beginning in the "near future". It would use the
Corridor from the Smyth Road-Ottawa Hospital entrance to Conroy
Road.
- Emerald ash borer: The city was moving
ahead with its removal and planting program as well as injecting 220
trees, including 12 in Faircrest Heights, with the experimental
pesticide TreeAzin. There had been removals of all trees on some
streets in two other wards. An awareness week was scheduled for May
17th-23rd. Property owners wanting a new tree
next fall were advised to contact the City at 613-580-2424, ext.
18733.
- Green bin/organics program: There had
been a lot of excitement until people learned that they had to pay
for the new bins. He said the waste diversion rate was constantly
above 50% throughout the previous pilot program. The rich waste
processed by OrgaWorld was being distributed to local farmers and he
said he would deliver a pickup truckload to the FHCA’s fall 2010
meeting for distribution to local residents.
- Property Standards: Most property
owners were receptive and cooperative when a complaint was brought
to their attention. However, if the informal approach was not
successful, a Notice of Violation was issued. Failure to
comply with that led to a provincial citation and probably legal
action and fines. If the City had to remediate a problem, the cost
was added to the property owner’s next tax bill. Complaints
about non-adherence to standards were the third most common after
parking and animal problems. Noise complaints were fourth on the
list.
- Sewers: Problems persisted in the
Roger/Highridge area despite the City’s previous advice to install
“protective plumbing devices.” It was suspected that earlier
roadworks had compromised the sewers’ effectiveness and it was being
investigated with the help of the affected property owners. A report
was promised for the fall FCHA meeting.
Asked who is responsible for cutting grass
verges adjacent to Smyth Road, he said he had assumed that owners of
immediate properties were responsible. The Oak Park Residents
Association had maintained the north side last year but it was pointed
out that some south-side areas were untended. He reiterated that the
adjacent owners are responsible when there is reasonable access.
He also was asked why OC Transpo had changed its
routes so that direct bus service to the downtown core was no
longer possible, that a change at the Hurdman hub could be problematic,
especially at night. Transpo had not been responsive to questions. He
said the City needed to reduce the number of buses using the downtown
core; a transit which would normally take 5-7 minutes took 20 minutes at
rush hour. He said the situation was only going to worsen, hence the
City’s preference for a tunnel under the core. An FHCA member pointed
out that while Transpo was urging residents to take the bus, it
effectively was forcing them back to their cars in this case. He said he
would take it up with Transpo, possibly to arrange that off-peak direct
service was reinstated.
Asked why the new green bins were so small,
he said it was a case of what was available and best suited to fit the
lifting gear on the Waste Management trucks. He added that if a bin is
damaged, it would replaced by the City and he also suggested that
additional bins may be available free of charge.
The issue of invasive species was raised,
with the general support of the audience, particularly buckthorn
infestation in the woods on the east side of Highridge in the Lynda
Lane/Pleasant Park area. He replied that a cleanup had been proposed
some time ago but there was concern about a “fractious” debate with
environmental activists. He said City staff would like to clean out the
buckthorn and plant suitable trees. Another member pointed out that
there were various species of wildlife which needed to be
protected. A proposal would be brought to the fall meeting.
Asked to explain why water rates were being
increased even as consumption declines, he explained that 75% of the
total bill represents fixed costs and that the balance is accounted for
by the consumables. The overall increase was designed to cover lost
revenues and to cover capital investment. The water and sewer was being
divided to show how rising fees on the sewer component were necessary
for infrastructure maintenance and replacement. He also said the City’s
data collection was so “antiquated” that it was impossible to track
usage trends accurately. Also, the reading failure rate was about 10%,
which is prompting the City to replace the black box readers with a
remote-reading technology over the next couple of years. That would mean
all bills would reflect actual usage rather than having every second
bill based on an estimate. He speculated that the new technology would
enable the City to perhaps implement a rate structure which actually
encouraged conservation.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Ken Pole 11 May 2010
Faircrest Heights Community Association
Annual General Meeting
7 November 2009, 7:30 pm
1 Opening Remarks
The
President, Tony Lemoine, welcomed members, thanked them for coming out
and introduced Counc. Peter Hume who would be covering several items
later in the meeting.
2 Financial Business
Tony
reviewed the financial report. Finances are reported on a ‘cash basis’.
Ninety-nine members have paid (out of a total of 730 residences in the
community). The money raised covers operating expenses including
insurance, meetings, newsletters, etc.
There is an additional amount of $6834 received from the City consisting
of individual donations made for the park, and City grants. The outlay
this fall was $4,914 leaving $1920 for next year’s work on the park.
3 Faircrest Heights Park
Joyce Wright announced that expectations for the park had been exceeded.
Where we had hoped for 10 trees there are 13 and where we hoped for 2
benches there will be 4. Some of the trees which did not survive the
summer are already being replaced. The garden is now full of plants. She
noted that the garden was already popular with people from the hospital
or visiting the hospital.
Next
spring there will be a ‘Grand Opening’, in late May or early June by
which time the plants will be in bloom. Joyce invited everyone to
attend.
Tony
asked for a vote of thanks for Joyce commenting that it had been a 10
year effort on what was originally intended to be the FHCA centennial
project.
4 Elections
Jacques Beaulne presented the slate of candidates for positions on the
Board. These are:
President Tony Lemoine
Treasurer Maria Beaulne
Directors: Don Melick (Municipal Affairs)
Joyce Wright (Parks and Gardens)
Leislie Alvarenga (Membership)
Tom Saikaly (Web Master)
Quentin Bristow
Jacques Beaulne
Bill Terry moved, seconded by Roger Piché, that the slate be declared
elected,
Carried
Jacques noted that the positions of Secretary and Oak Park
representative remained unfilled. Tony added that he would not be
seeking re-election next year and hoped that someone would come forward
to take over the role. He paid tribute to the work of Don Melick, who
is, at the moment, ill.
5 Immaculate Heart of Mary School Property
The
IHM School is no longer in use (subsequent visit to the property showed
that there is a daycare in operation under the name “Centre des Petits
d’Ottawa”). If the School Board announces a decision to sell the
property there is a sixty-day period in which organizations, including
the City, have ‘right of first refusal’. If there are no takers then the
property is put on the market. Sixty days being a short time to
organize a proposal, the approach is to establish a position on a ‘just
in case’ basis. This is why a questionnaire was included with the recent
newsletter.
The
results of the questionnaire, returned ahead of time and at the meeting,
were 53 in favour and 1 against attempting to have some or all of the
land made available for community use.
Peter Hume pointed
out that we have no parkland in the heart of the community and no other
opportunity to create a park from a significant portion of the site. He
went through the process and showed possibilities on the site plan. Any
money due to the city under the ‘cash in lieu of parking’ requirement
generated from developments within the Alta Vista Ward would be used to
help offset the cost of the portion taken by the City.
There were several questions.
Q:
What will the land be used for?
A: To be decided between the Community Association and the City.
Q:
What is the market value?
A: Under study.
Q:
What does ‘significant portion’ mean?
A: One scenario is that the building and the land fronting on Pleasant
Park may be developed and the field, on Billings Avenue, made into a
park.
Q:
What is the City’s budget for this proposal?
A: None at the moment but it is in the City’s interest to retain the
land.
Q:
What is the zoning?
A; This can be decided by the City.
Q:
Do you have the $5 to $10 million to acquire the land.
A: The idea is to sell some and get the balance from the parkland fund.
Q:
If we do not suggest that we want it then it will be gone. This is a ‘no
brainer’ isn’t it?
A: Your choice.
Q:
When will planning start?
A: City staff will start now. FHCA people will be needed to advise on
the community’s requirements.
Tony
asked if a motion was needed to reinforce the community’s position.
Peter responded that the ballot results would be sufficient.
Tony
concluded this item with the comment that this exercise might be
considered a dress rehearsal for 2013 when the NDMC property will
probably become available.
6 Review of other items
Peter then provided updates on several items:
6.1 SCADA - Tall Poles
The
tall concrete pole near the corner of Crestview and Fairbanks transmits
sewage flow data to a central monitoring site which has the ability to
divert flow if there is danger of back-up into basements. This is part
of a multi-year sewer and flow control upgrade program.
6.2 Lights on Crestview
The
City lighting people are not prepared to make a change. However there
will be a meeting with residents to see if some mutually satisfactory
solutions can be achieved.
6.3 Lynda Lane Parking
Peter handed out a plan which shows Lynda Lane with a sidewalk and
lighting on the east side. Parking will not be free but will be ‘cheap’.
Safety is a major concern, particularly people walking on the outside of
the parked cars and crossing Smyth at the end of Lynda Lane instead of
at the lights.
After a discussion, Peter undertook to consider extending the sidewalk
and lights onto Billings, to look at having the park path paved and
plowed to reduce the distance walked on the outside of the parked cars
and to consider a cycling lane.
6.4 Hospital Lands
There will be a new link from Riverside Drive. There are delays due to
CN who are developing plans for high-speed rail and Hydro who have a
major pole line across the link. The new link will affect the hospital,
particularly the emergency room which may move from the south to the
north so it is close to the new link.
Ottawa U has purchased the Life Sciences Park. They may propose changes
to the land use. Plans are expected to be available at our spring 2010
meeting.
6.5 Ash Borer
45%
of trees in Alta Vista and 25% of trees in the city are ash. The
Planning Committee is expected to approve a plan to under-plant ash
trees so that new growth is established before the ash trees are lost.
Anyone wishing to get into this program can call Peter’s office “the
sooner, the better”. There may be help for householders with removal of
damaged trees but this is a remote possibility. There may be a chemical
answer but there is little hope for one in the short term.
6.6 Green Bin
The
program will start on January 4th. Pick-up will be every 2 weeks in
winter (November to March) and weekly for the rest of the year.
Peter reviewed the whole recycling, garbage, landfill and cartage
situation, including approaches in other cities (Ottawa is lagging), the
case of “I compost my stuff why should I pay” and incineration.
6.7 Ottawa River
By
spring 2010 the system will eliminate about 55% of the problem. The next
step, which is partially funded, will be to construct a 45 million
litre* holding tank which will take the peak flow and deliver it back
into the system when the peak has passed.
6.8 Lansdowne Park
Council will hold a lengthy discussion this week on the Lansdowne Live
proposal and amendments.
7 Closing Remarks
At
the completion of Counc. Hume’s presentation, the President expressed
the thanks of the Association for the information he had provided and
thanked the members for attending and participating.
Signed
President
T/Recording Secretary
(*45
million litres. That’s 45,000 cubic metres. That’s 100m x 90m x 5m.
That’s a bit bigger than a football field and 5 metres deep.)
Faircrest Heights
Community Association
Annual Spring Meeting, May 4/2009
Bill Terry chaired the meeting, in absence of the president Tony
LeMoine.
It
began with an update on the Memorial Park followed by Peter Hume
speaking about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and other community
issues.
Park Update
(Joyce Wright):
There were trucks at the park today, hopefully getting
everything ready for the trees. Once the trees are in, she will
be able to put the garden in.
Questions:
What is being put in?
-So
far, 10 trees and two benches
What is it a memorial to?
-A
memorial to loved ones. People are paying for trees and benches
in honour of loved ones.
Does the park need donations of plant material?
-Yes, but they have to be drought resistant because the City
will only be watering the trees.
Joyce remains the contact for this project.
Emerald Ash Borer...for more information about the insect and to
learn to identify ash trees go to
www.ottawa.ca/eab
Three City staffers were on hand for this discussion, two
foresters and a landscape architect. There were samples of
damage for us to look at. While it was only found in July 2008
experts believe it has been here for four or five years.
Millions of trees have been killed in Canada and the U.S. since
being brought to the Detroit and Windsor area through
contaminated packing crates from China. It does not fly long
distances and mainly moves through contaminated firewood.
Ash
trees have compound leaves (each leaf has 5-15 small leaflets).
The
insects and their larvae are very small so you have to judge by
how the tree looks.
The
larvae feeding under the bark, girdling the tree and preventing
nutrients flowing up from the roots cause the actual damage.
Signs of infection:
-Vertical cracks in the bark
-Feeding tunnels under the bark
-Tiny D shaped holes
-General tree decline, with die back from the top
-Long shoots at the base
-Woodpecker action
25%
of Ottawa’s urban and rural forests are ash trees, which works
out to about 75000 city-owned street and park trees
To
prevent the spread, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
has a plan in place; the most important aspect is that
ABSOLUTELY NO FIREWOOD FROM ANY TREE SPECIES
SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE OTTAWA-GATINEAU REGION.
There is no urgent need to remove ash trees at this time. There
is an annual shot that can be a preventative. There are at
least two local companies providing it. If you think you have
an infestation, call a professional. If it is a tree on City
property, call 311 or the CFIA.
When you go to the cottage or camping, buy firewood locally.
Do not take it with you from Ottawa.
If
your ash is cut down, dispose of it at the Trail Road Facility.
Tell everyone not to move firewood.
The
City’s TREE program has been changed because of the EAB and
hopefully the end of 2009 will place 75000 trees. The tree can
be delivered to your house in a nice kit with mulch and
compost. Presently only one tree per household allotted for the
entire program, but it may be changed to allow two per house in
areas with many ash trees.
Other issues:
Hospital Study
nothing new
Lansdowne Park
Lansdowne Live is the apparent winner. It will cost 97 million
for the stadium and arena. All parking lots will stay parking
lots. City council did not like the retail options. The whole
thing is now a joint venture. They now have 60 days to re-plan
the rest of the site. There will be no residential, and the
size of the field has still not been decided. This thing has
been done in a backwards manner from the NDMC lands. The City
seems to be moving away from the competition/tender system and
Mr. Hume is not impressed.
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Changes in the City’s cash-in-lieu-of-parkland system has made
it possible for us to buy the playing field from the school
board. (Instead of all the money going into one big pot, 60%
goes to the community area where it was collected. e.g. the CMA
gave money to the city instead of parkland at their Alta Vista
site.) Mr. Hume is suggesting we do this to prevent it from
being developed. We should thing about what we want to happen
there. If we don’t use the money to buy land, other residents
may say we should rejuvenate our existing parks.
At
this point there were murmurs from the audience. Some comments:
-It’s too close to Billings Park
-The City can’t take care of the parks they already have
-If
it were playing field parking would be a problem
-There is enough green space around with Lynda Lane and Billings
Park
-It
should be developed with houses like the spot in Old Ottawa
South near the Old Fire hall.
Don
suggested putting this discussion on the agenda for the fall
meeting.
Apparently the school building is being rented to a private
school.
Lynda Lane
They are trying to finalize yet another plan and have a solid
proposal by September.
This would retain the “rural” ditches on the Lynda Lane park
side, with a sidewalk, lights, controlled parking on the west
side.
Could the parking revenues be used to pay for some of that work?
There is no support among his colleagues to take free parking
off Lynda Lane.
The
City can require the hospital to make parking spaces but can’t
make them change a decent rate. There is a low cost lot there
now because the hospital is using City land for it.
Billings Park was land given to the City by the NCC so that it
could build houses at Heron and Walkley.
Alta Vista Traffic Control Study
-The consultant will present a plan to the City and a finalized
plan will be presented to the public by the end of June.
-The consultant was hired by the City to work with the
community.
-The final plan will be added to “the list” of things to do;
because of a recent influx of federal money it may not take
quite as long to implement as it used to.
AVTC Link 1-Riverside to Hospital-now
been funded.
Right now this project is being held up by Hydro and CN. The
City is waiting for responses to the designs they’ve submitted.
They are hoping to have the final design in the fall, but that
will move into the winter if the City doesn’t hear from them by
the summer.
The
hospital is now orienting their expansion designs around the new
access e.g. moving the ER to the back of the campus
The
Browning Ave. corridor goes along the Hydro FOW and connects to
the Cumberland Transit way. Peter is not convinced a high-speed
bus lane can be built without expropriating homes. It is a very
narrow area between the Perley and the backyards.
Road resurfacing
Smyth is going to be repaved between Alta Vista and St. Laurent
under some federal program.
Q:
Can they put in bike lanes along Smyth?
-They’ll try to paint it in if they can, but they can’t make the
road any wider. This lead to a discussion of how Ottawa is not
nearly as bike friendly as other cities people have visited e.g.
Copenhagen
Q:
Can they slow down Smyth?
-They had focused on speeding there in the past, handed out
thousands of tickets but it made no difference.
Q:
Why is a 35 foot concrete tower being built at the corner of
Crestview and Fairbanks to monitor the sewer flow, if the whole
thing was dug up and replaced only a couple of years ago? The
residents had just received notice this was happening, there was
no
-He
had no answer, as he had no idea this was going on.
Q:
Can he turn down the brightness of the streetlights on
Crestview? They chose the design for its looks but weren’t told
it would be brighter than normal lights.
-He
will try once again to get something done by proposing a resolution
at city council to turn down the lights. When he speaks to the
dept. responsible he is told that the lights are the same brightness
everywhere, nothing can be done.
Faircrest Heights
Community Association
Annual General Meeting
November 3,2008
Association Business: Tony Le Moine
Minutes of previous annual meeting were distributed. A motion
for approval was moved, seconded and approved.
The
Financial Report for the year ended October 31, 2008 was
distributed and reviewed. The new line of expenditure, liability
insurance, was explained as being required by the City so that
we can work on the Memorial Park. A motion for approval of the
financial report was moved, seconded and approved.
Nominations for the executive positions was deferred until after
Councillor Hume’s presentation
The
President announced that the Association has the following
vacancies on the executive, secretary, membership
co-coordinator, and Oak Park representative.
Citizens’ rights with respect to neglected homes in the
neighbourhood: Jacques Beaulne
Contact the City at 311. You will have to identify yourself but
that information will be kept confidential.
Someone will be sent to inspect the property. If the owner does
nothing after receiving a warning, the City will take care of
the problem and add the cost of doing the work to the property
owner’s tax bill.
Memorial Park: Joyce Wright
Many thanks to all who have made donations. We have ordered 6
trees and two benches, to be installed in the spring.
The
City wants us to put down landscape fabric and mulch before
planting; we are looking for donations towards this as well as
volunteers to help do the work.
Donations of drought-resistant plants for the garden, and
volunteers to plant them would also be appreciated. We are also
trying to get plants donated by local nurseries.
There will be an opening ceremony in the spring (more
information will be in the spring newsletter)
Councillor Hume’s Presentation:
He
began by mentioning the passing of Abbey Evenchick, and the fact
that as he was a founding member of the Association. He hoped
that something would be done as a memorial to Abbey. Joyce
Wright replied that there is talk of a tree or bench in the
Memorial park in his name.
He
continued with a
power point
presentation covering the following topics:
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO):
Property Assessments:
Emerald Ash Borer
Crows
Lynda Lane parking
Hospital Lands Planning Study:
Alta Vista Drive Traffic Management Study/Review
Alta Vista Traffic Corridor/Hospital Link
Following the presentation there was a series of questions and
answers.
Nominations for Directors: Don Melick
The
following were nominated:
President Tony Le Moine
Treasurer Marie Beaulne
Secretary Vacant
Directors Jacques Beaulne
Quentin Bristow
Don Melick
Tom Saikaly
Joyce Wright
On
a motion by the President and duly seconded the slate was
approved
Other Business:
Councillor Hume reported that Don Melick in his capacity as a
Director of the Faircrest Heights Community Association had
supported the recommendations of the Hospital
Lands Area Planning Study
on
behalf of the FHCA. He continued by requesting that the
membership of FHCA in support of Don Melick and the executive
approve the following motion:
Whereas the Faircrest Heights Community
Association, the community adjacent to the Ottawa Health
Sciences Complex, has long advocated for better transportation
access and better land use planning for the OHSC; and
Whereas the City responded to the pending disposal
and redevelopment of the National Defense Medical Centre Lands by
undertaking a land use planning exercise, under the direction of the
local community associations and other land owners, with goal of
creating an urban design plan that would guide the future
development of the NDMC lands within a proper transportation
framework; and
Whereas
the exercise was unique in that it was guided by and significantly
influenced by local community associations; and
Whereas the resulting urban design plan was reviewed
and recommended, by the steering committee members, for approval and
implementation.
Therefore be it resolved that the general membership
of the Faircrest Heights Community Association supports the
recommendations of the Hospital Lands Area Planning Study and
recommends approval and implementation of the study recommendations
as approved by the Study Steering Committee; and
Further
be it resolved that the Faircrest Heights Community Associations
recommends City Council approve and implement the recommendations of
the planning study.
The
motion was moved and seconded and after discussion was approved.
There
being no futher business the meeting terminated.
Faircrest Heights Community Association
Minutes of the Spring Meeting May 8, 2008
President’s Welcome (Tony Le Moine)
He welcomed all to the meeting and informed those
present that Don Marks had resigned as a Director. On behalf of
the Association he thanked Don for his contribution. He appealed
for more volunteers especially someone to coordinate membership.
Memorial Park Presentation (Joyce Wright)
Joyce reported the park was coming along nicely. The land has
been cleared and when it dries out they will be adding more
earth. The garden may be able to go by the end of July. The
plants must be drought resistant as there will be no tap water
available. The City is putting in 16 trees and she is looking
for donors to purchase 10 more trees at a cost of $ 400 each.
Tax receipts can be issued for all donations. Cheques should be
made payable to the City of Ottawa and sent to Joyce’s
attention. Joyce will forward them to the City who will issue
the tax receipts. She also asked for more volunteers. Contact
Joyce if you have any questions.
Questions from audience:
Why do the trees cost $ 400?
They are big trees ~8 feet tall, not saplings. Trees will be
maintained for three years and if it dies it will be replaced.
Trees in the forest do well on their own. Why do we have to pay
maintain these trees?
Trees in the forest do not have to contend with road
salt, car exhaust, and other stresses.
Councillor Hume’s Presentation
Development Applications/Planning:
No recent major developments.
Immaculate Heart of Mary School:
The School Board is looking to lease the building; the
City still wants to keep the field and green space. If the
property comes up for sale money would be found to purchase at
least the field and green space.
From the audience:
Someone was speaking to a team of people painting the inside of
the school and they said it was going to be a day-care.
Hospital Lands:
The final draft development plan will be out soon, and
a public meeting will probably be held in the fall. The
hospital is not closing until 2013. City planners are working
on urban design, streetscape, etc. The City will make the final
plan part of the official plan, which will in turn affect the
zoning bylaws.
Riverside Link:
The City is proceeding with the link to Riverside
Drive and the Hospital Ring Road. It will be two lanes. The
engineering issue is with the crossing of Alta Vista and the
railroad tracks and linking into Riverside Drive.
House at Faircrest/Fairbanks:
The purchaser wants to demolish the house and erect 3
new houses. The committee of adjustments agreed with the local
residents who supported the building of 2 houses. The purchaser
has appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Councillor
Hume said that the City would support the local residents at the
OMB hearing if requested to do so. He also noted that the City
is putting all planning applications online and they will be
accessible by the general public.
He also mentioned that there is going to be an Aga
Khan Community Centre on the south east corner of Alta Vista and
Industrial across from the Canada Post building.
The Trainyards Development:
Walmart is adding another 50,000 feet to its store, which was
part of the original plan. Belfast and Trainyards will be
getting a traffic signal, and maybe a sidewalk and there will be
a multipurpose pathway from Alta Vista to Coronation.
Future Issues:
Parking on Lynda Lane will be discussed, once again,
in the fall. A 90-space parking lot has been built near the
fields for Ultimate and cricket but they are not sure how they
will be monitored for appropriate use. The hospital had agreed
to create inexpensive parking and was therefore allowed to
expand their parking lots for the employees. However the
inexpensive parking has not yet been built.
Hydro Ottawa wants to do a pilot program of solar and
wind powered lights along the walking path between Billings and
Pleasant Park (near Lynda Lane). They’ have received funding to
research ways to go off the grid. They will be bringing forward
a plan to the neighbourhood for input. Streetlights are the
City’s biggest electricity expenditure.
From the
audience:
Could they be used on streets?
No, they are too small and the light is not far enough off the
ground to light a street.
More Hospital Land discussion:
The hospital (which includes the rehab centre) says
they will need half of the development potential of the NDMC
lands for their growth of the next 50 years. The province has
an agreement with Canada Lands to provide for this growth. The
hospital’s existing site has the potential to double in size.
From the audience:
The NDMC land should be kept solely for hospital expansion.
Could the Russell/Smyth intersection be straightened out by
using the Esso station that is now closed?
Response; Esso is not currently in discussions with the City as
to the future use of this property.
There being no further business the meeting terminated.
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