New updated content: 2020-01-20 10:26:09
Paul reported on a recent approval by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority to allow a very large site alteration within the Jock River flood plain in Barrhaven in support of nearby residential development plans. It is unusual by its size (a very large volume of soil to be displaced) and by the fact that it could only be approved by special exception by the RCVA board, more or less against RVCA policies and staff recommendations, and several Official Plan policies. Members agreed that the GA ought to intervene and discussed various ways how to do so such as finding partners with direct connection to the Jock River, contact others with experience with similar previous alterations in Richmond. It was agreed that the GA should write to the City to register its concern and to seek more information about this site alteration.
Action: Paul to write a letter of concern to the City.
New updated content: 2020-02-17 10:59:34
Submission on Jock River cut and fill plans in Barrhaven
Paul wrote on behalf of the GA to Jan Harder, local councillor and chair of Planning Committee, to register our concern and to seek more information about this site alteration. Councillor Harder provided a response clarifying what this plan was about but not lifting doubts about the appropriateness of the extensive alterations being made in this part of the floodplain. It was agreed to follow up directly with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority on this matter.
Action: Paul to write to the Executive Director of the RVCA.
New updated content: 2020-05-25 12:51:24
Jock River floodplain and other development proposals in Barrhaven
Over the last few months, a number of major development applications in south Barrhaven, including one involving a major alteration of the Jock River floodplain, have been making their way through the City planning system, many with apparent irregularities. Several pose risks to major greenspace. New issues are discovered unexpectedly, piecemeal, one at a time, and it is difficult to get an overall picture of the land use transformation that all of these together represent. It was agreed to devote an entire future meeting of the GA to this specific topic so as to put together a greenspace protection and preservation position that covers the entire area.
New updated content: 2020-07-20 09:20:47
Jock River floodplain and other development proposals in Barrhaven
Paul gave an overview of the many different yet interrelated development applications being reviewed and approved by the City for new residential and industrial uses on lands in Barrhaven. These lands have long been designated urban but left undeveloped as a result of being in or near the Jock River floodplain. With Barrhaven having expanded north and south of the Jock River, these lands are now centrally located and take on a special importance in the re-imagining of the Barrhaven town centre. What is missing, at least from publicly available information, is an overview plan that shows the interrelationships between all of these developments and implications for road and water infrastructure and preservation of greenspace, canopy and permeability. Some of these projects involve repurposing quarries and mineral extraction sites for residential purposes, with risks to ground water levels. There is also a potential involvement of the leachate plume from the Trail Rd landfill, which is immediately to the west of the area, across Highway 416. Some of the developments require large alterations to the floodplain, which in general should not be made, or if they are, only in concert with broad public and scientific consultation. At present, these decisions are being made by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority under City pressure and through extraordinary decision processes closed to the public. While there has been some media interest in the area and some pointed questioning at committee by Coucillors McKenny and Leiper, there is no easy way to grasp or address the overall topic. Meanwhile, greenspace and natural resources get destroyed. Members suggested that the Jock River Subwatershed Plan might provide an underpinning for anchoring a review of these developments. Also, members pointed out the recently published local climate change projections should be taken into account.
New updated content: 2021-06-21 15:25:06
Jock River floodplain
We learned that a recommendation to lift the floodplain overlay on a reach of the Jock River in Barrhaven was included as part of an Omnibus Zoning Bylaw amendment on the agenda of the June 24 meeting of Planning Committee. This was an issue on which we had made representations previously. It was agreed to make a submission to Planning Committee to reiterate our opposition to this development. (Post-meeting note: The recommendation was maintained by Planning Committee and approved by Council on July 7.)
New updated content: 2021-08-23 08:57:12
The GA undertook to investigate whether to appeal Council’s decision to lift the floodplain overlay from a large section on north shore of the Jock River through Barrhaven. Contacts were made with a number of legal firms listed on the Canadian Environmental Law Association website. Two agreed to provide some legal advice. Based on this advice, it was agreed not to proceed with an appeal on the basis that the chances of success were slim and expected remedy were quite limited.
New updated content: 2023-12-18 13:00:57
This development project in Barrhaven was the subject of much concern when it was being considered in 2020-2021. The GA made several submissions and delegations to Planning Committee highlighting the unusual process by which a major site alteration, a massive cut and fill that completely changed the floodplain of the Jock River over a wide area, was maneuvered past Committee, Council and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. The file is back in the news as the Auditor General of the City of Ottawa has now tabled its report on the subject. There was a finding that there were several irregularities in how this file was processed which resulted in Council’s position on the proposal being completely bypassed. The RVCA decision to allow this massive cut and fill and its role in the process is also in question, but it is beyond the scope of the Auditor General’s purview. Given the opportunity, the current Council shamefully voted to turn the page on the whole sordid matter. The Auditor General of Ontario may yet re-examine what transpired. Otherwise, legal action brought by residents for damage to their properties resulting from the alteration of the flood plain might be the only way to hold those responsible to account. It was proposed that the GA send a letter to the Auditor General of Ontario to request that an audit be conducted, adding our voice to others who may have already made such a request.
Action: Paul to draft a letter to the AGO. Erwin and JP agreed to review.
New updated content: 2024-01-15 15:19:40
Update on Conservancy development in Jock River floodplain
The Conservancy development in Barrhaven was recently the subject of some media attention following the tabling of the City Auditor General’s report on the controversies surrounding the project approval. This report stated that certain aspects of this controversy were beyond her purview, which is limited to City of Ottawa actions and decisions. The actions of provincially mandated agencies such as the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, which played a role in this controversy, are out of scope of this report. As per the action agreed by Members at the December meeting, a request was sent to the Auditor General of Ontario to investigate the process and decisions that led to this massive site alteration in the Jock River.
New updated content: 2024-02-26 15:30:37
Update on Conservancy development in Jock River flood plain
As agreed at the January meeting, we wrote to the Auditor General of Ontario requesting that an investigation be launched regarding the decision and the process leading to it permitting a large site alteration in the flood plain of the Jock River. A timely and comprehensive response was received, in which we were encouraged to report this issue and request a review by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and also the Ombudsman of Ontario. Members agreed that we should follow up on this suggestion and write to both.
Action: Paul to circulate the letter to and response from the AG and draft letters to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and to Ombudsman of Ontario to request that they review this situation.
