Category: Greenbelt Master Plan

[page under development] In late 2008 the National Capital Commission announced that it would begin a process of review of its 1996 Master Plan for the Greenbelt.  The Review was due to be completed in 2012. Under the leadership of Alliance member Sol Shuster, a Greenbelt Coalition was formed in the fall of 2008 to provide a strong community-based voice in the NCC’s review.  The Coalition comprised virtually all the

At its meeting of November 20, 2013, the NCC’s Board of Directors approved the Greenbelt Master Plan.  The final plan is here. A year later, on November 19, 2014, the Board approved an implementation plan (report and slides, 3.4 MB) which boiled the Master Plan’s 279 actions down to seven priorities: Greenbelt Visual Identity at entrances Greenbelt Branding, Communication & Marketing Strategy Visitor Services & Interpretation Restore Natural Lands Ecological Corridors

MYTH 1 Development jumped the Greenbelt, so the Greenbelt failed. REALITY This is one of the most widespread Ottawa myths about the Greenbelt. While Jacques Gréber in his 1950 report significantly underestimated the future growth of the capital region, he did foresee that growth outside the Greenbelt would take place. His idea was that these outlying urban communities would be relatively self-sufficient – in essence, have approximately equal numbers of

PDF version of this paper GREENBELT COALITION OF CANADA’S CAPITAL REGION Position Paper for the NCC’s Greenbelt Master Plan Review September 2010 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose 1.2 Background 1.3 Historical summary 1.4 The 1996 Greenbelt Master Plan 2 THE GREENBELT COALITION’S VISION AND GOALS 3 GREENBELT VALUES 3.1 Aesthetic values 3.2 Public ownership values 3.3 Environmental values 3.4 Agricultural values 3.5 Lifestyle and recreational values

On May 28, 2008 at Planning Committee, purportedly as part of the “Beyond 20/20” Official Plan review, City staff tabled a White Paper on “Development in the Greenbelt.” On whose request this paper was written has remained a mystery, though the rumour was widespread that it was written at the behest of then Mayor Larry O’Brien. The paper surveyed the economic impact of the Greenbelt, what it costs to maintain it,