Committee approves plan to guide growth near Pinecrest and Queensview LRT stations

The Planning and Housing Committee today approved the Pinecrest and Queensview Stations Secondary Plan. The Planning and Housing Committee today approved the Pinecrest and Queensview Stations Secondary Plan introducing policies to guide the area’s transformation. The plan aims to foster a high-density mixed-use hub that will attract new housing and employment opportunities, improve connectivity and add new and expanded parks near the two LRT stations. The secondary plan area centres around Pinecrest and Queensview stations, extending from Dumaurier Avenue and Morrison Drive in the west to the Pinecrest Creek valley in the east. It outlines five key strategies to help transform the area:

• New park: On the south side of Queensview Drive, the City would seek to develop a new centrally located, 6,000-square-metre park.
• Complete street: The plan proposes to make Queensview Drive a candidate to be rebuilt as a complete street.
• Recreation complex: A future recreation complex would be developed at 2550 Queensview Drive, a site currently occupied by an OC Transpo diesel bus maintenance facility that is anticipated to be made redundant as the City transitions to an electric bus fleet. 
• Improved connectivity: Several new connections are planned, including a pathway connecting Queensview Drive with a public school at Severn Avenue, a pedestrian bridge across Highway 417 to connect communities north and south of the Queensway, and an east-west crossing of Pinecrest Road at Harwood Avenue for those walking or cycling between Pinecrest Station and the Queensway Terrace North and Fairfield Heights neighborhoods.
• Permitted heights: The plan establishes maximum heights and transitions to improve the predictability of development and help speed up the review of development applications.

The Committee also approved zoning for a 40-storey building at Dumaurier Avenue and Ramsey Crescent. The property is within the study area for the new secondary plan and is consistent with the newly approved policy direction. The building would have 407 dwelling units and commercial space. The zoning amendment would establish setbacks and heights appropriate for the proposed design. It would also prohibit certain non-residential uses and eliminate minimum parking requirements. Other zoning amendments approved in Ottawa’s west end include one for a subdivision on Maple Grove Road in Kanata West. The development proposes 64 detached, semi-detached and townhouse units, as well as a park. Two low-rise apartment buildings with 460 dwellings are also planned. Those would proceed later, after Stittsville Main Street is extended. In Barrhaven West, the Committee approved zoning to allow for the continued development of the Conservancy East subdivision, southeast of Strandherd Drive and Borrisokane Road. The amendment would make minor changes related to lot size and setbacks to allow for development of 180 townhouses and 40 detached homes. Closer to downtown, the Committee approved zoning for an Ottawa Community Housing four-storey apartment building at Somerset and Nelson streets in Sandy Hill. The building would have 23 supportive housing units with rents offered at the maximum shelter allowance established under the Ontario Disability Support Program or Ontario Works Program, for 50 years. The amendment is needed mainly to accommodate development on an irregularly shaped lot that is also located on a slope. In Ottawa’s east end, the Committee approved zoning for the next phase of the Trailsedge subdivision, southwest of Brian Coburn Boulevard and Mer Bleue Road. The applicant aims to build 431 detached homes and townhouses, as well as a commercial block and a park. The amendment would establish a four-storey maximum height for the commercial block and zoning relief for the residential buildings. To help address the housing crisis, Council committed to providing home builders enough opportunities to build 151,000 quality market homes by 2031 – or 15,100 per year. If Council approves, the land-use permissions that the Committee recommended today will help put applicants in a position to build 1,140 new dwellings in Ottawa. Visit ottawa.ca/residentialdwellings for a graphic showing quarterly progress towards Ottawa’s housing pledge targets.  The Committee also received an update on key issues identified during public consultations on the draft Zoning By-law. The City has developed multiple options that could help resolve each issue. Further detail about both the issues and the associated options will be formally presented to Council as part of the release of the second draft of the new Zoning By-law, in March 2025. Items from today’s meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, December 11, except for the Pinecrest and Queensview Stations Secondary Plan, which will rise to Council on Wednesday, January 22.