Committee supports maintaining current urban boundary with land supply for 25 years of growth

The Planning and Housing Committee today recommended refusal of an Official Plan amendment application to expand the urban boundary by 72 hectares for future residential development on lands east of Highway 416 and north of O’Keefe Court. 

The proposal was assessed using the Council-approved process for urban boundary expansion applications. As part of that assessment staff found that there is already more than enough land within the urban boundary to accommodate growth in Ottawa. As of mid-2025, there is enough residential land supply in the urban area to accommodate almost 25 years of growth while provincial standards require only a 15-year supply of designated residential land and a three-year supply of serviced land. Additionally, the proposed expansion lands lack system capacity for water and wastewater and would also require transportation infrastructure upgrades. 

The City has initiated an update to growth projections in response to the Province’s updated population projections for Ottawa. A report on population, housing and employment forecasts is anticipated in January. That report will help shape the City’s growth management strategy, which is expected to come before committee next year. 

The Committee approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to facilitate development of a retirement home southeast of Blair and Ogilvie roads. Two towers are proposed at heights of 18 and 22 storeys, connected by a six-storey building base. The site is about 350 metres from Blair Station, supporting the City’s goals for greater intensification near transit. It will also foster more diversified housing, healthy and inclusive 15-minute communities, and greater use of public transit.  

The Committee approved a zoning amendment to facilitate development of a residential subdivision west of River Road and south of Earl Armstrong, along the Rideau River. The proposed development includes 246 dwellings, with a mix of single detached homes, townhouses and apartment units, as well as parkland and open space. 

To help address the housing crisis, City Council committed to providing home builders enough opportunities to build 151,000 quality market homes by 2031. The City tracks the progress of residential development in Ottawa and shares that data through an interactive housing approvals dashboard.  

Since tracking began in January 2023, Council has provided approvals for more than 60,000 new homes, putting applicants in a position to build roughly 40 per cent of the homes required to meet that 2031 goal. If Council approves the land-use permissions recommended today by the Planning and Housing Committee, applicants will be in a position to build another 677 new dwellings. Since the start of 2025, it is estimated this Committee has enabled the development of about 11,800 new dwellings. 

City Council will consider the recommendations from today’s meeting on Wednesday, November 12.