Ottawa city councillor wants debate, reversal of Tewin development
An Ottawa city councillor wants to reverse a council decision made four years ago and prevent the 445-hectare Tewin development in the city's rural southeast from being built.
But city staff asked to provide comments about Coun. Theresa Kavanagh's idea have laid out the many implications of changing course now that plans and projects have proceeded with the assumption the future suburb is a go.
During deliberations in 2021 about expanding Ottawa's urban boundary, the previous city council voted to allow rural lands owned by Algonquins of Ontario Realty Corp. and Taggart Group to be developed to house up to 45,000 people.
It caused controversy at the time when some councillors described it as an act of reconciliation, but many Algonquin communities disagreed. Staff had scored the land lower because of its clay soil and distance from existing infrastructure.
Since then, multiple studies and consultations have taken place to plan Tewin, and the design could reach the third of four phases by the end of the year. The Tewin developers have long promised "Tewin would pay for Tewin." They agreed to pay for three senior city planners to be dedicated to the file, and intend to pay for future transit, roads and water infrastructure.
The city approved a master plan for infrastructure in June 2024. It includes extending a trunk water main and sanitary sewer across the National Capital Commission's Greenbelt for Tewin, plus building a new pump station and reservoir.
The cost was pegged at $313 million for Tewin alone through to 2046, and rises to $591 million when a longer timeline and wider area is taken into account. The developers say they will only pay for infrastructure that directly benefits Tewin.
Kavanagh, who represents Bay ward, maintains council should have followed staff's original advice and chosen land closer to existing suburbs for development.
"I still believe that the right decision was made originally and we have to go back to it," she said. "If it's the right thing to do and it's going to save us hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure, then it's worthwhile."
'Domino effects' for city planning
Kavanagh intended to table a motion in mid-March, but later withdrew it because Tewin is located in Osgoode ward, which currently has no councillor of its own until a byelection is held June 16 to replace George Darouze.
Kavanagh said she hasn't spoken with the 11 candidates vying to replace Darouze, but hopes it becomes a campaign issue. She plans to introduce her motion in the fall once the area has a councillor again.
Kavanagh also insists council must listen to the Algonquin communities that don't feel the City of Ottawa consulted adequately with them, and don't feel the Algonquins of Ontario represent the larger Algonquin Nation.
Even though Kavanagh withdrew the motion, Coun. Glen Gower asked staff to provide information they had been preparing.
He said their response, which is included on the agenda of the planning and housing committee on May 7, shows the many "domino effects" of removing Tewin from land the city will allow to be developed.
"There's a lot of really serious implications for making that change," Gower told CBC News. "Wholesale just dropping it or removing it from the official plan is a pretty extreme action."
Since 2021, master plans for both infrastructure and transportation networks have been created assuming thousands will move to Tewin, staff emphasized.
Extensive transportation modelling would need to be revisited, jeopardizing the transportation master plan currently making its way toward council approval in July. Water projects would also need to be reprioritized, staff wrote.
The planning department says Tewin provides three years' worth of developable lands to meet population growth. Ontario policy requires municipalities to have at least a 15-year supply designated at all times. Finding an equivalent for those three years would prove difficult, staff say.
Staff have listed instances when the city communicated with various Algonquin communities, but they include a delegation in 2021 by a former Algonquins of Ontario negotiating representative who was later removed from the organization's list over ancestry disputes.
Updated urban expansion rules
Gower points out much has been changing for housing and planning policy in Ontario that is leading to changes in Ottawa's official plan, which is still only a few years old.
"It seems like every six months or so there's a new major change in how the province or the federal government would like to see cities grow and evolve, and we feel in a lot of ways we're playing catch-up," he said.
Importantly, the new provincial planning statement that took effect in October 2024 no longer requires a municipality to do the same sweeping and comprehensive analysis of where to grow its urban areas. Instead, developers can apply piecemeal to expand the urban boundary to include their properties.
Indeed, within days of that change, Claridge Homes paid a hefty fee and applied to the City of Ottawa on behalf of itself and developers Mattamy Homes, Regional Group, Minto Communities and Uniform for an urban expansion of 152 hectares north of Kanata.
Their properties had originally received higher scores from city staff, but councillors left them out in 2021 in favour of the Tewin lands.
Were Kavanagh's motion to succeed, these owners would likely use it to support their case for development, staff point out.
Moreover, removing the Tewin lands would likely lead the Algonquins of Ontario Realty Corp. and Taggart Group to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, staff say. Hiring outside lawyers and experts could cost up to $1 million, they estimate.
Still, Kavanagh isn't convinced the city is stuck and must move forward with Tewin.
"You can't just say, 'It's too late,'" she said. "I remain concerned that it's a burden on the taxpayers of Ottawa."
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