News Article

Update June 25 th 2004

The studies are well underway.   When they are completed by the developer's paid engineers, the various studies will be submitted to Jeff Ostafichuk, the City of Ottawa lead planner on this development.  We have spoken to him and he has been very helpful and responded to each of our requests for information. ( jeffrey.ostafichuk@ottawa.ca , 580 2424  x31329).

The developer has been busy.   His contracted engineering firm has been drilling on the site and he has been responding to the finding of fish on the property and submitted a draft revised site plan (the site plan shows exactly where he plans to place the houses and septics) that is not yet public.   We will post that as soon as it is made public.

The City will pass the completed studies over to the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority ( http://www.mvc.on.ca/ ) for review.  Under the Planning Act, Conservation Authorities must be given notice of planning applications (unless they tell municipalities that they do not want to be circulated).  The MVCA has a specific Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Ottawa that details the types of applications they want to see and the areas, over and above natural hazards, that the MVCA   will provide expertise.   John Price is the Watershed Management Coordinator at the local MVCA and he can provide additional information on their mandate and resources (613) 259-2421 ( jprice@mvc.on.ca ). He kindly prepared a detailed description of how they will work on the Carp Ridge development and you can view it on this site.

The work by the conservation authority has identified fish species in the waters of the site which affords them increased protection.

The current situation is that part of the land is up on the hard rock of the ridge itself and this cannot have housing or septic put on it. In addition, the areas that the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority has deemed to fall within the high water marks of the fish containing waters on the property must have a 30 metre setback (a protective distance within which no development can be done with the exception of infrastructure such as roads which are exempt from this protection) for any housing or septic.   The MVCA has studied the developer's road plan for the site and concluded that they can be built without damage to the fish habitat.   For more information on this click on this link to a note from John Price.

That leaves only the water studies that are being done to prove that that the development will have good wells and that those wells and the septic systems of the houses will not effect neighboring wells in the area before the approvals can be given and construction begin in earnest.   Again, see the MVCA's detailed description for information on this.  

This is a VERY concerning issue as the developer's proof of neighbouring well safety will only be based on the result of several test wells drilled on his land.   His engineers will then produce a "model" of how they predict the water will behave below ground.    This model is reviewed by the MVCA but they cannot release the study itself because it is deemed the property of the developer who paid to have it done.   Anyone who takes issue with the MVCA's comments cannot have access to the basic facts with which they made their dicision.   They can release only very specific data that supports their comments. Obviously this may be a major point of contention in this issue.

The March Rural Association raised a relevant concern at June 24th Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meeting.   They are greatly concerned each study for a proposed development is carried on in isolation from those that came before.   They want to see more connections being made.   Is this the project that will break the proverbial camels back in the area of the development?   The next one ?

Their comments can be viewed in our resources pages. Link to new material to follow.

Once the MVCA has   made their review of the studies their comments go back to the City of Ottawa planners. Jeff Ostafichuk ( jeffrey.ostafichuk@ottawa.ca , 580 2424  x31329).is the lead planner on this development.  As we mentioned, Jeff   has been been most helpful in supplying information on the process to us.  

Our understanding is that following the MVCA's comments, the developer might be asked for more studies or for changes to his site plan to respond to the MVCA concerns.   The City then has several options.    They can turn down the package, they can approve the proposal and proceed with their forestry staff providing advice to the developer, or they can ask for more studies or site plan changes to ensure the development complies with the comments from the MVCA.   Its possible it could end with bargaining where particular trees or stands of trees are traded off to allow the jigsaw puzzle of lot layouts to be accommodated in a manner that still allows the development to proceed.   

If our councilor Eli El-Chantiry ((613) 580-2475 ( Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca ) asks for it, the City can hold a public information meeting but we have been told this is more an opportunity for the City to explain process issues and progress than a venue for public input. We will be requesting that meeting and will post information on the site and notify anyone who has registered with us (link graham).  

We have asked Mr. Ostafichuk for more detail on this later part of the process as it seems to be the most critical part where we the residents of the surrounding lands are concerned.   We will add more information as we get it.

Another possibility that would also depend on our councilor's support would be for the entire matter to be sent back to the City's Planning and Environment Committee of council.   They would study the issue and rule on a motion that would be determined before they took on the project. We have been advised by the planner that a return to Planning and Environment would only happen in exceptional circumstances.

We will add much more detail as we obtain and prepare it for the website. We are asking the city for more information on this eventuality.

Its important to remember that the Planning and Environment Committee is not to be considered another level of the approval process that will see the case if the developer or the community are unhappy with a decision by the planners.   It can only get involved if a true environmental dispute is revealed.  

We will update this section as we get more information.

Allan Joyner
832-0901