Councillor looks to speed up looser zoning rules for shelters

A city councillor wants to speed up proposed zoning changes that would allow emergency shelters to open anywhere in urban Ottawa.

The change is already part of a draft zoning bylaw, but a final version of that bylaw won't actually come to council for a vote until the end of the year. In the meantime, Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper worries the current rules could slow down desperately needed projects.

"I hear rumours about funding that could become available to, for example, acquire small properties in order to house newcomers," Leiper said. "Right now, in some parts of the city, that would be allowed without any application, without any public process. In other parts of the city, I would suggest most, it's going to require a rezoning."

That rezoning process can be lengthy and expensive, since it requires applicants to pay a fee and argue their case before the city's planning and housing committee, which Leiper chairs.

The current zoning bylaw has five different types of residential zones, but shelters are only permitted in the densest one, as well as institutional zones and some commercial areas.

The changes in the draft zoning bylaw would permit shelters in "all urban zones and designations" as of right, meaning they could proceed everywhere, except in rural areas, without a rezoning application.

A 'controversial' move?

Leiper gave notice of a motion he will be making at the next committee meeting to ask staff to bring forward those changes separately from the rest of the bylaw, at the earliest opportunity, for councillors to vote on.

Leiper acknowledged that could be "controversial," but he noted that Ottawa's official plan — the city's top planning document — already commits it to the move, and that document went through lengthy consultation.

He also noted there will still be rules on the size and height of buildings.

"It doesn't mean that you can put a megashelter in the middle of a neighbourhood of bungalows, but if one of those bungalows is going to be used by, for example, an agency to house newcomers, our official plan is clear: Yes, that should be allowed," he said. 

The city is obligated to follow its official plan, as is Leiper's committee when it considers rezoning applications.

"If an agency were to acquire a property and have to go through a rezoning process, city council doesn't really have much choice but to approve it," he said. 

"I don't think it's honest to go to residents and say, 'OK, here's a rezoning application to allow a shelter in a residential area, give us your feedback,' when the outcome is essentially foregone."

Kanata Sprung structure site exempt

In crafting his motion, Leiper said he's specifically thinking of agencies like Matthew House, which provides transitional housing to newcomers.

Matthew House executive director Kailee Brennan said their transitional housing is dispersed and small-scale, so it hasn't really run into zoning restrictions so far. 

But she said they've explored the idea of larger sites and welcomed the prospect of more flexible rules, especially with so much federal money potentially on the table.

"There has been more federal interest and contribution toward refugee claimant housing in the last couple of years than there's ever been," she said. "Making sure that our zoning issues and bylaws are open enough that we're able to actually use that contribution to address real problems is good."

Leiper carved out space in his motion for 40 Hearst Way, the site in Kanata the city has identified for a possible newcomer reception centre if the one planned for the Nepean Sportsplex site proves insufficient.

Any new bylaw implementing the zoning changes wouldn't apply to 40 Hearst Way, which would still have to go through the rezoning process. Leiper noted Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has already told Kanata residents that rezoning will be their chance to weigh in.

"There's a commitment to those residents to bring that to a rezoning and I'm not going to bypass that," he said.

The zoning at the Nepean Sportsplex site already permits the newcomer reception centre planned there, even without rezoning.

Ottawa Morning6:06Councillor looks to speed up looser zoning rules for shelters

Coun. Jeff Leiper is making a motion to allow emergency shelters to open anywhere in urban Ottawa, even before wide-ranging zoning changes come into effect.