Bob Chiarelli wants the province to throw Tewin lands out of the official plan

Mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli wrote to the minister of municipal affairs Friday asking that the so-called Tewin lands be removed from the city's official plan — a key city document that has yet to be approved by the province.

Council's decision a year ago to create an entirely new suburb in the city's rural southeast was controversial for many reasons, including that the land was not on any existing transit and would be expensive for the city to service with roads, pipes and other infrastructure.

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City staff had scored the Tewin lands poorly and recommended land in the west end be included in the urban boundary instead. But some councillors swapped the two pieces of land in a walk-on motion.

Chiarelli — who was the minister of municipal affairs and housing among other political titles a decade ago — said including the lands doesn't make sense, especially as any housing there won't be built for many years.

"Understanding that housing development is a priority of your government, expanding Ottawa's urban boundary to include the unserviced so called 'Tewin Lands' rather than the much better serviced West Carleton/Kanata North property as recommended by city staff will be an unreasonable delay on development," Chiareli wrote to Minister Steve Clark.

Chiarelli pointed out that the province had questions at the time about including the lands.

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Province still hasn't approved official plan

The city spent years working on a new official plan that provides guidelines for how the city should grow, and it was almost unanimously approved last October, but the province still hasn't approved it.

Asked if it's wise for a cabinet minister to overturn a council decision like the official plan, Chiarelli said it happens all the time.

"They often approve a part of a plan and don't approve another part of the plan,"Chiarelli told CBC.

"I know how the dynamics work. It's not unusual for the Ministry of Housing or Municipal Affairs to say we're approving this but we're not approving that, you've got to go back because this doesn't comply."

In an email, mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney said they support Chiarelli's request, which isn't a surprise as as the downtown councillor fought against including the lands last year.

But Mark Sutcliffe said he backs the official plan as is, adding that all new lands, including Tewin, will have to be developed as full communities.

He also said that unlike his opponents. he's "not interested in playing politics or re-litigating council's decisions."