Province poised to help Barrhaven LTC home development skip local oversight

City of Ottawa staff and councillors worry the province's aim to override municipal powers and fast-track a new long-term care home in the south end sets a precedent for less local say in future developments. 

"I think we should take this as a warning sign," said Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster during Wednesday's planning and housing committee.

"We can lose a lot of really important control and autonomy over development in our city."

In March, the City of Ottawa said it was notified the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing received a request from the Ministry of Long-Term Care to issue a minister's zoning order (MZO) for the first time in Ottawa.

A draft of the order — which overrides a municipality's usual oversight powers to approve what is built on local lands — was supplied to the city so staff could provide "technical feedback," city staff said. 

The order in this case aims to help Southbridge Care Homes build a new 192-bed facility on Strandherd Drive in the western area of Barrhaven. Southbridge plans to expand the facility in the future, either by doubling the number of beds or building additional residences and commercial storefronts at the site.

In a statement to CBC, Southbridge said the MZO helps "expedite the process so more beds can be built faster, to meet the needs of Ontario seniors."

Housing Minister Steve Clark's office said in an email statement that no decision has been made on whether an MZO will be used in the Strandherd Drive development. 

The statement added these orders are used to get "critical projects" moving, including long-term care homes, "at a pace that Ontarians need and deserve."

Construction deadline to get provincial funding

The company is looking to receive a funding subsidy from the Ministry of Long-Term Care to build the care home on a site that is currently an undeveloped field close to a small commercial area and a retirement complex.

To qualify for the subsidy, construction has to start by August 31, city staff said.

The city believes the housing ministry received a request for the zoning order to ensure Southbridge would be able to meet the summer deadline.

Staff told the committee Wednesday the developer would likely have been able to get approvals before the deadline if it had followed normal protocols and filed the necessary paperwork to the city.

Lack of a site plan 

Lily Xu, a development manager with the city, said by using the zoning order the developer doesn't need to go through the normal channels, which includes a public consultation process, applying for a zoning bylaw amendment or an amendment to the Official Plan.

The developer also doesn't require a site plan, which is a chief concern for the city and councillors on the housing committee. 

Site plans dictate how a building deals with a range of issues like stormwater, garbage, snow removal, fire protection, drainage, grading, sewage and construction safety. The plan helps the city review impacts on surrounding infrastructure, including roads.

In this specific case, Xu said a local site plan would look at potential impacts to the Clarke Fields corridor that receives stormwater from the area.

"The site plan process makes sure everything is done properly," said Xu.

Without a site plan, a number of councillors including Laura Dudas and Glen Gower, raised concerns about liability should something go wrong and the city incurred costs.

City lawyer Christine Enta said that's uncharted legal territory and it's unclear what grounds the city would have to seek compensation.

A new normal, councillors surmise 

Planning committee chair and Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said the bypass of usual municipal processes could be a sign of what's to come. He raised the spectre of more developers looking to skip potentially costly local planning processes to apply directly to the province for zoning orders, especially to build new residential developments.

"We know that this provincial government has been very aggressive on approving, particularly housing," he said.

"If others are proposing similar projects, I hope that they will speak with our staff and get the comfort they need that it can be accomplished with local planning authorities before going to the province directly."

On Wednesday, the committee unanimously supported the City of Ottawa's response to the housing minister on the zoning order, which, among other things, includes a request for a site plan. The city said it is committed to prioritizing the application so the developer can meet its August funding deadline.

Staff told the committee they are unclear what effect that response will make in the decision to issue the zoning order.