City of Ottawa planning staff are recommending councillors reject an application to expand the urban boundary as part of a proposal to build 360 homes south of Stittsville.
The developer, Caivan, had submitted the application to expand the existing urban boundary directly adjacent to 16 hectares of land on the west side of Shea Road and the north side of Flewellyn Road, which are largely vacant.
Caivan was seeking permission to include the area in the urban boundary and designate the land as “neighbourhood”. The land is currently designated as “rural countryside” under the city’s official plan.
There is already land to the north and west of the area that has been designated for future development as Caivan’s “Magnolia” subdivision.
City staff evaluated the proposal and concluded that available land within the urban boundary already exceeds the minimum provincial requirements for a 15-year supply of designated and available residential land.
A 2024 provincial planning statement requires municipalities to maintain the ability to accommodate residential growth for a minimum of 15 years with lands that are designated or available for residential development.
The city currently has 1,581 hectares of available or designated land, which exceeds the minimum requirement by 314 hectares or 3.7 years, according to a report that was set for the planning and housing committee May 20.
An additional 339 hectares — or 6.2 years’ supply — of residential land will be added to the city’s available land supply, which extends the city’s land supply to nearly 25 years.
Caivan “has not demonstrated a land need to substantiate the request for an expansion to the City’s urban boundary,” staff wrote.
The developer “has not provided a land need assessment to contradict or provide a rationale that there is an existing land need beyond staff’s data and analysis,” the report states.
The application “does not demonstrate a need for additional urban land” based on growth projections and the city’s current supply of land.
Rideau-Jock Coun. David Hill supports the staff recommendation to reject the proposal and Coun. Glen Gower, whose Stittsville ward is adjacent to the proposed development, has also said he does not support the urban boundary expansion.
The application is now headed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, according to the staff report, with a case management conference scheduled for May 22.
