April 16, 2010 - Glebe Report

LETTERS Glebe Report April 16, 2010 5
Speaking up for our
community park ... again
Editor, Glebe Report
We are in receipt of a letter from Glebe residents Adrian Evans, Robert
Campbell and Joseph Duggan informing us that the principles and terms of
reference for the Lansdowne urban park design competition call for proposals
to integrate the community park part of Sylvia Holden Park with the new urban
park (between Lady Aberdeen Pavilion and the Driveway) and the larger civic
agenda for Lansdowne Park.
Our reaction to this information is that the City of Ottawa is thereby demonstrating
a colossal lack of good faith. During the consultation hearings for
the OSEG (Lansdowne Live) proposals, no part of the community park (the
recreational area bounded by Fifth Avenue, O’Connor, Queen Elizabeth Drive
and a line extending roughly eastward from Holmwood Avenue to the canal)
was represented as subject to modification.
It infuriates us that the name Sylvia Holden Park is likely to engender confusion,
since the city has a large conspicuous sign showing Sylvia Holden Park
as located at 945 Bank Street and yet, in some city representations, designates
10 Fifth Avenue as the Sylvia Holden Park address. The uninformed are likely
to think that our protest relates to the Bank Street address, whereas we are
equally concerned about the O’Connor/Driveway/Fifth Avenue area.
Having fought alongside many others since the early 1970s to introduce
basketball, a wading pool, and other facilities into this recreational space, we
are appalled that the city should sneakily turn this into an area once again up
for grabs. The case was made at the time, and councillors agreed, that while
there is green space in the Glebe, the neighbourhood has little space for sports
and other active pursuits.
There is no reason to trust any assurances that space can be found elsewhere
in the Glebe for these facilities. The community has already lost many sports
facilities at Lansdowne. There were once two soccer fields behind the south
stands, a T-ball field, tennis courts, a skateboard park and an outdoor hockey
rink. But these have been replaced in recent decades by parking spaces.
The city should show good faith in keeping the recreational area off limits
in the calls for design proposals for this area, as was depicted in the graphics
shown at the Lansdowne Live consultations throughout the city.
Elaine and Randal Marlin
The world is curiouser and
curiouser ...
Editor, Glebe Report
Everyone in the Glebe will be very familiar with the recent tragedy on Monk
Street when numbers 5 and 7 caught fire.
Less than one week later the city had served an Order to Comply on the poor
owner of the property for “demolition of a 2 storey building without benefit
of a demolition permit.” I checked the date: it was issued on March 31,
not April 1.
My questions are: Do we all need to get demolition permits before having a
major fire? What is the penalty for not having one? Should there be a concessionary
waiver for unpremeditated demolition by a third party? Should the fire
department be issued with a blanket demolition permit for such occasions?
Frank Johnson
The Annual General Meeting
of the Glebe Report Board of Directors
will take place
at the Glebe Community Centre
on June 14, 2010 at 8 p.m.
All are welcome!
Demystifying the zoning
around Lansdowne Park
Editor, Glebe Report
I felt it necessary to write to let you and readers know about the complexity
of all the different zoning issues that Lansdowne Park faces. These will create
a challenge to anyone considering a proper redesign of the park.
1. Currently, the park is owned by the City of Ottawa and is a public space.
Adjacent to the park, the National Capital Commission owns the land
along Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Parks Canada has jurisdiction over
the Rideau Canal, but the canal is also designated by UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site.
2. The Horticulture Building is designated a heritage building under Part 4
3.
of the Ontario Heritage Act.
The Aberdeen Pavillion is both a provincially designated heritage building
and national historic site:
a) Under just the provincial designation, the Aberdeen Pavillion
has a heritage conservation easement which is a buffer zone that surrounds
the building and extends all the way to Bank Street. Any development
in this zone (and presumably near it) must first meet the
approval of the Ontario Heritage Trust.
b) Also, a second Ontario Heritage Trust easement extends from
Aberdeen Pavillion to Queen Elizabeth Driveway and protects the
sightlines of the building from the canal, now a World Heritage Site.
c) Under the national designation, Parks Canada must also be notified
if any major changes are made to the building or the area immediately
surrounding it.
d) Potentially, UNESCO may have to be informed of any changes
that might affect the historic cultural nature of the canal.
Thus, there are five different organizations that currently lay claim to the
site: municipal, provincial, two national and one international.
I hope this clarifies the complexity of the current zoning and heritage issues
surrounding the park and some of its buildings.
Andrew Elliott
Losing a Loved Animal: How Animals view Life
and Death with professional animal communicator Lauren McCall.
Evening seminar: 6–9 pm, Friday, April 30
Church of the Ascension, 253 Echo Drive
This workshop is suited to anyone who loves animals and has
experienced or is about to experience the loss of a beloved
animal companion. Cost: $45.00
Information: 819 790-8670, info@ListeningToWhispers.com
Note: Hands-on weekend workshop also offered.
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Where to find the Glebe Report
In addition to free home delivery, you can find copies of the Glebe
Report at Acorn Early Learning Centre, Adishesha Yoga, Arbour, The Arrow
& the Loon, Berry’s Pet Food, Bloomfields Flowers, Brewer Arena,
Brewer Pool, Bridgehead, Brittons, Civic Shawarma & Pies, Corpus
Christi School, Ernesto’s Barber Shop, First Avenue School, The Flag
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Public School, Glebe Community Centre, Glebe Fashion Cleaners, Glebe
PharmaSave Apo thecary, Glebe Side Kids, Glebe Smoke Shop, Glebe
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Irene’s Pub, Isabella Pizza, Jericho Café, Kardish Foods, Kettleman’s
Bagel Co., Kumon Centre, Lady Evelyn School, Mayfair Theatre,
McKeen Metro Glebe, Mister Muffler, Morala’s, Mutchmor School, the
OCDSB, 107 Fourth Avenue Wine Bar, Ottawa Antique Market, The Palisades,
The Pantry, Personal Concepts, Prana Chiropractic, RBC/Royal
Bank, Reflections, The Royal Oak, 7-11, St. Matthew’s Anglican Church,
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