A lawyer says that a medical boarding home is very important and will help a lot of people
The zoning appeal against a new medical boarding home for Inuit in south Ottawa has been turned down by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Larga Baffin is an Inuit-owned company that helps people from Nunavut get health care in Ottawa. They want to build a new building near the airport at Hunt Club Road and Sieveright Avenue.
The plan was approved by the city council last summer, but it hasn’t been put into action yet because the Upper Hunt Club Community Association filed a zoning appeal.
The group has pointed to problems like parking, ways to reduce traffic, and the height of the building.
On Thursday, the tribunal made a decision that makes it possible to build the building that was planned for Hunt Club Road and Sieveright Avenue.
The decision says, “The Tribunal was not persuaded that the instrument before it was too soon because there wasn’t enough transportation infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the community or that the proposed development would increase the risk to public safety.”
“The Tribunal accepts the findings that the proposed development does not significantly worsen the existing transportation, operational, or safety issues, nor does it cause the need for any offsite infrastructure improvements.”
The lawyer for Larga Baffin, Michael Polowin, said he is “thrilled” with the decision.
He said, “It’s a building that’s badly needed and will help a lot of people, and now it can go forward.”
Before the appeal was filed, there was tension between the community and Larga Baffin, but Polowin said that’s normal for his job.
“Now, when it comes to planning law, you’ve come to expect opposition from neighbors. The question is how different they are. How well do they work together? Will they spend the money to put up a real fight?”
He also said that this is the last legal problem he thinks Larga Baffin will have to solve.
“Is there anything the neighbors can do to take it further?” The answer is maybe, but I really don’t think they will,” he said.
CBC tried to get in touch with the community association’s lawyers but did not hear back right away. The planning company that made the six-story building said that by 2027, it hopes to have Inuit from Nunavut living there.