A settlement will keep parkland on a quarter of the Mechanicsville site
The National Capital Commission can build its row of embassies in Ottawa’s Mechanicsville neighborhood after all, but it will have to leave about a quarter of the land for a public park.
Wednesday, the city council approved a deal that was reached through negotiations. This means that the fight over the commission’s embassy project won’t have to go through the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Even though the agreement between the commission, the city, and the Mechanicsville Community Association (MCA) might not make everyone happy, it was the “smartest thing to do,” said Mississippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
Leiper, whose ward includes the 3.7-hectare site along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, said, “It was clear that there was a lot of opposition to putting embassies anywhere on that land. The community wanted to keep it all open space.”
“But the chances of fully winning at the Ontario Land Tribunal weren’t very good, so it was decided to settle on terms that all three parties could agree to.”
No more than 5 building
The National Capital Commission (NCC) has wanted to build embassy buildings on the swath of greenspace in the west-of-downtown neighborhood for a number of years, but residents of Mechanicsville have spoken out against the idea.
Even the city’s planning committee gave the NCC the go-ahead, but in February 2022, the full city council reversed that decision, which was a surprise.
Some councillors who voted yes in committee changed their minds because they were angry that the NCC had rejected a transit corridor on Greenbelt land in the east end of the city for a different reason.
The NCC filed an appeal with the land tribunal one month after the embassy project was canceled, saying that council didn’t follow provincial planning rules.
The motion that was passed on Wednesday makes it clear what will be at the future embassy site:
- There will be no more than five “principal buildings.”
- People will be encouraged to park underground, but it will still be possible to park on the ground.
- There will be new infrastructure for people walking, such as a sidewalk on Burnside Avenue and a walkway between Forward and Hinchey avenues.
It also means that there is no need for a court hearing on May 1.
Leiper said, “There are a number of things here that are good for the community as a whole.”
The fight over the embassy “galvanized” the area
In a news release on Wednesday, the MCA said that the “cash-strapped” community is glad it won’t have to raise tens of thousands of dollars to pay lawyers and experts to keep fighting.
The out-of-court settlement will keep 24% of the site, which residents call “Lazy Bay Commons” after a small bay on the Ottawa River, as parkland, according to the community association.
In the statement, board member Roy Atkinson said, “It’s not a stretch to say that the fight over Lazy Bay Commons brought this community together.”
“We all worked together to protect a place we love.”