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Are you keen to monitor City Hall? We're looking for Council Watchers who will attend Council and Committee meetings and help produce monthly reports on the goings-on at City Hall.
- You will stay current with policies shaping your city;
- You will learn how the proverbial sausage gets made in Municipal Policy;
- You get to meet other Council Watchers who are keen on what they do
- You provide a valuable service to the community and help keep our elected representatives accountable
As we speak, the City of Ottawa is working on a new Official Plan. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a better city – one that fights sprawl while ensuring accessible transit, building walkable neighbourhoodsand helping Ottawans transition away from the car.
The new Official Plan must be Ottawa’s climate emergency plan. Hold the Line is a necessary city-wide initiative to adequately respond to the Climate Emergency.
Future development needs to reach a 64% share of intensification in order to hold the urban boundary line where it is today. The city’s Official Plan proposal only reaches a 51% share of intensification and 49% greenfield development.
La version française suit.
Updated June 2nd, 2020.
Timeline
Spring 2019 - Ottawa City Council declares a climate emergency
A historic moment for Ottawa which represents a shift towards a better future for the city.
March 2019 - Ottawa launches the new Official Plan review
This becomes recognized as one of the most important policy decisions to pass through City Council this term, and likely in many years.
This year, we are asking Ottawans to use the transit system as their only means of transportation for one week in February - starting on Family Day and running from Monday, February 17, to Sunday, February 23, 2020. Do your best; if you can’t use transit for a specific trip, talk about it! The successes and failures are all interesting from the perspective of improving the transit system for all.
A once-in-a-generation opportunity
Ottawa City Council is about to debate and decide on a new Official Plan. This is the major land use and policy document that will shape the size and character of our city for decades to come - all the way out to 2046.
The new Official Plan will have a dramatic impact on whether we as a city do our fair share to tackle the climate crisis. The United Nations has identified the next 11 years as critical to avoiding climate catastrophe. It's all hands on deck, and cities like Ottawa have an opportunity to lead the way in the transition to a climate-friendly world. In other words, the new Official Plan must be Ottawa's climate emergency plan.
This has been a record year for Ottawa with the Climate Emergency, flooding, Vision Zero, phase 1 of the LRT, Climate Strikes, the Official Plan, and the 2020 Budget. Climate change has been on the lips of federal and municipal politicians and there is unprecedented momentum in the environmental community in Ottawa. Let’s look at some key decisions at City Hall from the end of 2019.
Happy New Year, Ottawa!
We hope your holiday season was relaxing and restorative. Now, it's time to get to work. There is so much to accomplish together in 2020.
Looking ahead, we're sure you see many challenges and opportunities. Share what you want to see from the city in the months and years to come.
Click here to take our 2020 Priorities Survey and set the course for a year of progress on local environmental issues.
Please note that we have had to put the Tree Distribution Program on pause this year due to COVID-19.
Unfortunately, we have no free trees to distribute at this time. That being said, we were able to launch our very first Tree Fundraiser where we are selling tree saplings at an extremely reduced price! You can check out the Tree Fundraiser HERE.
The good news: Ecology Ottawa will be back at it in 2021 and 2022 distributing 15,000 native tree seedlings free of charge to Ottawa area residents in an effort to re-plant our urban tree canopy.
2019 was an incredible year. Together, we changed the local climate conversation, engaged thousands in work to protect trees and green up neighbourhoods, and worked to make our city a safer place for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
As we head into 2020, we drew up a list of New Year's resolutions that will shape our work together in the coming months. All of Ecology Ottawa's work is grassroots and volunteer-driven. Thank you for making this possible with your volunteer time and financial support. We look forward to the exciting year ahead!
2019 was an incredible year. Together, we changed the local climate conversation, engaged thousands in work to protect trees and green up neighbourhoods, and worked to make our city a safer place for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.