An Amendment to Ottawa’s Site Alteration Bylaw—An Affront to Protecting Trees in Rural Areas

Lire le français içi.

In November of 2023, staff recommended that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) vote to extend Section 11 of the Site Alteration Bylaw from 2 kilometres outside the urban area to the entire rural area. Among other regulations, Section 11 prevents people from clearcutting trees without the approval of the city. Despite the recommendations of staff, on October 3, 2024, ARAC proposed that this area (initially the entire rural area around Ottawa) be restricted to just 1 kilometre outside of the urban area of Ottawa. Instead of a step forward as recommended last year, this is a step backwards. This amendment puts the natural environment at unnecessary risk, and Ecology Ottawa calls on the City to vote against the amendment to this bylaw which will be brought to council on Wednesday, October 16.
During the meeting in 2023, councillors decided to engage in further consultation before implementing staff’s recommendation to extend Section 11 protections to the entire rural area. Staff’s initial recommendation to increase environmental protections came after an incident where a farmer clearcut dozens of hectares of trees in the middle of the night without warning (see relevant CBC article). Councilor David Brown argued that the proposed restrictions would limit farmers’ ability to properly manage their land. Following the meeting in 2023, rural councillors (Luloff, Kelly, Kitts, Darouze, and Brown) organized information sessions for their respective wards. A citywide consultation process followed, which resulted in mixed feedback to proposed changes. Only 15 people completed the related survey. In sum, despite saying that further consultation was needed before implementing the extension of Section 11 protections, the consultation had no discernible effect on proposed legislative changes since it had a small sample size and received mixed feedback. This is why it is confusing that instead of expanding Section 11 protections, ARAC proposes that they apply to a smaller area.
Speaking on behalf of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital at the recent ARAC meeting, Paul Johanis touched on many of the issues mentioned above. He points out that the entire purpose of amending the bylaw in the first place was to increase protections for natural heritage system lands and rural areas more generally, not reduce restrictions. Overall, the original intent of amending the Site Alteration Bylaw has been flipped on its head by council, and without the desire to do so from the general public.
We call on readers to write to City Council, and specifically to the previously mentioned rural councillors (Luloff, Kelly, Kitts, Darouze, and Brown) and express disapproval for this change which threatens the ecological health of the beautiful rural area which surrounds Ottawa’s city centre. Writing to your city councillor, who you can find in the same list, will be very helpful as well since every vote counts! Emails and contact information can be found at the city council link provided above. For more information on the specific bylaw changes, relevant documents are linked below.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Meeting (10/03/24)—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdeVZvVXusQ
Site Alteration Bylaw (with proposed changes to the Section 11 Area)—https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=203978
Report to ARAC tracking changes to the bylaw and consultation processes—https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=203977

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