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Back in June, we urged everyone to weigh in on Draft 2 of Ottawa’s New Zoning By-law. The City had taken some great steps towards creating the framework for creating healthy, walkable 15-minute neighbourhoods and a more sustainable, affordable Ottawa, but there were still ways that the New Zoning By-law could improve.
Ecology Ottawa joined together with partner community groups to make submissions on Draft 2, namely regarding the height limit discrepancies for some neighbourhood zones between inside the greenbelt and outside the greenbelt; and high-rise height transitions. Ecology Ottawa had also previously made recommendations on offsite parking and for lower caps on huge commercial parking lots. The City has now released the Final Draft of the New Zoning By-law which incorporates several of the recommendations Ecology Ottawa and other community groups have advocated for.
The Zoning By-law process
Before we dive into the changes, let’s recap where we are in the process and why this matters. As we’ve mentioned before, the New Zoning By-law directly affects each and every resident of Ottawa and it represents a crucial pathway to creating healthy, walkable 15-minute neighbourhoods and a more sustainable, affordable city. Staff at the City of Ottawa are going through a multi-year process to develop a new Zoning By-law with three drafts being released for public consultation. This third and final draft of the New Zoning By-law will be considered by the Planning and Housing Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee at a joint meeting on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Following Committee consideration, Council will make a decision on the New Zoning By-law on January 28, 2026.
Although this is now the Final Draft, it’s still important to stay informed and to get involved. Comments made during this third round of public consultations can still inform staff recommendations for further amendments and shape how City Councillors will ultimately make their decisions.
Now, let’s unpack some of the ways that this third and final draft responds to what Ecology Ottawa and other community groups have asked for.
Maximum Heights in Neighbourhood Zones
In Draft 2, N1 and N2 Neighbourhood Zones outside the Greenbelt allowed three-storey buildings with 11-metre height limits, while centrally located N1 and N2 zones were still capped at just 8.5 metres. This discrepancy made it difficult to deliver family-sized “missing-middle” homes in the most sustainably located, central, amenity rich, transit connected neighbourhoods where people want to live.
Ecology Ottawa and other community groups successfully advocated for the New Zoning By-law to do more to enable the gentle density that Ottawa needs, and the Final Draft responded: as-of-right low-rise three-storey permissions are now available in N1 and N2 Neighbourhood Zones city-wide, regardless of their location relative to the Greenbelt. This is a welcome step toward reducing car dependence and emissions, strengthening local communities and ensuring that a diverse range of affordable housing options for people of all ages and stages of life can be built in our city. A vibrant and thriving Ottawa needs walkable neighbourhoods that mix uses, welcome different household types, and give more residents the chance to live near schools, transit, and main streets.
To help residents visualize what this gentle density might look like, the City has released Neighbourhood Evolution Renderings, which show how some typical streets might evolve over 20 years through small, context-sensitive infill. And don’t worry, new infill developments won’t actually be painted highlighter yellow or purple!
Building Height Transitions in Mixed Use Zones
Another key issue in Draft 2 was how taller buildings along major corridors would transition toward nearby low-rise neighbourhoods. In Draft 2, new high-rise developments in some Mixed Use Zones such as MS1 and MS2 Mainstreet Zones and H2 Hub Zone were subject to a 30-metre transition area. This means that a high-rise building that shares a lot line with a low-rise Neighbourhood Zone (N1-N4) is capped in height by a 45-degree angular plane as measured from 15 metres above the shared lot line.
As Ecology Ottawa and other community groups pointed out, this means that significant portions of the lots which are zoned for higher density housing are capped at a lower height. Many of these lots are located on corridors best suited for growth. Lots with the potential for efficient, reliable public transit and the opportunity to build complete, walkable communities where more residents can live close to daily needs. In response, the Final Draft re-examines both the maximum heights permitted in Mainstreet Zones and the setbacks required for the tower portion of high-rise buildings when they abut low-rise Neighbourhood Zones. The Final Draft reduces the transition area to 25 metres and bumps up the maximum permitted height for a high-rise building from 27 storeys to 30 storeys. These changes open up more room for housing while still respecting the scale of neighbouring low-rise areas, ensuring that Ottawa makes the most of its limited transit-oriented corridors.
Communal Parking
Following effective advocacy by organizations like Walkable Ottawa and Ecology Ottawa, the Final Draft of the New Zoning By-law has now expanded the ability for more developments to take advantage of communal parking opportunities. By treating parking more as a shared utility, we can reduce the total paved area, minimize stormwater runoff, and create more room for people-oriented design.
One aspect we’ve been advocating for, and hope to see revised ahead of the final vote, is a sunset clause for these lots so they don’t exist in perpetuity, but are able to be repurposed into more housing after ten years to further enhance walkability.
Minimum and Maximum Parking Rates
There have also been some parking related changes that are likely to raise an eyebrow.
Although the Final Draft also continues to require no minimum parking rates for most of the city, in response to a Council Motion, Village Residential Zones (V1–V5) are now proposed to have a minimum parking space rate of one parking space per dwelling unit. This imposition is a recipe for further sprawl and should be opposed.
Ecology Ottawa, with their partner Walkable Ottawa, has advocated for lower caps on huge parking lots for big-box stores and malls. The Final Draft does not include lower caps for big-box stores and malls. Instead, it proposes raising parking maximums for residential uses across the city. This means that sprawling lots can still be developed all across our city and more resources get dedicated to parking instead of people, meanwhile valuable land is paved over.
There is still time to participate in this current round of New Zoning By-law consultations. We can work together to urge the City to make our communities healthier and greener by lowering these caps or by scaling them in a more granular way to better serve communities with more density and transit access.
It’s Not Too Late To Contribute!
Do your part to understand what the Final Draft means for your community. The City has provided several interactive tools to help you explore the New Zoning By-law on Engage Ottawa.
If you spot something concerning, now is the time to raise it. Conversely, if you are in favour of a proposed change, that’s worth voicing support too! Send your comments by October 3, 2025 using the public comment form or by emailing [email protected].
You can also engage directly with City Staff at the upcoming virtual and in-person open houses:
- Virtual Open House: Thursday, September 25, 6:00–8:00 pm (register here)
- In-person Open House: Monday, September 29, 6:00–8:30 pm at the Ottawa Conference and Convention Centre, 200 Coventry Road (no registration required)
Your voice matters! We’ve seen how the drafts of the New Zoning By-law have evolved in response to effective advocacy and there is still time to contribute!
Jeffrey Ren is a law student, an urban planner, and a former board member with Ecology Ottawa.
