At its meeting on August 23, 2023, City Council approved hiring Wendy Stephanson as its new City Manager. Ms. Stephanson will officially assume the role for five years, starting on Friday, September 1. She had been serving as acting City Manager since November 2022.
Council approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to facilitate new construction across the City. This includes a nine-story building with 118 rental units northeast of Rochester and Balsam streets. The amendments increase permitted height from four to nine storeys, consistent with the goal of higher density near transit stations and in areas that contribute to 15-minute neighbourhoods.
Council approved several other zoning amendments, including one to facilitate a 64-unit, six-storey building in Vanier, northwest of McArthur Avenue and Belisle Street. That proposal will also involve a new sidewalk and tree plantings along Belisle Street. An approved zoning amendment for a nine-storey building northwest of Richmond Road and Tweedsmuir Avenue will deliver another 104 dwellings in Westboro, and will also include public realm improvements with new trees and planting beds on Tweedsmuir Avenue.
Farther east, Council approved a zoning amendment to facilitate a 43-unit, four-storey apartment building southeast of Innes Road and Cleroux Crescent. Council also approved a zoning amendment to permit back-to-back townhouses within an ongoing subdivision in Riverside South, promising another 30 homes for Ottawa residents.
Council also made a small change to the Vacant Unit Tax, excluding newly built units that are listed for sale and not sold within the first year the units are added to the property tax roll. This will come into effect on January 1, 2024.
