Ottawa city council approves motion to explore options to protect Kanata golf course from development

Kanata Lakes Golf and Country Club December 19, 2018

Ottawa city council has voted in favour of a motion by Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry to explore options to protect the Kanata Golf and Country Club lands from being developed, including potentially acquiring the property.

The site on Campeau Drive has been the subject of legal battles, going all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Last September, the court cleared the way for 1,500 homes to be built on the golf course lands after it declined to hear the City of Ottawa’s appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruling that declared a 1981 agreement between the former City of Kanata and Campeau Corporation to keep 40 per cent of the property as green space was “inoperative.”

ClubLink and its developers, Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes, filed an application with the city in 2019 to build homes with a minimum 25 per cent green space.

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Curry’s motion called on council to affirm, as a matter of policy, that “residential or other urban development on the Kanata Lakes Golf and Country Club lands referenced in the 40 per cent agreement would be inconsistent with the planning framework under which Kanata Lakes was developed.”

The motion also directs staff to explore and report back on “lawful, voluntary options to secure long-term protection of the subject lands as open space, including acquisition, application of conservation easements, or any other arrangements deemed to be in the City’s interests, subject to Council approval and budget authority.”

“The greenspace in this area was fundamental to the rest of the development of Kanata,” Curry said before the final vote on the motion. “Kanata is one of the most highly developed parts of our city and it continues to be. Since I have been councillor alone, there have been almost 10,000 units approved. There’s no shortage of housing applications in Kanata North, nor will there ever be.”

The motion passed by a vote of 21 to 3, with councillors Jessica Bradley, Shawn Menard, and Stéphanie Plante voting against it. Coun. Steve Desroches was absent.

The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) issued a final order on Tuesday that found that all prerequisites set out in its 2022 Interim Order had been satisfied, dismissing the argument that outstanding technical issues should delay final zoning approval.

“Having considered the submissions and evidence, the Tribunal finds that there is no impediment to issuing Final Orders on the DPS (draft plan of subdivision) and ZBA (zoning bylaw amendment) at the same time,” the OLT ruled. “The Tribunal agrees with the City that the ZBA and DPS are distinct processes, however, this does not prevent their concurrent approval. The Tribunal routinely approves zoning bylaw amendments concurrent with draft plans of subdivision and there is nothing unique about the ZBA and DPS currently before the Tribunal that would preclude the Tribunal from approving both concurrently.”

It also said it had concerns with the City of Ottawa’s position.

“The Tribunal notes with concern the City’s submission that no Final Order is required on the ZBA because, in its view, the proposed development will never proceed. This position reflects a disregard for the Tribunal’s Interim Order that is both surprising and troubling,” the OLT said.

It also warned that unreasonable terms, non-support, or intransigence on the city’s part could be considered as going against provincial development objectives outlined in Ontario’s Provincial Planning Statement.

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Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters the golf course is a central part of how the community around it was initially developed.

“This is a very, very specific set of circumstances where it wasn’t just a golf course. It was promised as greenspace that the community could use. The community counted on that commitment,” he said. “People bought homes on the assumption that that greenspace would be maintained. They heard the words ‘in perpetuity.’ They went into it with good faith and now they’re learning that ‘in perpetuity’ doesn’t mean forever. That’s not what I learned in English class, but that’s how the courts have decided.”

City staff said they are still reviewing the OLT’s final order.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Josh Pringle