Update: Petition to Preserve the Vision for Uptown Rideau

September Update

For more than a year city planners, representatives from Lowertown and Sandy Hill and Rideau Street property owners have been meeting to update the Uptown Rideau Community Design Plan (CDP). However, Richcraft, the owner of the 560 Rideau street property, submitted a 14-storey development application, contrary to both the current and new CDP’s mid-rise vision for Rideau.

Residents organized letters and a petition urging City Council to reject the proposed high rise.  To residents’ great disappointment City Council voted to support the development on August 26.  Although Councillors Fleury, Leiper, McKenny and Cloutier opposed (Councillor Nussbaum was absent), this was not enough to defeat the motion.  Residents had also requested our councillor to propose a motion deferring a decision until after the URCDP is accepted (similar to a successful appeal on Metcalfe Street) but this did not happen.   To our equal disappointment, the petition which gathered 612 signatures from local people was never presented.

In our minds it is now highly doubtful as to whether the new CDP has any value.  ASH is currently considering its next steps.  If you would like to communicate with us on this or any other subject please write to info@ash-acs.ca.

We did have one small victory from this. Regarding concerns about adjacent heritage buildings with stone foundations, officials have now been instructed by Council to outline the City’s ability to require developers to carry liability insurance and to undertake pre- and post-construction building assessments on neighbouring properties.

————————————————————————————————-

(original posting)

The Petition to Preserve the Vision for Rideau Street East

Action Sandy Hill (ASH) and Lowertown Community Association (LCA) have joined forces and are circulating a petition (both online and on paper) asking the Mayor and the Councillor to preserve the vision for Rideau Street east of King Edward, as outlined in the 2005 Community Development Plan and currently being updated.  It is now  under grave threat from several proposed new high-rise developments along Rideau Street, immediately adjacent to the sensitive Besserer Street Heritage District.

Sign the electronic petition here!

Copies of the paper petition are making their way around the neighbourhood and can also be found at Ayoub’s (Somerset & Blackburn) and TAN Cafe (Wilbrod & Friel).

Aug 25th update: now 608 signatures! (189 online, 419 on paper)

August 21: 561 signatures
August 6: 410 signatures
July 27th update: now 370 signatures
July 19th update: electronic petition created.  Total of 130 signatures

For more information see our updated web page:  https://ash-acs.ca/plans-for-rideau-st-in-danger/