The draft New Official Plan (OP) for the City of Ottawa will have major impacts for the future of QTN. It is not bedtime reading. It is not easy to understand the impacts of the high-level, big ideas about population growth that make headlines. For those who love QTN, however, now is the time to be part of shaping our future.

Below are a few key issues that are being discussed by the QTN Planning Committee and links to further reading for anyone interested in learning more. Everyone can provide input directly to the City and to your planning committee. The deadline for public feedback on the draft OP is February 17, 2021 – the City’s website provides more information on how to provide feedback.

We are raising concerns, doing research, and working to promote what residents have named as the most valued features of living in QTN:

1. From suburban to urban

 QTN is included in the Inner Urban Transect. Under this plan QTN would change from a suburban to a more inner-city-like area over the next 25 years. How the change will be managed is not yet clear. Impacts include:

• Increased density, which means more people living in the same area
• More two-to three story low rise housing forms, small yards
• Services within walking/biking distance – what is called a 15 Minute Neighborhood
• Greater flexibility for proponents of in-fill and redevelopment projects

Questions include:

• Does QTN fit well in the Inner Urban Transect?
• Are the measures to protect the desired features of QTN strong enough?
• How will “regeneration” be implemented in QTN?
• Will the tree canopy and “green” character of QTN be maintained?
• Will services be improved at the same time as density increases?

2. Queensview Drive and Lincoln Fields as Transit Hubs

Queensview Drive will change to a mixed use commercial/residential area under the draft OP, with higher density development in the transit hub close to the station. It will be designated as a Minor Corridor. What that could mean for QTN is the focus of planning committee discussion.

• How can we ensure that there are benefits for QTN, improve connections to the LRT station and services, and prevent any negative impacts?

There will be a secondary plan for the area around the Queensview/Pinecrest Station. That plan will include the QTN neighborhood. More details and a public meeting will come in the Spring. Our focus right now is to ensure the OP does not constrain what we can do through the secondary plan and is strong on policies that promote what people value about QTN.

For more information, see:

• Review QTN’s post on Queensview
• The Pinecrest & Queensview secondary planning process
• A summary of the recent public forum on Queensview Dr and QTN (PDF)
• A discussion paper by QTN’s planning committee that asked the city to start talking about community concerns

Lincoln Fields is already changing and will undergo more change as a Transit Hub. A secondary plan for the Lincoln Fields Area is moving forward again, after several delays. More than a year ago QTN called for more careful attention to this area in an article published in the Ottawa Citizen which is an issue that has been reported on more than once.

There will be more details and another public meeting in the Spring. You can learn more about the Lincoln Fields Secondary Plan here. The QTN planning committee named some priority issues in a letter to City planners (PDF), and we are working with other neighborhoods around Lincoln Fields mall to strengthen the focus on community concerns in the planning process.

Send us your feedback

The QTN Planning Committee welcomes your questions, suggestions, or feedback on the issues that will affect our future. You can direct your questions or comments to the planning committee by emailing qtncommunity@gmail.com.