Note from the President
By Liz Berstein
Another year has sped by and our annual AGM is upon us. Your association has been very busy on your behalf since the 2017 AGM. The Heritage committee was instrumental in getting a heritage designation for Macdonald Gardens Park which was celebrated at a major event last August. In November, the communications team resurrected the community newspaper, the Echo. The Planning committee made numerous interventions and suggestions on behalf of residents. Once again the LCA operated the outdoor rink at Bingham Park for the benefit of the community and your association was a major sponsor of Winterfest at Jules Morin. The Association was a co-chair of CAFES (Community Association Forum on Environmental Sustainability) urging action on the City’s renewable energy strategy, urban reforestation plan and tree by-law review, waste management, improved three parks-including ensuring adult fitness equipment was installed at Rose Park. The newly revived transportation group is making some headway on making King Edward Avenue safer for people, tracking pedestrian challenges in the winter, and advancing active transportation. We pressed for improved services for homeless and people struggling with addictions in our community, and better options for affordable housing. We advocated for the revitalization of ByWard Market throughout the year of the 150th anniversary celebrations. We have put an emphasis on building connections with our social partners in the community and, finally, our monthly meetings throughout the year were lively, informative and well attended.
All in all, it was a very full and successful year.
This year, we are losing some members of the executive and the board who have contributed enormously to our association and community. Ted Lawrence, treasurer, Thierry Harris social media and communications director, John Chenier, community outreach director, and Liz MacKenzie, Heritage Director.
On your behalf, I want to thank them for their dedicated service over a number of years. I am grateful for what they brought us collectively, and from what I learned from each of them individually. I trust there are members of our community prepared to step up and take their places. The vacant positions at the moment are vice-president (2), treasurer and secretary along with up to three director positions. The areas where the LCA needs people are heritage, communications and responsibility for the operation of the rink at Bingham Park.
I hope to see you at our AGM at the Routier Centre on June 11.
Planning Committee
By Peter Ferguson
The LCA Planning Committee had been invited to meet with the planning group that is managing the proposed addition to the Chateau Laurier Hotel on behalf of Larco Investments, the owner of the hotel. The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss the feedback to Larco Investments and its design team and the subsequent changes to the design that was unveiled on February 28, 2018. Unfortunately the meeting has now been moved to sometime in June as a result of the City requesting additional changes. We look forward to our discussions in June.
After a number of failed attempts to obtain approval for high-rise proposals at 101 Wutemburg Street, Claridge Homes, the owner of a property has engaged a design firm to plan the development of three attached freehold townhouses on the site. The existing property would be severed into three separate two- storey properties with balconies on the front and rear and a walk-out access to small backyards. The issue for the developer is the stability of the steep embankment that falls away to the Rideau River at the back of the property and the subsequent safety of the residents of the three units. The LCA will be filing its concerns about the stability and security of the riverbank with the Committee of Adjustment in the hope that Claridge and its design team will address the matter to the satisfaction of the City and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. The community would benefit from the townhouse development as a reasonable solution to creating infill and intensification without reverting to high-rise structures. Stay tuned!
Safety and Security
By Norman Moyer
In November, 2017 the Safety and Security Committee of the LCA reported to the Association on the rising levels of crime and public disorder in Lowertown. It recommended a series of actions, including the call for a more detailed study of the levels, types and reasons for crime in the neighbourhoods that make up Lowertown. In early 2018 the opportunity emerged for the LCA to apply for funding for two student researchers to work in the summer of 2018. The LCA wishes to thank the Government of Canada for choosing this project. A Steering group made up of the LCA, the Lowertown Community Resource Centre (LCRC), the ByWard Market BIA, Ottawa Police, and Crime Prevention Ottawa, has been created to provide guidance for the researchers.
Two students from the Master’s Program in Criminology at the University of Ottawa have been selected to work on this project. They will begin work on May 28 in offices of the Lowertown Community Resource Centre at 145 Beausoleil Street.
Ottawa-Vanier MP, Mona Fortier is a strong supporter of this kind of work for students. “I am very pleased to see that the Lowertown Community Association has hired two very qualified students to help do vital research in our community. It is clear that these youth – as well as those across the country – are not only the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today. I am confident that their success will benefit our riding and community.”
The results of the student work will form the basis of a report and action plan to be prepared for the Lowertown Community Association in the fall.