Apartment613

The graphical representation of the vote outcome for Lansdowne Park

Post by Phil Castro

To recap, the $250 million dollar redevelopment of Lansdowne would include a collection of shops, restaurants, theatres, parking garages, green spaces, condos, townhouses, offices and a refurbished stadium and arena that would have a CFL franchise taking to the field in 2013 on the City owned property. The City would contribute $129 million to the plan and partner with a private consortium of local businessmen called the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).

Councillor Clive Doucet, the most vocal and opposed to the redevelopment, opened Council discussion by simply stating “Either you believe in open, transparent government, or you don’t. End of story”.  As the meeting continued late into the evening Councillor Jan Harder could be heard at one point stating that “Things are starting to get very stupid or, should I say, dumber than usual”.

I watched the whole thing and both comments summed up my feelings; let me summarize those facts for you now.

The final result was a vote of 15-9 in favour of moving ahead with the redevelopment proposed by a partnership between the OSEG and City.

Yeas were as follows:
Qadri
McRae
Brooks
Wilkinson
El-Chantiry
Desroches
Harder
Jellett
Hume
Thompson
Bloess
Chiarelli
Hunter
O’Brien

Nays were:
Leadman
Bedard
Bellemare
Deans
Legendre
Holmes
Doucet
Feltmate
Cullen

When contrasted with the April 22nd, 2009 Council vote to initiate the redevelopment project the new vote to continue it saw Alta Vista Councillor Peter Hume switch sides with Gloucester-Southgate Councillor Diane Deans from the Nays to the Yeas accompanied by an overwhelming majority.
Before the final vote, however, those motions mentioned above helped define how the redevelopment would be moved forward. Specifically, the new partnership between the City and OSEG will have to satisfy a series of requirements before a vote to finalize the deal next summer 2010. Some of these conditions included:

•    The creation of a design panel for the master plan to be headed by Toronto based George Dark (one of this country’s most reputable Urban Designers). This panel will oversee the design aspects of the project at a cost of $600,000 to be split between the City and OSEG. In conjunction with the aforementioned, a design competition will be initiated for the public use lands including those which front on the Rideau Canal, the Horticulture Building, the Aberdeen Pavilion and the future farmers market. My hope is the rest of the panel is local. While Mr. Dark’s credentials are rock solid if the City is going to let local developers move forward the least they can do is allow our local design community have a say, after all we will be the ones using it day in and day out.

•    That the City gets paid back at the same rate as OSEG once the redeveloped site becomes profitable. Under the original proposed deal the OSEG would have been paid first. Now this sounds more like a ‘partnership’ to me.

•    That a series studies in regards to transportation, traffic, parking, the commercial viability of the site and its effect on the existing business community be completed. After all it wouldn’t be Ottawa if we didn’t study this thing to death.

•    That the Central Canada Exhibition Association be assisted in completing the business and logistical plans necessary for a move to a new location on Albion Road after the exhibition in 2010. Can we keep the concerts downtown please?

•    Issuing a request for expressions of interest for the construction and operation of a trade and consumer show facility in Ottawa.

All of this is to be done with regular reports from City staff to Council and the public to ensure transparency throughout the process. All in all it does sound promising that something may happen at Lansdowne in our lifetime, but I have concerns and so should you.

One of the motions tabled by Bay Councillor Alex Cullen tried to make a major change to the deal. The motion failed 18-5 after councillors were told it would be a deal breaker for the OSEG. Earlier, Cullen asked city manager Kent Kirkpatrick if “there is any chance that if Lansdowne Live passes through council now, could it still be defeated in May”? To which Kirkpatrick replied “Yes”. In fact if any of the requirements for the project as set by council cannot be met the initiative can fail.

Cullen as well as the other Councillors who voted nay have repeatedly cited that the stadium is in the wrong place due to transportation and transit issues (among whatever else they can think of). The kicker here is that Cullen plans on running for Mayor in next November’s municipal election. Think for a minute that if they are not met the requirements by the summer of 2010 or some Councillors (I count nine) choose to defer a vote the issue will overlap with election campaigns and consequently become a critical election issue.

If all this sounds familiar think about the election in 2006 when Larry O’Brien won on a promise to cancel a light rail system that would already be largely in place from Barrhaven to downtown. The accusations on that issue were that the project had been undertaken without sufficient consultation or communication with the public. I could go into details on this, but it is best summed up as deja vu all over again.

I caution all those involved to not rest on this decision and get the work necessary done ASAP before we see another set of election campaigns carried on the back of hot button issue and what is actually best for our City is ignored.