On Monday, June 30th, the Peoples Official Plan Coalition (POP), submitted set of recommendations to the City of Ottawa planning team on draft 2 of the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law.
This POP submission was led by CAFES Ottawa and active POP collaborators included CAWI (City for all Women), Ecology Ottawa, the Federation for Citizens Associations (FCA), Greenspace Alliance, Just Food, Strong Towns Ottawa , Walkable Ottawa and Wastewatch Ottawa.
The recommendations in our submission demonstrated our priorities for a dense, liveable, walkable, green, 15-minute caring city, and highlighted opportunities for zoning to support affordable, equitable housing opportunities, car sharing services, care facilities, amenity areas, emergency and temporary housing options, and anti-renoviction / anti-demoviction measures.
Our submission supported soil volume and permeable landscaping minimums on residential lots to create space for trees, and advocated for neighbourhood setback minimums, better priority for shade trees in mainstreets, hub zones, minor corridors and mixed-used zones, soft landscaping in parking lots, adequate stormwater services with links to trees, and the adoption of a clear food systems lens.
See our full submission below.
Draft 3 of the by-law is expected to be released on September 8th, 2025. It will go to Joint Committee on December 17th, 2025 and City Council on January 28th, 2026. The final version of the by-law is expected to be enacted in Q1 2026. Visit the Engage Ottawa Zoning page to view draft 2 and to stay updated.