James OGrady replied on Permalink
Great insight Jay, thanks for sharing! I thought Hume's comment was pretty funny when I read it in Joanne Chianello's column. He’s been Chair of the Planning Committee for longer than I have been back in Ottawa and that’s all I’ve heard for the last five years!
Unfortunately for residents, Peter Hume isn’t the right person to bring forward the changes to Ottawa’s Official Plan because he’s taken too long to bring them forward as Chair. No one trusts him anymore.
Watch for a potential loophole in the new OP presented under the guise of ‘in the public’s interest’ as a way for staff to override any community objections to future developments and zoning changes. Its being discussed internally at the FCA right now.
Another point that @David made to this discussion on the Bulldog (http://bit.ly/18B1l3L) is that many City planners have already worked for developers and go on to work for developers later on in their careers, so they have a predisposition to developer interests. I know that David's point is accurate because a City of Ottawa planner once told me this.
Its very sad that planning and development in Ottawa, Canada's capital, can't be conducted in a more transparent, accountable and honorable way.