At City Council on Wednesday, February 25, I moved an emergency motion that passed on a vote of 22-2 (see the breakdown of votes at the bottom of the motion below). This motion directed staff to take a number of very important actions:
- The City of Ottawa will create a communications platform/website, and an email mailing list, so that the City can provide updates to residents on this file.
- All work on this site that involves studies or plans will be reviewed by a third-party entity in addition to City staff experts and professionals.
- Our City of Ottawa Planning and Housing Committee will have the opportunity to get updated on the third-party reviews and discuss them.
- City staff will maintain a relationship with the developer where staff and third-party reviewers are allowed on site.
- Staff will retain an independent drainage expert, given the serious stormwater management concerns that have been known since the site was established as the City’s stormwater management plan for Kanata Lakes.
- Council will continue to be kept up to date on what is going on and regarding whether staff and third-party reviewers believe that activities on the site need to be paused given the results of third-party and staff reviews.
In addition, it is highly recommended that you and your neighbours sign up for Councillor Curry’s newsletter that will continue to provide updates. You can sign up for that at Community Newsletter – Kanata North.
You can also sign up for the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition’s newsletter at Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition.
You can see the entire motion that passed at City Council on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 below. The “Therefore Be it Resolved” and “Be it Further Resolved” clauses are the actions that staff have now been directed to undertake.
WHEREAS the lands commonly known as the Kanata Lakes Golf and Country Club have historically functioned as a significant green space within the Kanata Lakes community; and
WHEREAS in or about 1981, agreements associated with planning approvals for the development of Kanata Lakes (the “40% agreement”) contemplated that approximately forty per cent (40%) of lands within the broader Kanata Lakes development area would be retained as open space, including golf course lands; and
WHEREAS the planning framework applicable to Kanata Lakes relied in part on the retention of significant open space lands; and
WHEREAS recent Ontario Land Tribunal decisions respecting the subject lands have confirmed that Council must not fetter its discretion and that planning approvals, refusals, and conditions must be supported by planning evidence, statutory authority, and the public interest; and
WHEREAS the City has repeatedly and consistently reiterated and affirmed its intent to use the tools at its disposal to prevent these lands from being developed in a manner that contravenes the 40% agreement; and
WHEREAS recent activities undertaken on site by the developer have led the community to raise concerns about the permissibility, safety, and appropriateness of the activities; and
WHEREAS the City has a responsibility to ensure that these concerns are fully addressed, that every reasonable precaution is being exercised, and that residents are receiving timely and accurate information about the activities on-site; and
WHEREAS residents living adjacent to the site have reported vibration impacts, including shaking of homes, emotional distress, and concern about the disturbance of contaminated soils and alteration of established drainage patterns, and without sufficient time for residents to respond to the pre-construction condition survey the proponent provided;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to create a dedicated project page (Engage Ottawa) to improve public transparency respecting the 7000 Campeau Drive file, including but not limited to background files and history, ongoing record of FAQs and any future studies submitted to the City and any peer reviews completed by the City.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff create an email list to send regular updates directly to the community regarding the file; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff ensure that there is an independent technical and/or legal third party review of every substantive report or work plan submitted by the developer to the City, in addition to staff review, with those results to be publicly available on the project page; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff be directed to provide these regular updates and third party reviews to the Planning and Housing Committee as IPDs for review and discussion at Committee; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff engage with the developer on a best-efforts basis to maintain site access for inspections and third party reviews; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff retain independent drainage experts to proactively analyze the broader context of drainage on this site prior to receiving any reports with proposed solutions from the proponent; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff report back to Council and the community on whether any construction activities should be paused, modified, or subject to additional controls pending the outcome of independent technical and legal reviews, where such activities may pose risks to public safety, environmental protection, or municipal infrastructure.
Members of Council in Favour of Clauses #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7:
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Councillors Cathy Curry, Allan Hubley, Catherine Kitts, Clarke Kelly, Ariel Troster, David Brown, David Hill, Glen Gower, Jeff Leiper, Jessica Bradley, Laura Dudas, Marty Carr, Matthew Luloff, Rawlson King, Riley Brockington, Shawn Menard, Steve Desroches, Theresa Kavanagh, Tim Tierney, Wilson Lo, Isabelle Skalski
Councillors Against Clauses #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7:
Stéphanie Plante, Sean Devine
Absent:
Councillor Laine Johnson
Members of Council in Favour of Clause #3 (Independent/Third-Party Reviews):
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Councillors Cathy Curry, Allan Hubley, Catherine Kitts, Clarke Kelly, Ariel Troster, David Brown, David Hill, Glen Gower, Laura Dudas, Marty Carr, Matthew Luloff, Rawlson King, Riley Brockington, Steve Desroches, Theresa Kavanagh, Wilson Lo, Isabelle Skalski
Councillors Against Clause #3:
Sean Devine, Shawn Menard, Stéphanie Plante, Tim Tierney, Jeff Leiper, Jessica Bradley
Absent:
Councillor Laine Johnson