This morning at Planning Committee, it was announced that the Kanata North Tech Park has been chosen by the city to take part in a new pilot program of a land use planning tool called the Community Planning Permit System (CPPS). This is wonderful news and will be a first for Ottawa to pilot this tool.
The Kanata North Tech Park is Canada’s largest tech park and is a critical driver of economic growth and employment in our city. I have worked closely with city staff and the Kanata North Business Association over the last two years to explore ways to further drive its growth. In the draft Official Plan, city staff have supported these efforts by recognizing this area of our city as a Special Economic Zone, identifying the importance of the area and the need to review current zoning and planning policies.
Further, the Kanata North Business Association has been working with property owners in the tech park to prepare a design concept that will see it transform from a 1970s-era business park to one that rivals the best tech parks in the world, where people can live, work and play. This is the perfect setting and opportunity to test the new Community Planning Permit System.
This tool can help the development of the Kanata North Tech Park by:
- Making the development approval processes more streamlined and efficient.
- Supporting community priorities, such as developments that support public transit.
- Creating transparency for the community, landowners, and developers.
To use a Community Planning Permit System (CPPS), the city must first adopt an Official Plan amendment for the CPPS area. Next, a community planning permit bylaw must be passed, then the CPP is issued once that system is in place.
Once the CPPS by-law is adopted, new developments will only require a single application instead of separate applications for Official Plan, zoning, or site plan. Further, the approval process will be shortened to 45 days. This is a radical and – I believe – welcome change.
This won’t happen overnight, and you can expect we will be working on this pilot over the next few years; however, I have full confidence that this pilot will result in more flexibility, transparency, and quicker development in our tech park to ensure its continued success.
Recording from Planning Committee: