January 29, 2026
We have heard from so many of you over the past few days. More than 300 of you to be exact as you copied us on your letters to City Council in support of the Curry/Gower motion. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We are so grateful for you and your support… and now you can celebrate Councillor Curry’s win as she hit two balls right out into our Greenspace from Council Chambers at City Hall on Wednesday. Let us tell you all about it…
We have heard from so many of you over the past few days. More than 300 of you to be exact as you copied us on your letters to City Council in support of the Curry/Gower motion. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We are so grateful for you and your support… and now you can celebrate Councillor Curry’s win as she hit two balls right out into our Greenspace from Council Chambers at City Hall on Wednesday. Let us tell you all about it…
Council carries Curry/Gower Motion…
Unanimous was our goal. Almost there. We had three votes in opposition. Councillor Curry carried the day with her impassioned opening and closing remarks helped in good measure by many of her colleagues. And every one of those 300 letters helped get us close. Cathy talked to the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition (KGPC) immediately following the vote:
“Huge thanks to the entire community for the hundreds of heartfelt emails that residents sent. They made all the difference! I could not have done it without them. Know that I will continue to do everything I can to preserve our Kanata greenspace. Keep the faith!
How were we able to support our Councillor and ensure she succeeded on this most worthwhile effort? We got our best resource engaged. You. And you stayed focussed on our key issues of opposition – public safety, property safety and environmental risk and, of course, respecting our greenspace and our 15-minute neighbourhoods. All of the letters were respectful and that always helps carry the day. They were individual responses too, showing your feelings and thoughts. And because they were “not templates”,“not reprints or photocopies”, they were valuable.
Councillors repeatedly recognized the volume of letters – “many, many”. We agree… 300 is a lot of many. THANK YOU! WE DID IT BECAUSE WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER!
And surprise No. 2… a Zoning change for the KGC lands too
You may have forgotten discussions last summer when the City of Ottawa Planning department started public consultations around zoning by-law changes to support our new Official Plan. This was contentious as the move away from R1 zoning was central to much of the content and public discussions.
The KGPC, however, was concerned that the Kanata Golf Course (KGC) lands were to receive neither protective greenspace zoning or even open space zoning but instead were being lumped into the recreational subzone one (REC1) grouping that could allow for intensification of activities and structures including activity centres, amusement parks and the like. Simply put, we challenged planning staff that the land use intent of golf courses, environmentally based recreational space, was inconsistent with the suggested zoning and warranted review.
We are exceedingly pleased that the city planning team understood and agreed with the arguments they received and responded with a new and specific zoning subgroup. Meet REC3. Excerpt from the by-law,
In the City of Ottawa’s Zoning By-law 2008-250 (as amended), REC3 stands for Recreation Subzone 3.
Based on Section 1102 of the Ottawa Zoning By-law, this specific zoning is highly restrictive and is designed to protect specific recreational land uses.Permitted Uses: Only two specific uses are permitted – an environmental preserve and education area, and a golf course.
Purpose: This zone is intended for specialized recreation, limiting development to ensure the land is used for its designated, typically non-intensive, recreational or natural purpose.
Yesterday, the Zoning By-Law and its proposed changes for the KGC lands reviewed in December, passed at City Council. These may appear to be small steps, but they are most worthwhile for us in Kanata North as we work in a hundred different ways to protect our Greenspace.
ClubLink got the decision it wanted from the OLT
Tuesday of this week, we received the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) decision outstanding from our January 14 hearing date. They granted ClubLink’s request to approve its Final Decision which reinforces the need to meet 192 clauses before development can proceed. The OLT simply threaded the needle provided by ClubLink to hurry up the proceedings to allow it to pursue multiple aspects of its development filings at the same time. Unmet conditions still have to be met, with many related to the stormwater management approvals and others the mercury contamination issue.
Bulldozers, golf course snow clearing and a meeting… all in one day!
It has been a crazy week with Minto rolling its heavy equipment through our greenspace on Friday morning. Unsettling is an understatement. Could this drama have been avoided. Absolutely. Councillor Curry and the KGPC reminded the inquiring media this week that there was gamesmanship afoot.
Just a few words though going forward. If you are notifying the KGPC or Councillor Curry of an issue you are seeing, we need your help. Take a picture or two and email or message them to 311. A picture is worth a thousand words. Describe the location. Date and time too. Let’s make it easy for the Councillor and her staff going forward to use City resources to respond efficiently and appropriately. And thank you to all of them for their unwavering support. Naomi, Sheila, Nick and Peter and the Councillor herself! We appreciate all of you!
And, if that wasn’t enough on Friday morning, the KGPC as well as the Kanata Lakes Community Association (KLCA) and Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association (KBCA) each received an invitation to a meeting with Minto leadership. It was quite a surprise given seven years without a response to our letters/requests for dialogue despite a reminder from Councillor Curry last fall that communication could be a good idea. All to say, it seems Minto came out of hibernation on Friday morning. We’ve agreed to meet on February 23. You’ll hear back from us on it.
Wishing Marianne Wilkinson a speedy recovery….
At City Hall today, Marianne’s name was heard a few times. And no wonder given her central and historic role in the development of Kanata Lakes. And we’re sure she was watching City Council on YouTube today as she recovers from a recent health setback. We’ve chatted with her in the past week and will be seeing her in the coming weeks as her recovery progresses. Marianne, thank you for the foresight you showed so many years ago. Heal quickly!
The KGPC needs your financial assistance
There is no time like the present to put out our call for help. We hope today’s e-News reminds you of some good value in our work. We’re blessed to have a bright, engaged and serious Councillor Curry representing all of us. But we’d like to think that your KGPC ensures you have a chance to stay engaged on the details of our great fight and prioritizes keeping you well informed in quick time. We’re still entirely volunteer based but we do have hard costs to cover and for that, we need you.
Whether it is organizing letter writing campaigns or hiring lawyers, ensuring you have a seat at the table at the OLT or making sure that the real issues like mercury contamination stay on the table when everyone else wants to look away. That’s what we do.
Some of these activities simply take time. But it is time that you do not have to put in because we volunteer for you. Others take money. And we need to plan for what is around the corner… even when we’re not quite sure what it is. Help us ready our coffers for the Minto spring blitz. Our goal – $500 per household. Can we count on your support? Here’s our Donate box to make it easy.
Thank you all. It’s an honour to help such a wonderful community.
And today proves …. WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER!
Barbara and everyone at KGPC
Chair, Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition
E – chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
C – 613.725.4345