Several of us have already registered to attend the Mayor's Planning Summit on April 26.

The invitation was posted to the GA List on April 2. Go to http:// ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/planningprojectsreports/planning/planningsummit/ index.htm if you wish to register. (The deadline is April 11. Space is limited.) The Summit is being held at the CE Centre on Uplands Drive -- yes, that's the trade show centre built on top of a wetland in anticipation of the loss of space when the rebuilding of Lansdowne gets going... (Reach it by OC Transpo bus 97 to the Airport, or pay $7.00 for parking.)

Many of us have become increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of city government under Mayor Watson's leadership. Can this Summit be turned into a forum to send Mr. Watson and Council some messages? The day will start with Remarks from Watson and Planning Committee Chair Peter Hume, followed by an "Open Forum." That could be one opportunity. After the first guest speaker, Pamela Blais ("author of Perverse Cities:
Hidden Subsidies, Wonky Policy and Urban Sprawl, on the topic of how we should grow in the suburban area"), participants will go to one of three Round Tables: "Growth in Rural Areas, Tall Buildings, or Suburban Development". After lunch and the second guest speaker, Jeffrey Tumlin ("a leading thinker in transit-oriented development, on how Ottawa should plan for the areas around our future Light Rail Transit stations"), attendees will again participate in one of three Round Tables: "Transit-oriented development, Community Design Plans, or Economic Development".

Each of these Round Tables (you're asked to indicate your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice when you register) could offer further opportunities. At 2:30 Peter Hume will report on "What we heard today". Here are some messages that could be delivered, as well as some that probably best be avoided. Thanks go to Iola Price for inspiration on several of them. I look forward to further discussion via this List. The monthly meeting of the Alliance on April 24 (at the Colonnade Restaurant at Metcalfe and Gilmour -- dinner at

6:30, meeting starts at 7:15) will provide further opportunity to discuss strategy and shape messages. Erwin ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We could tell Watson and Hume: + Why was this summit planned without input from the community? + Community Design Plans should be a) respected, b) codified in Secondary Plans. + NO to spot zoning. If a developer wishes to deviate from CDPs, the community should be consulted to see if it wishes to modify it. CDPs are not just "Guidelines." + The Committees of Adjustment should be given guidelines on what constitutes a "minor" variance. + The Lobbyist Registry data base should NOT exclude discussions of staff or Council members with developers or their consultants! + Planning Primer courses are well received, and the recent addition of (new) Parks Planning and Heritage Planning courses are also welcome. When will we see courses on Natural Heritage protection? Archeological Resource protection? Cultural Heritage protection? + When will the 1997 Natural Area Reports (still a key reference) and the 2005/2006 Urban Natural Areas reports make it to the City's web site? + When will we see the return of genuine discussion at City Council meetings? There is too much "fixed" behind closed doors. Why does the Mayor treat Councillors like so many bobbleheads? [Ref.: Ottawa Sun, April 3. " Watson is so intent on
presenting his council as one which speaks with one voice, he once even went

"] + Is posting 11,000 tweets a good use of the Mayor's time? All but three Councillors and many senior staff members have also joined the Twitterverse. Have they nothing better to do? [Ref.: Capital City News, April 5]
so far as to scold councillors for asking too many questions at council.

+ The huge increase in Access to Information requests over the past few years -- in many cases for information that was not confidential or proprietary -- is an indicator of a steady decrease in transparency at City Hall. [Ref.: http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/
citycouncil/csedc/2012/04-03/04%20-%20Year%20end%20MFIPPA %20report.htm ]

+ Why is the TEEB Manual for Cities -- on how to include ecosystem services in local decision making and policy -- not required reading for Planning Department staff? Why was the Community Sustainability branch dissolved? [Ref.:http:// www.greenspace-alliance.ca/TEEB] + When will the revised Environmental Strategy surface? Why has the 2003 version been removed from the City's web site? Why has the Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan been removed from the web site? + When will the Wildlife Strategy make it to the approval stage? + What good are strategies without implementation and enforcement? + When will we see a site alteration by-law? + When will we see a tree preservation by-law for the rural areas? + Why does the Mayor one day tell developers they have nothing to worry about and the next day tell the public that the City is going to hold developers to the rules? [Ref.: ...help! this was in the news a few months ago...] + When will the City's sewer design standards be updated to account for the increasing intensity of storm events in this region? (The definition of a "100-year storm" increased from 88 mm in the 1980s to 107 mm in 2004. Where will we be in 2020, 2040, 2060, when houses being built today may no longer be safe?) + Why does the Mayor tolerate it that the Chair of the Community and Protective Services Committee receives a contribution (the maximum $750) from the taxi drivers union -- AFTER he became chair of that Committee to boot? Why is that not called corruption? [Ref.: Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen, April 5 and earlier articles, and editorial] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It's probably not so smart to tell the Mayor that he should fire ******** and ******** for having been shills for the developers for too long. While likely true, this will get his back up, He'll feel obliged to defend staff and it will close off any chance for dialogue or having messages heard.