FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2010

Not so Fast on Selling Air Over Lansdowne Park

The Friends of Lansdowne are urging the City of Ottawa's Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee to defer a decision to lease or sell the air rights over Lansdowne Park. The Committee is scheduled to approve a process on Tuesday, September 7.

"The City has said that all of Lansdowne Park will remain in public hands," says Brian Tansey, a member of the group. "That may be technically true, but if you let developers build and sell condos and offices above the ground, Lansdowne will not really be public any more". The group contends that development of air rights is essentially a privatization of public land. They also point out that the scale of residential and office development - 392,000 square feet in addition to over 300,000 sq. ft of retail-has not been conveyed to the public. They are calling for the City to hold public consultations on the whole air rights development issue.

The timing of this decision also raises questions. The City has not yet seen or approved a master site plan for Lansdowne Park, notes Friends of Lansdowne. Nor has Lansdowne Park been rezoned for residential or office uses. "Why is the City discussing a process for developing condos and offices which are not permitted by the zoning by-law" asks Tansey.

Friends of Lansdowne are asking the City to defer any discussion on air rights until after the rezoning is in effect and the final site plan has been approved. Since these steps will not be completed until after the October 25 municipal election, the group questions the legitimacy of the current process. Tansey believes that "The City should defer this discussion until after the election, when a new Council can consult the public and consider the air rights issue in the context of the master site plan and the rezoning. It is bad faith for the City to call for offers to develop Lansdowne's air rights at this time".

The Friends of Lansdowne is a city-wide coalition. Its objectives are to promote Lansdowne Park as a sustainable, accessible, public space for the benefit of all Ottawans and visitors, today and in the future; and to support revitalization of Lansdowne Park which is fair, open, fiscally responsible and consistent with the site's heritage values.

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For information:
Brian Tansey 613-730-5406
Friends of Lansdowne