Development

Barrhaven West continues to see rapid growth and development as we draw closer and closer to Manotick. Ward 3 currently has a population of about 53,000 residents, making up about half of Barrhaven. Just on the west side of the Jock River, 35,000 residents call that area home.

Development in the suburbs is expected but we must do it right. We need to be building communities for our kids and future generations. That means not letting developers take over and put the needs of residents first.

The lack of care over public perception city hall has shown over the last few years is unacceptable. When residents speak out, their voices need to be heard. When petitions are started or large groups of people get up at city meetings to voice opposition to a motion, their concerns need to be taken seriously. Unfortunately this is not the leadership we have seen from elected officials. As your local representative, public trust and transparency is among my top priorities. I will always put your voice and needs first. I will always ensure your concerns are heard and listened to around the council table.

When rules and bylaws are in place to restrict or prohibit a certain kind of development, they must be followed. We cannot keep altering zoning bylaws to make way for large scale developments which aren’t supposed to be approved in the first place. When this occurs, it’s not the residents who are gaining; it’s the developers. We have seen this with the proposed truck wearhouse depot at the South Merivale Business Park in Barrhaven East, and with the latest Caivan development in Barrhaven West.

While Caivan has brought forward a one of a kind plan to transform the lands between the Home Depot and Borrisocaine, I believe changes to the floodplain should have never been approved to make way for the development. A city engineer who’s concerns proved right before expressed deep concerns over what this could mean for our neighbours in Hearts Desire. He adamantly believed that flooding would take place downstream. It’s still too early to tell if his theories are right, but if true, it would result in devastating effects for those residents in Barrhaven East. At minimum, more work should have been done to study the concerns brought forward and look for alternative solutions