Special planning program for the downtown – Sustainable neighbourhood plan for redevelopment of the Domtar Lands in Gatineau

In partnership with the City of Ottawa and the City of Gatineau, Windmill Developments will create two sustainable neighbourhood action plans (SNAP), one for each city; the application for the City of Ottawa is GMF No. 13061. The plans will be separate but related, and they will guide the redevelopment of a former industrial site to achieve various environmental, social and economic objectives for the National Capital Region. This funding application is for the SNAP in the Gatineau sector. Windmill, Gatineau and Ottawa will collaborate to convert the site into a national model of a sustainable community. Known as the “Domtar Lands”, the 37-acre site is less than one kilometre from Parliament Hill on the Ottawa River and is on the border between Quebec and Ontario. As a result of 200 years of industrial use, this area, close to downtown Ottawa and Gatineau, is contaminated and underused. The two action plans will examine the possibilities for new housing, restaurants, retail amenities, office buildings, tourism and heritage sites, and green recreational spaces to restore local biodiversity. Windmill will develop the action plan according to the One Planet Living sustainable development framework. The team will set development objectives to achieve three results based on ten guidelines: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable use of water, materials and transportation, and other guidelines that involve culture, heritage, land use and public health. To achieve these objectives, Windmill will identify specific targets and measurable indicators such as the number of vehicle kilometres travelled, 90% accessibility on foot (sustainable transport) and 12% identified green spaces. Windmill expects three results from this process: an action plan consisting of a master site plan describing land uses, densities, infrastructure, building sizes and locations, as well as a hierarchy of measures and strategies; amendments to the Special planning program for the downtown; and a rezoning application. With representatives of Gatineau and competent consultants, Windmill will oversee an extensive consultation process involving municipal, provincial and federal authorities, First Nations, local businesses and stakeholders, and will set up a sustainable development steering committee to coordinate stakeholder awareness. Gatineau will also be actively involved in the project; the action plan will be tied to the City’s strategies, specifically its revised development plan, sustainability plan and "Orienter notre avenir: Plan de développement durable et de résilience pour la région de la capitale du Canada", a plan created jointly by Gatineau, Ottawa, and the National Capital Commission. The National Capital Commission has also included this area in its NCC Core Area Vision. Windmill and Gatineau are approaching this redevelopment project as an opportunity to demonstrate the cultural, historic and environmental importance of the property with an integrated sustainable neighbourhood. This unique initiative involves several government levels and will generate useful knowledge for future regional area development. (Project description from original funding application)