This page is a case study from Ottawa’s experience in the 1990s. A major developer had proposed a tall tower that would have punctuated the skyline, and potentially, by setting a precedent, could have unleashed a wave of tall tower construction that would have altered the city skyline forever. After a full public debate and a comprehensive study, the elected city council rejected the request. Related documents are below. Decisions like this deserve full, open, calm, and timely debate. The world will one day judge Vancouver based on a decision in Council, December 16, 2010. What can Vancouver learn from Ottawa?
The comparison of Ottawa protecting its defining landmark, Parliament Buildings, is comparable to Vancouver and its views of the North Shore Mountains.
Below we will be adding more material over the next few days, so check back again.
- DOWNLOAD NCC Summary (8 pages in PDF, an excellent overview): NCC Summary.
- DOWNLOAD the “National Capital Views Protection,” by National Capital Commission, Centre for Landscape Research, University of Toronto, 2002 (133 pages, 11 MB file in PDF). An expert report (co-authored by Du Toit Allsop Hillier) on the the National Capital (Ottawa) height controls, views protection methodology, controls. NCC_Views Protection, U-of-T, 2002, FinalReport
- DOWNLOAD part of bylaw on height controls in Ottawa: Ottawa Central Area Plan Maximum Heights, annex_08b_en
CityHallWatch: Tools to engage in Vancouver city decisions 