On Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025 CAFES hosted a successful in-person community dialogue event in partnership with Councillor Marty Carr on the management of invasive plant species in Ottawa, at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre in Alta Vista. Thank you to Councillor Carr for your generous support towards this event, and thank you as well to Councillors Brockington, Menard, Hill, Johnson and Curry for your sponsorship.

This dialogue event followed Councillor Carr's staff inquiry at the February 18th, 2025 Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) meeting to review the City's invasive species programming and community stewardship opportunities. Staff released a report in July 2025 outlining existing invasive species efforts, and plans to hire a new temporary staff position to focus on invasives programming, mapping and reporting, as well as community/stakeholder relationships. This item came to the September 16th ECCC meeting agenda, where CAFES gave a public delegation and presented the outcomes of the September 3rd dialogue.

To follow suit from Councillor Carr's inquiry, the dialogue event gathered community input on invasive species removal/management methods, public education, mapping and tracking, identifying species of concern, volunteer stewardship, and more. We had opening presentations, a community panel, breakout table conversations, table presentations, lunch, and networking.

Below are some of the most widely-shared ideas from the dialogue participants:

• Widespread community support for a community stewardship program that permits removal of a wide variety of invasive plant species by volunteers. This program should be insured by the city, or a waiver form should be implemented. This could be piggybacked onto another existing stewardship program such as Adopt a Park or Cleaning up the Capital.
• The application process for stewardship activities should be a one-stop experience, with a simple application form, a single contact staff person, and a standard response time on inquiries (ie. 48 hours).
• One of the major invasive species of concern that requires immediate removal efforts from the City is Phragmites australis, or the Common Reed. Other priority species include Buckthorn, DSV, Wild Parsnip, Garlic Mustard, Goutweed, Periwinkle, and others. Volunteers should be permitted to remove all species unless they are noxious/toxic or require specific chemical treatment methods.
• Public education should be increased for both City staff, City maintenance workers/contractors, and residents. Ideas included public education campaigns, city-wide posters/infographics, regular public workshops, mandatory staff trainings, more online resources, and developing municipal best-practice standards.
• Community volunteers should be leveraged by the City when it comes to creating and delivering public education, given that many residents have advanced knowledge on the topic and have offered their time and knowledge as a free service to the City.
• There are several possible mapping/tracking platforms for invasive species that can be used by residents and staff, including EDDMapS or iNaturalist.

At the September 16th ECCC meeting, Councillor Carr gave a direction to staff to consider our report as community input.

Check out our final event report below, which details all the feedback received at the dialogue. You can also see our public delegation presentation, which presented the report. Lastly, you can see the report provided by City staff in response to Councillor Carr's inquiry.

Thank you to all the event volunteers who helped out, and thank you to the participants for sharing your input!

Today, on Monday, June 30th, led by CAFES, the Peoples Official Plan Coalition (POP), submitted a rich set of recommendations to the City of Ottawa planning team on draft 2 of the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law. A major feat!

The focus of the POP submission is zoning that supports a dense, liveable, walkable, green, 15-minute caring city as an important alternative to sprawl, inequality and lack of connectivity. We want to see this demonstrated though provisions for affordable, equitable housing opportunities that fit the demographic need, enabling zoning for car sharing services, an emphasis on care facilities and amenity areas, emergency and temporary housing options, anti-renoviction and anti-demoviction measures, soil volume and permeable space requirements on residential lots for trees, neighbourhood zone setback minimums, better priority for shade trees in mainstreets, hub zones, minor corridors and mixed-used zones, soft landscaping in parking lots, adequate stormwater services with links to trees, no development in flood-prone areas, and the adoption of a clear food systems lens.

See the full submission at the end of this post. Our most active collaborators in the POP coalition have been CAWI (City for all Women), Ecology Ottawa, the Federation for Citizens Associations (FCA), Greenspace Alliance, Just Food, Strong Towns Ottawa , Walkable Ottawa and Wastewatch Ottawa. Yey team!

The draft 2 public consultation period has been open throughout the months of May and June, with several public open houses taking place in person and online from late May to early June. Some of the major topics discussed at the consultations included changes to Neighbourhood Zones, height transitions in Mainstreet Zones, communal parking lots in neighbourhoods, and changes to permitted uses in Industrial Zones.

You can still submit your written comments on draft 2 before July 1st to NewZoning@ottawa.ca.

Draft 3 is expected to be released on September 8th, 2025 and will go to Joint Committee and Council on December 17th, 2025 and January 28th, 2026, respectively. The final version of the by-law is expected to be enacted in Q1 2026. Visit the Engage Ottawa Zoning page to view draft 2 of the by-law and accompanying documents and to stay updated.

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CAFES has been engaged in the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law since January 2024 when a group of experienced volunteers formed a working group and co-wrote a recommendations paper on how zoning can regulate trees. We have since taken an active role within POP to lead submissions on draft 1 and draft 2 of the by-law, while continuing to update our own position paper. If you have questions or comments about trees and zoning, please contact Erica at eshardlow@cafesottawa.ca

Until Monday, July 7th, 2025, Engage Ottawa is holding a public consultation survey on their Community Waste Reduction and Reuse Initiative - visit the webpage to complete the survey here.

This engagement opportunity comes in response to Ottawa City Council approving the Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP) in June 2024. The SWMP provides a framework for how the City will sustainably manage waste over the next 30 years, with one of the key actions focusing on supporting and growing community programs that help to reduce and reuse waste.

These kinds of community waste programs build stronger communities, protect natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save landfill space, help residents save money, and lower waste collection costs.

The survey is asking for input on:

• What programs or events are you aware of?
• Which ones do you take part in?
• What challenges do you face?
• What could the City do to help?

The feedback gathered through the survey will assist the City in deciding which kind of programs to support, which new ideas to explore, and how the City can effectively build a stronger sharing economy in Ottawa.

For information, concerns, or if you require assistance, contact the City team at wasteplan@ottawa.ca

On Thursday June 5th, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) will meet to discuss Evolugen's application for the Marchurst Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Municipal Support Resolution (MSR). CAFES is urging citizens to give a 5-minute delegation in support of the City of Ottawa Council giving an MSR to Evolugen for the Marchurst proposed project.

CAFES has carefully looked at the concerns expressed by the anti-BESS residents, including safety and ecological concerns. We have studied the literature on the risks and benefits of the BESS technology. We have interrogated the Evolugen project proponent on a number of points requiring clarification. We have attended the February 23rd Open House. We have come to the conclusion that the Marchurst site selected by Evolugen is low impact locally with very low risks. At the same time, the benefits of BESS are considerable and numerous, both for residents of Dunrobin, for residents of West Carleton and for the households and businesses served by the grid in the greater Ottawa area.

If you wish to speak, register your request to make a delegation with the committee coordinator Christopher Zwierzchowski (christopher.zwierzchowski@ottawa.ca). Requests to speak must be submitted before 9:00am on the day of committee, and visual presentations must be submitted by 4pm on June 4th.

After the ARAC deliberation and recommendation, the MSR vote will go to City Council on June 11th for a vote. If you wish to support the BESS project, please consider writing to your own councillor before June 10th, urging them to vote in support of the Marchurst BESS MSR.

The CAFES Climate Misinformation team has prepared responses to common concerns and misinformation about BESS projects. These responses will enable you to counter BESS misinformation in a productive, research-backed manner. Check them out now!

It's time to have your say on Draft 2 of the new Comprehensive Zoning By-law! From now until June 30th, the public consultation period is open for you to submit your comments, concerns and ideas to the city's planning team.

The city is holding three public consultation open houses - the first one was just last night on Thursday May 29th. The open houses will include presentations from city planning staff on the major changes from Draft 1 to Draft 2, which includes changes to Neighbourhood Zones, height transitions in Mainstreet Zones, communal parking lots in neighbourhoods, and changes to permitted uses in Industrial Zones. At the end there will be a question and answer period. Public attendance will likely be high and it will be best to come prepared with your questions. See details below for the next two open houses:

• In-person open house - Monday June 2nd at Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, 6:30-8pm. No need to register.

• Virtual open house - Tuesday June 3rd via Zoom, 6-8pm. Register for the Zoom link HERE.

You can also submit your comments in writing to NewZoning@ottawa.ca. Again the deadline is June 30th. At some point in June, there will be focused surveys coming to Engage Ottawa as well - stayed tuned for those and watch for more updates on the Engage Ottawa Zoning page. Draft 3 is expected to be released on September 8th, 2025 and will go to Joint Committee and Council on December 17th 2025 and January 28th 2026, respectively. The final version of the by-law is expected to be enacted in Q1 2026.

Continue reading below for a background on CAFES' involvement with Draft 2 with respect to trees, and the new Zoning By-law as a whole.

On Monday, March 31st, 2025 the Joint Planning and Housing and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee met to receive Draft 2 of the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law. Erica Shardlow, speaking for the CAFES network, provided a public delegation in support of zoning metrics that protect and regulate the space for canopy trees through required soil volumes, soft landscaping minimums and setbacks on residential lots. The March 31st committee meeting can be viewed on Youtube here.

CAFES' comments and recommendations on Draft 2 are summarized in the following points, and you can see our full presentation below.

• The by-law is an important opportunity to lay the foundation for achieving the Official Plan's 40% canopy cover target. We want to see a compact, green and livable city and recognize equity and 15-minute neighbourhoods as essential considerations.
• CAFES has been advocating for trees planted in proper soil volumes to ensure trees are being given adequate space to thrive to maturity. Currently, Draft 2 requires 30 cubic meters soil volume to be provided above underground structures. We are pushing for it to be required in all residential rear lots, front yards, surface parking lots, and above stormwater infrastructure.
• We support Draft 2 provisions for no car parking minimums, single lane shared driveways at 3m width, driveways with permeable wheel strips, EV chargers, the prohibition of reverse-slope driveways in flood plains, and soft landscaping minimums in surface lots.
• We suggest 6m front yard setbacks city-wide. Where this is not possible, small 3m setbacks should be paired with large Right of Way space to allow for contiguous soil and space for trees.

CAFES has been engaged in the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law since January of 2024 when a group of experienced volunteers formed a working group and co-wrote a recommendations paper on how zoning can regulate trees. We have been continuing to update our paper throughout the development of the new by-law and submitted version 3.0 to the city in October 2024. Also in October, we submitted a detailed recommendations document on Draft 1 as part of the Peoples Official Plan Coalition (POP).

If you have questions or comments please contact Erica at eshardlow@cafesottawa.ca