5646 and 5650 Manotick Main: by-law amendment approved

Many residents have been reaching out regarding the recent approval of the by-law amendment for the proposed development at 5646 and 5650 Manotick Main. This note is intended to provide a bit of context and clarification for members of the community with questions and concerns.

Has a Starbucks been approved in Manotick?

No. A Starbucks has not been approved in Manotick. No development on the site has been approved at this stage.

The proposal in question is not necessarily for a Starbucks; if the site plan is approved, it might be a Starbucks, but the development itself is not so specific. What the developer is proposing is a drivethru restaurant, and that might be a Starbucks or some other establishment. The exact kind business that bids for and receives that space is not something which Councillors can control.

To be clear: a Starbucks has not been “approved” by ARAC or anyone else.

What was approved by ARAC and Council?

ARAC and Council unanimously approved a zoning by-law amendment for the site.

Prior to the vote at Council, the site was zoned RC1[152r] for commercial activities. RC1 zoning generally permits a restaurant, but the 152r restriction prohibited restaurants and bars on the site. The amendment removed that restriction and made it so that a drivethru is a required use for a restaurant on the site to reduce the risk of undue competition with existing businesses in Manotick.

Generally, restaurants are a permitted site use throughout the City in the kind of zoning that exists on this site and the kind of zoning that is identified in the Village of Manotick Secondary Plan for the site in question.

Once again, it is not a site plan approval. The site plan, along with staff comments and recommendations, will go to ARAC and Council for consideration at a later date.

Why was the zoning by-law amendment approved?

The amendment was approved by ARAC and Council unanimously because it was determined to be consistent with the direction outlined in the provincially-approved Manotick Secondary Plan. Staff assessed that the amendment was appropriate and Committee and Council unanimously agreed.  

Policy 3.5 (16) of the secondary plan deals with the area in question and states the following:

The permitted uses include a variety of residential uses and a limited range of commercial and retail uses which would not compete with uses located in the Village Core

Staff interpreted the amendment as being entirely consistent with the Secondary Plan. This is because the drivethru nature of the proposed site is distinct from the businesses that operate in the core as it serves a different clientele. While preserving village character and protecting small businesses is appropriate in the village core as per the secondary plan, this development is proposed outside of the village core and the addition of a drivethru makes the proposed restaurant compliant with the provisions outlined in the plan.

Could the amendment have been rejected?

City Council is limited as to the reasons it may considered when weighing a proposal. If a proposed development coheres with provincial policy, the City’s official plan, and any relevant secondary plan, (both of which are provincially-approved) then the proposal is generally accepted.

The reason for this is that decisions of Council on development applications can be contested at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

If Council or Committee reject a proposal that coheres with these policies, or if a proposal is rejected for reasons not that are not found within these provincially-approved plans and policies, the matter can be brought to the OLT and the vote would likely be overturned.

With that in mind, City staff’s determination that the amendment was appropriate and consistent with these policies was the major reason why the by-law amendment was passed unanimously.

To be clear: when staff said that the zoning by-law amendment cohered with the secondary plan, Council effectively lost the ability to oppose this, as the proponent would simply quote staff at the OLT and opposition to the proposal would be overturned by the tribunal. There is precedent for City legal staff would not even bothering to fight cases at the OLT because they are so clearly losing cases for the City. Council could have rejected the amendment, but doing so would likely have only delayed this result.

One should also note that the province recently introduced sweeping changes to the development approval process which further limit Council’s ability to reject these kinds of projects based on community feedback.

What about other site issues?

Most site issues are considered as part of Site Plan Approval, rather than through the by-law amendment process. My office has shared community feedback on a wide range of challenges identified with City staff, and we will be working with City staff to make sure that community concerns are adequately considered and appropriately addressed as part of this process. In particular, I am interested in ensuring that traffic is properly managed at the site to prevent unnecessary congestion and poor traffic flow.

Residents are encouraged to provide their feedback about the proposed development, including concerns with the site, directly to City Staff by using this form.