{"id":935762,"date":"2026-10-16T23:56:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/935762\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T23:56:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:56:33","slug":"a-tiny-forest-in-old-ottawa-south-is-at-the-centre-of-emotional-debate-over-ncc-housing-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/935762\/","title":{"rendered":"A tiny forest in Old Ottawa South is at the centre of emotional debate over NCC housing plan\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent crisp Monday evening, Kelly Quinn, Sandy Garland and four other residents of Old Ottawa South meandered down to a small urban forest on the corner of Bronson and Sunnyside Avenues to pull invasive Buckthorn roots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents of the community have been taking care of the tiny forest for years. They may not need to soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NCC is selling 1100 Canal Woods Terrace in Old Ottawa South to a developer to build housing, including affordable units. Some neighbours are concerned the loss of the forest could increase pollution and flood risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have trees that are over 100 years old, why the hell do we want to chop them down?\u201d said Garland, who chairs the neighbourhood association\u2019s environment committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The property was put up for sale by the NCC in January through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation\u2019s (CMHC) Federal Lands Initiative<\/a>, which stipulates that 12 of the 40 new units must be affordable. Through the program, federal lands are sold or leased at discounted or no cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing this process, a proponent was identified and the NCC is pursuing negotiations with the goal to reach an agreement,\u201d Val\u00e9rie Dufour, senior manager of communications at the NCC, told Capital Current in an email. Dufour would not disclose the buyer.<\/p>\n

The NCC has 10 properties listed<\/a> for housing development across the city. It is part of a push to address the \u201chousing crisis that is impacting lives and communities,\u201d says the Crown corporation\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ottawa is one of the most unaffordable cities in Canada for housing, a 2025 CMHC report<\/a> found. Despite an increase in construction, the agency says not enough<\/a> homes are being built to bring prices back to pre-pandemic affordability. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The land up for development on Canal Woods Terrace is 0.28 hectares or the size of 10 tennis courts. It provides ecological benefits to the neighbourhood, said Joe Bennett, a Carleton University biology professor who lives nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The trees help regulate air temperature, offer a spot for birds and animals and filter air and noise pollution from Bronson Avenue. While the NCC can replant trees elsewhere, he said, it will be very hard to replicate what the area provides environmentally, particularly several century-old oak trees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to gain anything in conservation, you\u2019ve got to protect the places that are under threat or restore the places that are in rough shape. Otherwise, you\u2019re just kind of window dressing,\u201d Bennett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The potential loss of the forest prompted Garland to create a petition<\/a>, which has already garnered more than 1,200 signatures, to save it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a buyer and the buyer has a plan, then we\u2019re going to fight it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"ASandy Garland, shown in front of 1100 Canal Woods Terrace, said the NCC did not consult residents of the neighbourhood. [Photo \u00a9 Miriam Visser<\/p>\n

The site is not zoned for development. However, if the NCC sells the land, there is little the city can do to prevent a buyer from putting the application in and going along with the NCC\u2019s process, says Shawn Menard, who is seeking re-election as Capital Ward councillor. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The city can oppose it, however, based on whether the buyer\u2019s site plan mitigates the flood problems in the area, Menard said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of the forest lies on a flood plain, making it prone to flooding during heavy rains and spring snowmelt. The forest mitigates the risk by absorbing water and stabilizing the soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current existing site has large flooding on it. It\u2019s like a ravine in the spring,\u201d said Menard. \u201cThere is a lot of drainage that goes on so there\u2019s major concerns from that end.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn, who lives a couple of blocks away, said she has had problems renewing her home insurance over the past two years, in part because of the house\u2019s proximity to the flood plain.<\/p>\n

\"AA map showing the portion of 1100 Canal Woods Terrace located on a flood plain, with the proposed development site in red. The south end of the greenspace, past Aylmer Avenue, is not part of the development. [Map \u00a9 Miriam Visser, City of Ottawa]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that flooding is a risk. We know that green spaces like this are mitigating factors against flooding,\u201d said Quinn. \u201cIt just seems so illogical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jaac Doduck, a candidate in Capital Ward, said the site\u2019s proximity to Carleton University and transit stops make the spot ideal for housing development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am understanding of the concerns that people have about losing the green space, but it fits a lot of checkboxes for good diverse housing that is near transit stations and where people need it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the loss in tree canopy can be offset by planting more trees near houses and sidewalks and in parks.<\/p>\n

Irirmgard and Gunther Bauer have lived on the street for 39 years, often walk along the forest to the canal. Gunther Bauer said it would be \u201csuch a shame\u201d to see the trees come down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to walk and when we come back and the sun is shining, we sit and enjoy the beautiful forest that is still there at the moment,\u201d Irirmgard Bauer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a recent crisp Monday evening, Kelly Quinn, Sandy Garland and four other residents of Old Ottawa South…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":935763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,103480,103481],"class_list":["post-935762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-ottcity","tag-ottnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}