The National Capital Commission is holding an online public consultation Thursday, March 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., on a pilot project to have a 40-seat bistro near the Patterson Creek pavilion. This proposal is significantly different from the first one made in 2019. Thursday’s consultation will be the first one on this new proposal.
Sign up on the NCC’s website to receive the link to join the meeting.
Background:
In 2019, the NCC proposed three bistros as a pilot project: at Confederation Park, at Remic Rapids and at Patterson Creek. (The other bistros operated in 2019 and 2020.) Back then, the Patterson Creek bistro was to have consisted of a 240-square-metre patio, two refurbished shipping containers and portable toilets.
May 2019
The Glebe Community Association received an email from the NCC on May 29 (after the GCA’s May board meeting), informing us of the project. The GCA asked who in the community was consulted about strategies to minimize any impact, how the GCA might work with the NCC to engage with those most likely to be affected, and how project success would be measured. The NCC’s response included information about the three sites being animated, hours of operation and mitigation measures around waste, and noted that the NCC would evaluate success of the bistro. There was no description of community engagement approaches.
June 2019
Neighbours noticed a liquor licence application posted on the railing along the water. Construction equipment appeared in the park on June 17, but work was suspended given nearby residents’ concerns. These residents subsequently circulated a petition that garnered 200 signatures of those opposed to the pilot project.
In response, the NCC quickly organized an open house on June 24 to discuss the project with the community. The open house was attended by hundreds of people, the majority of whom expressed concerns about the project.
July 2019
On July 4, Sarah Viehbeck, then GCA president, wrote to the NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum to raise the GCA’s concerns about the lack of consultation. She requested documentation about the project and that the GCA be involved in the project’s evaluation.
Throughout July and August, concerned neighbours sent multiple inquiries and requests for information. Not being satisfied with the response, they made a complaint to the NCC’s Ombudsman about the lack of a proper consultation process.
August 2019 to March 2020
The NCC ombudsman initiated an investigation into the project in August 2019 and issued a report in March 2020. (Here is an Ottawa Citizen article about the report.) The ombudsman determined that the NCC had not conformed with the spirit or the letter of its Public Engagement Policy, that it needed to “reset” consultations and that consultations should be undertaken “at a flexible stage whereby the final decision takes public concerns and interests into account.”
In September 2019, the NCC wrote to the GCA for input on the evaluation criteria for the project. The GCA discussed this at its October board meeting and sent a response suggesting that “community impact” be a criterion. The NCC presented evaluation criteria to its Board that did not include that suggested criterion.
April 2020
At its April meeting, the GCA passed a motion asking the NCC not to proceed with the bistro during the summer of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
November 2020 to present
In November, neighbours appeared before the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal to object to the issuance of a liquor licence.
In January 2021, a settlement was reached: the NCC agreed not to install shipping containers and portable toilets in the park and made other adjustments related to the size, location, hours, noise, lighting and cooking on the premises.