The city has received a proposal to rezone the property at the corner of Karen Way and St. Laurent Blvd in Manor Park. This property, currently an abandoned school site, has changed hands between the Ottawa Board of Education and Richcraft Homes.

A rezoning notice was posted at the site in December, 2003 stating that an application had been received by the city to rezone to construct an 18-storey residential tower and 7 townhomes on the site.

The MPCA alerted residents in Manor Park Hill, the most immediately affected residents, and the response was swift and overwhelming. Our councilor, Mr. Jacques Legendre, became involved and called a public meeting on January 21st, 2004 which was attended by an estimated 150 residents from Manor Park and nearby communities. At the meeting, the developer's representatives made a presentation on their plan for site development and city representatives were on hand to answer questions. The nature of the questions during the question and answer session made it clear that almost everyone present opposed the type of development proposed by Richcraft.

At the end of the almost two-hour session, Richcraft representatives agreed to reconsider their proposal and come back to the community with a new proposal within 3 weeks.

This issue has galvanized local residents. A strategy group has been formed and a general email mailing list has been created to distribute information. The MPCA is working with the residents to ensure the message is well developed and heard by all stakeholders. As soon as the date of the next meeting is known, it will be posted here.