Ottawa City Council Resolution to purchase Moffatt Farm
Motions (Of Which Notice Has Been Given Previously)
Moved by Councillor W. Stewart
Seconded by Councillor G. Hunter
WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm has been in public ownership for the past 50 years, since its expropriation, and has until 1999, been designated a Capital Park by the National Capital Commission;
AND WHEREAS the NCC has determined that this property is surplus to national needs and intends to sell it;
AND WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm is outside the General Urban Area, and designated as Waterfront Open Space in the Regional Official Plan, which is land in, or intended to be in, public ownership and intended for public recreation and environmental conservation uses;
AND WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm has no "right of development" at this time, being designated Major Open Space, Waterway Corridor and Environmentally Sensitive Area, zoning that offers the highest possible protection;
AND WHEREAS, in the Ottawa Official Plan, the Moffatt Farm is designated as a District/Community Park, a use identified in the 1973 Carleton Heights Secondary Plan as a means to address inadequate parkland for this area of the City;
AND WHEREAS, since 1973, the population of this community has doubled and available parkland has already decreased;
AND WHEREAS the City of Ottawa has a policy to acquire, where possible, waterfront properties that form the Greenway System and preserve these lands for public open space use;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa offer to purchase the entire Moffatt Farm property from the NCC, at a price which will be based on its current and future use as a District Park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City request the local Members of Parliament (National Capital Caucus) to urge the NCC to respect Council's unanimous decision and withdraw its appeal to the OMB.