Weeks after being criticized for a conflict of interest over a west-end development, the city yesterday stepped toward severing any perceived links between its land development and regulatory arms.
City staff will be asked to explore terms of reference for an independent development corporation for city-owned lands, similar to how Hydro Ottawa and the Ottawa Housing Corporation operate.
“They would take an appropriate piece of land and take it through the development process, but they would be the applicant,” Coun. Peter Hume said. “Our regulatory people could say, no, we’re turning you down, because the two sides are not eating lunch in the same cafeteria.”
In January, a proposed development west of Scotiabank Place was frozen after it was revealed there were errors in water tabling modeling done by an engineering consultant company that had been contracted by both city regulators and the development group, of which the city was a member.
