a peek inside the fishbowl

Do you live in Ottawa? Ever shop and wander around the Westboro area? Like to hear about cool new stuff? This might be the thing for you!

(What is THIS, exactly? Good question.)

THIS is an email missive that ever-so-briefly describes something awesome I find in the wilds of Westboro Village. It’s a “look what I found” note. It could be about a swank pair of shoes, a stupendous cupcake, a gorgeous vegetable, or something pretty and sparkly. If you are already follow me on Pinterest and/or my shopping-related tweets you may find this interesting. I urge you to subscribe and see for yourself.

> Clickety click!

Help me support local businesses!

First wee mailing is going out this week. Hint: it’s sparkly.

Edited to add: I’ve had lots of new subscribers and received some really nice emails since this post went up yesterday! You are awesome. And as a thank you I would like to give one subscriber a $25.00 Starbucks gift card. I’ll do a random draw for it on Thursday September 22 at noon. Thanks again for your enthusiasm and support, and for spreading the word too. It really means a lot to me. Thank you! xox.

Before I begin I must ask you to direct your gaze to this picture of deliciousness:

And it was, truly, a delicious salad, at least I thought it was. Sadly, I was pretty much alone on this one. Mark stalwartly tried some, but this kind of thing is not his favourite. The girls picked at the tiny mound I’d made on their plates. I looked at them all, hangdog expression, for gawd sakes BLACK BEANS ARE GOOD. And they are, at least in in my books. Gah!

I used this recipe word-for-word. It combines so many of my favourite flavours; cumin, avocado, lime, cilantro. This, my friends, is what they serve after you die, at the Heavenly Buffet. This salad is divinely delectable. I ate the whole bowl (throughout the week, not in one sitting. I swear).

Let me know if you try it.

p.s. it’s pronounced KEEN-wah. :)

This post does not reflect the views of the Westboro Community Association, of which I am a board member. These opinions are entirely my own.

Oh my dear Fishies. I’ve written reams and reams of words about commercial and residential development here in Westboro. For those of you who don’t live here I will summarize our current situation thusly. Our corner of Ottawa has become a trendy and desirable neighbourhood to live in, and condo developers are falling over themselves to build here and capitalize on it. The result? There’s a condo springing up on practically every corner, and there are more coming. More units = more cars. More cars = unprecedented traffic congestion, as well as increased pedestrian, cycling, and parking woes.

Residents should be aware that Uniform Urban Developments is proposing to build two towers on the former Fendor property at the very end of Roosevelt Avenue (marked as “A” on this map). This spot is tucked into a low-density residential area and it’s zoned for 7-storeys.

Here’s the thing that gets me. The developer is essentially floating two options:

1. 1) Build it tall and beautiful (the proposed 16 and 14 storeys) with lots of great green space around it.

or

1. 2) Build a squat 7-storey block that uses up every square inch of the property and has no green space whatsoever.

So which you you want huh? Tall and gorgeous? Or short and ugly?

How’s that for putting people over a barrel?

The developer doesn’t REALLY want to build 7 storeys. They will probably do anything to avoid it, because the reality is that the desirable (not to mention profitable) views only happen at 5-storeys and higher. And there’s not much money to be made in short and squat, right next to the concrete canyon of the Transitway, down the road from a funeral home.

Also? I predict that after a massive public outcry (which has already begun), the developer will come back waving a white flag and tell the community that they’ve listened, and that because they care they are going to reduce the height of their proposed towers to 10 and 12 storeys. Or maybe 9 and 10. I’m thinking of taking bets on this. You just watch. (Any other predictions? Let’s log them here.)

The other big part of this story – and I hope it does not get overlooked – is that there are 200 units planned for this site. Where are they all going to go? 200 units = 200 cars coming in and out of an area that’s already overwhelmed by vehicular traffic. How’s that going to pan out? How can the City of Ottawa believe that it won’t have an impact on the residents?

Supporters of this development are going to insist that its proximity to the Transitway will practically guarantee that future residents will be using public transit. Frankly, I don’t believe that the majority of people who live in pricey condos ever deign to take the bus. (Apparently only 2% of residents in the Metropole take public transit. I think we can safely use that as our guide.) [Edited to add: this stat is incorrrect. Please see comments below.]

We must demand better.

If you’re interested in the details of what’s going on here I recommend you check out the Westboro Beach Community Association website.

Like the WBCA, I call on the developer, Uniform Urban Developments, to withdraw their application for a zoning change and to propose, in a spirit of true consultation with the community, a design that fits within the existing zoning, style and character of the neighbourhood, meets all applicable City and Provincial guidelines, and is acceptable to the community.

What say you?