Ottawa councillors are hoping they might finally have a workable solution to a fraught issue: whether they can negotiate with developers to get donations for the city.
It’s a debate that dragged on for months after Coun. Shawn Menard worked out a deal with Groupe Katasa that would have provided $300,000 to fund traffic calming and affordable housing in his ward. Menard said his office never pressured Katasa, which provided the money as a “voluntary contribution.”
But opponents said the deal raised a perceived conflict of interest, since councillors weigh in on developer applications. The mayor pushed to ban the practice outright, before council punted the whole question to a working group this summer.
Now, that working group is back with its proposal: a pilot project that would allow councillors to solicit or facilitate donations under a stringent set of rules.
“I think we’re coming back to them with a new policy that addresses a lot of the concerns that came up when we had the discussion and debate at council,” said Coun. Glen Gower, one of the working group members.
Proposed rules include ‘blackout period’
Under the proposal, councillors would only be allowed to negotiate donations at arm’s-length from their role as decision makers. The new rules would include a “blackout period,” restricting deals with developers who have active planning applications or procurement business with the city.
“We’ve deliberately closed the window on donations when we have a developer with a development file in front of us,” said Gower. “I think that was very important to most people on council to clarify the rules around that.”
That blackout period would still have some exceptions, but only with permission from council’s integrity commissioner, who would also have to approve deals with lobbyists.
During negotiations, councillors would have to make clear that donations are entirely voluntary and won’t give developers special consideration for upcoming projects.
Cash donations would go into a city-wide account managed by staff, though in-kind donations could be given to a specific ward. Staff would have to give the green light to the deal. If they refuse, the councillor could still go to a full meeting of council to push it through.
The rules would also require councillors to use a standard template, with the resulting agreement posted to a city website.
Proposal raises hopes for consensus
Menard said the proposal makes sense. He said there are “community-minded developers” who want to improve the neighbourhoods around their projects, and councillors should be allowed to work with them.
“I’m certainly pleased to see the outcome, which establishes an agreed-upon process and a pilot project that provides for transparency and flexibility to enhance our existing communities and for future residents,” he said.
“It would help to, I think, mitigate some of the impacts that come with intensification.”
He again defended his dealings with Katasa, saying he brought the agreement to council transparently and sought an opinion from the integrity commissioner.
“Everything that that we did to ensure community benefits would be completely allowable under this process,” he said.
Menard said he hopes the proposal will attract close to unanimous support. Gower said he expects it will get a strong majority when it comes to council on Wednesday.
The pilot program would be up for review sometime between 2026 and 2030, though councillors could vote to change it earlier.