Climate Resiliency Strategy

Not sure where to put this...

Winter snow -  conifers and cedar trees as snow fences instead of plastic orange fences for fields

Assess cooling capacity of community buildings to meet new heat extremes and upgrade / provide shade as needed.

Develop indicators to measure adaption progress over time and tie relevant management staff’s compensation to successful implementation.

Provide property tax incentives (5% reduction for example)

I think to provide tax incentives to existing homeowners or multi unit building owner to improve the resiliency of the ground absorption for water and relieve storm sewers. I believe you already have many options as to what that constitute

create and maintain more bike lanes

Mandate green roofs and LEED certification on all new commercial and condo building development.

Stacked parking lots!

Instead of having massive parking lots occupying a large area - introduce stacked parking lots so that they can occupy less area to park the same number of vehicles. Use this excess space for medium to high density housing or increase green coverage!

Maximum Temp for Rental Units

There is currently a minimum allowable temperature for rental units during the winter, but no maximum. This means apartments are not required to have a.c and many buildings have policies of no window ac units. A city-wide policy change regarding this, or pressure on the provincial government to change this requirement would make the summers much easier for renters.

Create a vulnerable persons registry

Create a vulnerable persons registry to proactively reach out during extreme heat events.

Textile Recycling

Have proper textile recycling program in place for garments / textiles that cannot be donated to a thrift store. Most of our unwanted textiles end up in landfills or is shipped to other countries. The clothing ends up in countries that are developing and make it very difficult for local retailers to survive. They are overwhelmed by our discarded items. We need to deal with the problem here at home. The textile industry is the 2nd biggest polluter next to oil. We need to have recycling programs at home that lower this impact. An idea would be to work with Terracycle to help us recycle our unusable items. These bins could be placed throughout the city, until we are able to implement a more permanent textile recycling program in Ottawa. https://shop.terracycle.com/en-CA/products?taxon=1778&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI87Pzh5bA_wIVykFyCh3UzQpKEAAYASAAEgKy8fD_BwE

Promote the benefits of having trees in suburban areas.

Many neighbours see trees as a nuisance; leaves to rake and gutters to clean. But of course the role of trees are of increased importance! They help keep our homes cool in the summer and help save on our electricity bills and help to absorb excess water in heavy rainfall. I would even suggest the City offering rebates for every tree planted in a yard

Minimize the City Heat Island Effect

Black road surface absorb heat during the day and then release it at night. This causes cities to become hotter during the day and prevents them from cooling at night. Deprioritizing car infrastructure and focussing on public and active transit instead will allow us to move more people using less land area. This will allow us to replace black pavement with greenery which will reduce the City Heat Island Effect.

Support community volunteer groups to help in extreme weather

Identify people in communities who have an interest in volunteering and train them on how to respond during emergencies

More trees everywhere

Plant more trees around the city, in parks, pathways, along roads and highways, and on city properties. Amend the by-laws so that new build homes and communities are required to plant MORE trees and green space. Encourage homeowners without a boulevard tree to plant one or have one planted by the City. Most importantly, once trees are planted by the City, the city cannot abandon them, they need watering and fertilizer and good quality soil. I see lots of dead trees on city property, a lot of wasted tax dollars because the work was half-assed.

Ensure every bus stop has a shade structure or - even better - tree planted

Extreme heat is hard to evade when waiting at some bus stops. Please ensure that every bus stop has a shade structure or even better a tree canopy to provide shade.

Work with other levels of government to promote and augment wild fire fighting teams. Promote better forest management - controlled fires.

Reintroduce controlled fire and fire breaks

Promote and help subsidize conversion to permeable driveways.

Expand Commemorative Tree Program

Promote tree planting in public spaces by expanding the City Commemorative Tree Planting. Currently, the program only accepts applications which commemorate the loss of a loved one. There are many joyful occasions to commemorate symbolically by planting a tree and plaque, such as the birth of a child, or a marriage. Expanding the eligibility criteria of the Tree Program encourages citizens to sponsor the planting of a tree, in a manner that is cost-neutral for the City, encourages carbon offsetting and sequestration, helps to prevent flooding and erosion through tree root systems, provides shade in extreme heat, and creates joy for passersby who read the plaque commemorating a joyful occasion.

Invest in burying power lines across Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa deals with thousands of outages a year now thanks to increase storm events. Ottawa MUST invest in burying power lines to secure our energy systems, as these storms will only get more powerful and more frequent in the coming years. Yes, this will require a lot of labour and a lot of money upfront, but the investment will payoff in the long term when people no longer have to deal with frequent outages and our systems are more reliable.

Urban Meadows

Urban meadows are low-impact, self-sustaining plant communities that provide ecological benefits: https://www.urbanmeadow.org/