City's right-of-way amendments fall short, gardeners say

An attempt by the City of Ottawa to modernize the bylaw governing what residents may and may not do with the municipal right-of-way in front of their homes fails to address a key shortcoming, some urban gardeners say.

As CBC reported last summer, some residents have been planting gardens in the narrow verge between the curb and sidewalk, replacing the grass that normally grows there.

That runs afoul of the city's current "use and care of roads" bylaw, however, resulting in hefty fines for some of the renegade horticulturalists.

After hearing from one such resident in Chapel Hill South, OrlansWestInnesCoun. Laura Dudasdecided it was time to amend the rules in favour of what she calls a "common-sense approach."

• How a bylaw complaint sprouted into an urban gardening rethink

"Why is the city, especially after having declared a climate emergency, only looking at grass as the appropriate covering for a right-of-way or a shared space? It needed to be updated," Dudas told CBC this week.

Striking the right balance

Earlier this month, city staff presented an amended bylaw that seeks to achieve a balance between the need to keep such shared spaces safe and clear of obstacles, and the desire of some residents to plant gardens that will not only beautify the landscape, but also attract pollinators, improve drainage and contribute to the overall ecological health of their neighbourhoods.

The proposed amendments are currently up for review on the Engage Ottawa website, where residents are invited to weigh in.

Among the remaining restrictions:

• "Hardscaping" materials such as rocks or retaining walls remain forbidden.
• "Consumables" such as vegetables or herbs are off the menu, as are noxious weeds andinvasive plant species.
• Gardens may only be dug by hand.
• Gardens may only be planted in the right-of-way immediately abutting the homeowner's property, unless a neighbour gives written permission.
• Plants must be kept to a maximum height of 75 centimetres.
• Sidewalks must be kept clear.
• Gardens must be a minimum distance from fire hydrants, bus stops and other utilities.

The 1-metre rule

In addition to these restrictions, staff are proposing that "no residential gardening will be permitted within one (1.0) metre of either the inside edge of a curb, or where no curb exists, from the edge of roadway."

In some areas of the city, however, that narrow verge between the road and the sidewalk (or in some cases, between the road and the edge of the homeowner's property) is the only arable ground available.

Under the proposed changes, however, if it's narrower than a metre, it's still off limits for gardening.

Nothing has changedand that's very, very disappointing.- Raewyn Khosla

"For many, many, many parts of Ottawa that basically means that all those boulevard strips cannot be gardened on, because many of them are less than a metre wide," said RaewynKhosla, whose grassroots ecology group For Our Kids has been lobbying for changes to the city's right-of-way rules.

"Nothing has changed, and that's very, very disappointing."

While Khosla applauds many of the proposed amendments, she believes Ottawaneeds to follow the exampleset by other jurisdictions that have already loosened their bylaws to allow verge gardening.

"We were hoping that the new bylaw would allow people to plant in the boulevard garden, as they have done in Mississauga, Guelph, Toronto, Vancouver and many other municipalities around Canada," she said.

"They seem to be coping, so what really is stopping this [in Ottawa]?"

Still up for discussion

Khosla's group and others have met with city staff to discuss their concerns, and will meet Friday with Dudas and Coun. Rawlson King, who seconded Dudas's motion to amendthe bylaw last year.

HisRideauRockcliffe ward is home to many verge gardens that would remain illegal under the proposed changes.

"I'm eager to listen to them, what their proposed amendments might be, and pose those to city staff and see if we can't get them incorporated in some fashion," Dudas told CBC.

"The city should give some leeway to that, because at the end of the day, these gardens beautify our spaces and they make it more welcoming to everyone, whether it's a visitor to the neighbourhood or the people who live there."

The city's transportation committee is expected to discuss the proposed amendments next month.