The National Capital Commission objects to the municipal council's vote against establishing the diplomatic district on a piece of land west of downtown.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) says it has appealed the Ottawa City Council's decision to reject the subdivision of lands in the Mechanicsville neighborhood into a new diplomatic zone west of downtown. The commission's spokesperson, Valerie Dufour, said the NCC submitted documents to the Ontario Land Tribunal on the morning of last Friday, arguing that the city council did not follow regional planning rules when it decided not to allow five plots of land for embassies on Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.

It is worth noting that on February 9, four city council members from the eastern side were among the 22 council members who voted against the subdivision requested by the National Capital Commission (NCC).

Tim Tierney, Laura Dudas, and Catherine Kitts even changed their previous votes from the September Planning Committee meeting, which had approved the application.

They spoke of the need to "send a clear message" to the NCC that it must work with the city to allow a transit corridor to Orleans – where the NCC's refusal to allow this corridor through Greenbelt lands became a major topic of debate in early March.

However, the official reasons for the council's refusal of the embassy zoning were that the NCC did not provide the proper amount of green space for a rapidly developing area and did not establish appropriate connections between the proposed diplomatic zone and the neighborhood.

The NCC says it has followed the process for years, with Dufour saying the commission declared early in 2015 that it planned to use the land for a new diplomatic district west of downtown and conducted two years of public consultations on its park plan for the south shore of the Ottawa River, which included that land.

Dufour also said: "We have worked cooperatively with the city from the beginning on this file."

She explained that although the plan faced opposition from community groups and the local council member, who wanted to keep the land as green space, city staff recommended moving forward and the Planning Committee approved it – until city council made the unprecedented decision opposing these two previous approvals.

Dufour said, "The reasons they gave to refuse the application are not justified under Ontario’s Planning Act and the province’s policy statement."

She added that as the capital of a G7 country, Ottawa's zoning must allow embassies to welcome foreign nations.

Councillor Jeff Leiper says the longstanding issue regarding the diplomatic district land proposal has been residents' concerns about losing green space in a rapidly growing area.

Leiper also said: "I am disappointed because they chose to spend taxpayer money on requesting something that, in my opinion, clearly conflicts with Ottawa's official plan."

Adding, "I think they have a much easier path to accepting the council’s decision."

Explaining, "They have a much easier path to respond positively to residents’ opposition and find some other uses for this site."