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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 Report 06-021 Electoral Zone Boundary Review January 25, 2006 Report No. 06-021 to Chairs’ Committee Re: Electoral Zone Boundary Review ORIGINATORS: Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer (Administration) PURPOSE: 1. To realign the electoral zone boundaries of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in accordance with the revised ward boundaries of the City of Ottawa. BACKGROUND: 2. The City of Ottawa has increased the number of electoral wards from 21 to 23 wards. This increase was the result of a comprehensive review that recognized the need to address imbalances in the size and population of the existing wards. 3. The municipal ward boundaries establish the framework for determining electoral zone boundaries for school boards. Electoral zones can be comprised of one or more municipal wards, but they cannot sever or intersect municipal ward boundaries. 4. It will be necessary to review the existing electoral zones to ensure that they align with the new ward boundaries and that the electoral zones continue to respect the general principles of electoral representation including, a) Protect communities of interest b) Recognize present and future population trends c) Recognize physical/geographic features as natural boundaries d) Respect the principle of representation by population 5. There is no requirement for change in the number of trustees on the Board as a result of the ward boundary review. Ontario Regulation 412/00 establishes the maximum number of trustees for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board at 12. The Board may, at its discretion, reduce this number. Such a reduction must be made by way of Board resolution. STATUS: 6. In very general terms the effects of the ward boundary changes are: a) The separation of Kanata into two wards, one northern and one southern b) The creation of a new ward for Stittsville c) The repositioning of Bells Corners into Baseline Ward d) The redistribution of Bell-South Nepean into two wards, one comprised of “old Barrhaven” and one comprised of Longfields-Davidson which extends across the river to include Riverside South e) The amalgamation of Goulbourn and Rideau wards into one rural ward, excluding Stittsville A comprehensive description of the ward boundary revisions is attached as Appendix A (Since the City does not yet have a revised ward boundary document, the information is provided by way of the original report recommendations with notations in bold as to whether the recommendation was approved or amended by Ottawa City Council). 7. There were no changes to the boundaries of the following wards: Ward 1 Orléans Ward 2 Innes Ward 11 Beacon-Hill-Cyrville Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier Ward 15 Kitchissippi 8. Electoral population data is an important component of an electoral zone review. That information is provided by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) in the form of the Population of Electoral Groups (PEG) report. That report has not yet been received, but must be provided to us by February 15, 2006 in order to complete the trustee distribution process. 9. In the interim, in response to our request, the City of Ottawa has provided us with “unofficial” electoral population information so that we might do some preliminary analysis on the ward boundary changes. This information is based on the municipality’s electoral data file and was provided to us in response to our request so that we might do some preliminary analysis on the ward boundary changes. (Note that there is a significant variance between the unofficial population data provided by the City of Ottawa this year and the population data provided by MPAC in 2003. The unofficial data provided by the City suggests that the electoral population for the OCDSB for 2006 is 398,339 whereas it was 482,943 in 2003. We will investigate this difference further once the official information is available from MPAC). 10. To better understand the impact of ward boundary changes on the current electoral zone structure, staff has created Appendix B. Appendix B is a status quo analysis in that it identifies the current electoral zones by ward number and population and the possible corresponding new ward numbers and populations. Appendix B also includes a short description of the impact of the ward boundary changes on the zone. 11. A status quo approach is only one option for consideration. In order to develop other options, staff is recommending that trustees submit their suggestions for electoral zone configuration to Michèle Giroux over the next two weeks. Staff will generate a series of options for consideration at the February Chairs’ Committee meeting. To meet this timeframe, trustee suggestions should be submitted by Thursday, February 8th. That would allow suggestions to be shared with all trustees in the Friday courier package on February 9th and would allow staff one week to generate a report for Chairs’ Committee. 12. Two electoral maps will be provided under separate cover for reference. RECOMMENDATION: THAT staff generate additional ward boundary options based on trustee input. Lorne M. Rachlis Director of Education/Secretary of the Board Appendix A – Ward Boundary Changes (This appendix in an excerpt of the original recommendations submitted to the Ottawa City Council. The notations in bold indicate if the recommendation was approved or amended.) Ward Boundary Recommendations Urban Wards Recommendations # 1: That the boundaries of Bay be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 2: That Bells Corners be included in Baseline and that the boundaries of Baseline be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 3: That the boundaries of Knoxdale-Merivale be re- aligned as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 4: That the boundaries of Kitchissippi remain as they exist currently as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 5: That the Ellwood community be moved from River to Gloucester-Southgate, that the whole of the Ottawa airport be included in Gloucester-Southgate and that the boundaries of River be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Not approved) # 6: That the Ellwood community and all of the Macdonald Cartier International Airport be included in Gloucester- Southgate and that the boundaries of Gloucester-Southgate be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Not approved) # 7: That the area south of Highway 417 and north of Carling between the railway tracks and Bronson remain in Somerset and that the boundaries of Somerset remain as they exist currently as per Figure 1. (Approved as amended, the residents bounded by the Queensway, Bronson Avenue, Carling Avenue, and Lebreton Street remain in Capital Ward). # 8: That the boundaries of Capital remain as they exist currently as per Figure 1. (Approved except for the notation above) # 9: That the boundaries of Alta Vista be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Not approved) # 10: That the boundaries of Rideau-Vanier remain as they exist currently as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 11: That the boundaries of Rideau-Rockcliffe be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Approved) # 12: That Blackburn Hamlet remain in Innes, that certain residents in the Greenbelt be included in Cumberland and that the boundaries of Beacon Hill-Cyrville be re-aligned as per Figure 1. (Not approved with the exception of some residents in the Greenbelt) Figure 1 Click image to enlarge This map is available electronically http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/ward/reports/recommendations/index_en.htm l Suburban Wards Recommendations # 13: That the boundaries of Orléans remain as they exist currently as per Figure 2. (Approved) # 14: That the boundaries of Innes stay generally as they currently are, including Blackburn Hamlet, that the western boundary be re-aligned in the Greenbelt area and that the resulting boundaries of Innes be as per Figure 2. (Not approved – no change to Innes) # 15: That Bell-South Nepean be re-aligned, that it include the area of Cedarhill and Orchard Estates and that the boundaries of Bell-South Nepean be as per Figure 2. (Approved) # 16: That a new ward (Ward 22, possibly named Rideau River South) be created from parts of the existing Gloucester-Southgate (Ward 10) and Bell-South Nepean (Ward 3) and that the boundaries of this new ward be as per Figure 2. (Approved – ward crosses river) # 17: That Kanata (Ward 4) be re-aligned to include the suburban area inside the Urban Growth Boundary north of Highway 417 (possibly called Kanata North) and that the boundaries of this new ward be as per Figure 2. (Approved) # 18: That a new ward (Ward 23, possibly named Kanata South) be created in the area generally south of Highway 417 and east of the Carp River and that the boundaries of this new ward be as per Figure 2. (Approved) # 19: That a new ward (Stittsville - Ward 6) be created in the Stittsville area and that the boundaries of this new ward be as per Figure 2. (Approved) Rural Wards Recommendations # 20: That the boundaries of West Carleton be re-aligned as per Figure 3. (Approved) # 21: That the rural portion of Goulbourn and Rideau (Ward 21) be combined to form Rideau-Goulbourn and that the boundaries of this ward be as per Figure 3. (Approved) # 22: That Osgoode be expanded by adding portions of the rural area of Gloucester- Southgate and that the boundaries of this ward be as per Figure 3. (Approved with an amendment that the north boundary between Anderson Road and Boundary Road the back lot line between 9th Line and Mitch Owens Road). # 23: That Cumberland remain the same as it is at present, that Cumberland be enlarged to include the portion of the community of Carlsbad Springs presently in Gloucester-Southgate and that the boundaries of this ward be as per Figure 3. (Approved with the amendment relating to the boundary adjustment outlined in recommendation 22) Figure 2 Click image to enlarge Figure 3 Click image to enlarge Appendix B Comparative Analysis of Current Electoral Zones with Old and New Ward Configurations Electoral Zone Old Ward # Population 2003 MPAC DATA New Ward # Population Unofficial Ottawa Data Impact of Change Zone 1 West Carleton, Goulbourn, Rideau 5, 6, 21 39,632 5, 6, 21 36,665 Gains Kanata North, and southern end of Barrhaven representation changes to 2 rural and one suburban Zone 2 Kanata 4 41,526 4, 23 33,687 Kanata North and South, northern end of Kanata moved to West Carleton Zone 3 Bell-South/Nepean 3 36,155 3, 22 28,410 Loses Bells Corners, northern Greenbelt and southern end of Barrhaven and gains Riverside South Zone 4 Bay 7 31,335 7 24,076 Minor addition of greenbelt land at the Northwest end of the ward Zone 5 Baseline/Knoxdale- Merivale 8, 9 53,278 8, 9 49,379 Baseline gains Bells Corners, some slight adjustments elsewhere Zone 6 Alta-Vista/Rideau- Rockcliffe 13, 18 46,747 13, 18 36,947 Largely unchanged Zone 7 Gloucester- Southgate/Osgoode 10, 20 42,456 10, 20 30,763 Riverside south and eastern part of Gloucester-Southgate removed Zone 8 Orleans-Cumberland 1, 19 32,742 1, 19 29,562 Largely unchanged, gains Carlsbad Springs in Cumberland ward Zone 9 Rideau- Vanier/Capital 12, 17 45,525 12, 17 38,134 Largely unchanged, except for some minor adjustments in Capital Ward Zone 10 Somerset- Kitchissippi 14, 15 51,109 14, 15 40,603 Largely unchanged (small transfer from W17 to 14) Zone 11 River 16 28,427 16 22,807 Largely unchanged Zone 12 Innes, Beacon Hill- Cyrville 2, 11 34,011 2, 11 27,306 Largely unchanged, except for Greenbelt section of Beacon- Hill-Cyrville Total 482,943 398,339