Immaculata field rules now under appeal
The Ottawa Catholic School Board is challenging an order to restrict evening playing time on the artificial turf field at Immaculata High School, forcing the city to put a hold on new site plan regulations.
According to information received by the city councillor and distributed by the school board to some residents, the school board is asking the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (the former Ontario Municipal Board) to overturn a decision by council’s planning committee.
The committee on Aug. 28 voted 6-2 in favour of a unique hours-of-operation restriction for the new artificial turf field, which was built through a public-private partnership. The committee ordered the lights to be turned off by 9 p.m. between Sunday and Thursday and by 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The hours were also restricted on weekend mornings, with no field activity allowed before 9 a.m.
The city’s lights-off curfew for municipal sports fields is 11 p.m.
The committee’s decision put the school board in a bind since it has a deal with the Ottawa Footy Sevens allowing the soccer organization to use and rent the field. The Footy Sevens paid $2 million to install the field at the school over the summer in time for fall leagues.
The city won’t be surprised by the school board’s challenge since its own planning lawyer suggested during the committee meeting that it could be tough to defend the decision in an appeal.
Capital Coun. David Chernushenko said city lawyers had indicated there needed to be a pause on the committee’s decision during the appeal period.
That means, for now, games can be played up until 11 p.m., as long as existing bylaws regarding noise and lighting are followed.
Neighbour Joanne Lostracco, one of the vocal opponents of the project who lives five houses away from the field, said recent activity at the field had lasted until about 10 p.m.
“It’s crazy. The amount of traffic has increased significantly. The noise is unbelievable,” Lostracco said.
According to Footy Sevens’ schedules posted online, the organization hasn’t scheduled any games with 10 p.m. start times at Immaculata this fall. So far, the latest scheduled start time is 9 p.m.