The next General Meeting of the FCA-FAC will be held Wednesday April 17. The featured topic will be the updating of the City’s Public Engagement Strategy.

2. It has been announced that an overview of the draft zoning by-law will be presented to an April 29 joint meeting of the Planning & Housing Committee and Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee. It is expected that the document will become available April 18. For a first discussion of the overview document, a meeting of the FCA Planning & Zoning Committee is scheduled for April 22.

3. At the March 20 General Meeting, there was a presentation on community involvement in pre-consultation meetings on development applications (that is, meetings prior to the submission of a formal application). Slides from the presentation are found at  https://fca-fac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Presentation-Pre-Consultation-Program.pdf. The City has devised a survey seeking community comment on the pre-consultation program, which is found at Pre-Application Consultation Pilot Program Feedback Survey FCA (medallia.com). Questions about the program should be directed to preconsultationprogram@ottawa.ca .

4. It is possible that involvement of community groups in pre-consultation meetings, which are now confined to a few downtown wards, will be extended to additional wards. Community groups may wish to ensure that they are registered with the City to ensure that they would be included. To register, go to https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-development-and-construction/learn-about-planning-process/registration-community-organizations-receive-notification-planning-studies-and-development-applications#section-c0c34e4b-3fa8-4180-bedc-a34ad752728c .

5. The FCA Fundraising Committee is being convened to discuss strategies for FCA's short and long term financial stability.  If you would like to participate, please contact us at information@fca-fac.ca .

6.   The FCA Annual General Meeting is coming up on June 19.  We are looking for interested parties for some of the available Board positions.  If you are a member of one of the FCA Member organizations and are interested in learning more, please contact us. Send a message to nominations@fca-fac.ca .