(The revised Stittsville South (W-4) Concept Plan submitted to the City in June, 2025. Image: NAK Design Strategies)
On September 17, 2025 the Concept Plan and an Official Plan amendment for applicant Caivan (Stittsville South) Inc. and Caivan (Stittsville West) Ltd. was approved by the Planning and Housing Committee. Caivan are proposing the future development of a residential subdivision, referred to as Stittsville South (W-4), and this approval permits them to move to the next steps, while following the direction of the Committee that the addition of retail be included in their plan.
The proposed development includes low-rise housing, two new parks, environmental protection areas, stormwater management ponds and a well-connected network of streets and pathways. It will include approximately 1,700 detached homes and townhouses, supporting the City’s strategic priority to increase the housing supply.
Two new parks will serve the community, including a larger park on the west side of an existing hydro corridor and a smaller one along Shea Road. The applicant is also committed to enhanced tree planting within two environmental protection areas and throughout the subdivision’s streets and open spaces.
The 65-hectare property, northwest of Flewellyn and Shea roads, was identified as a new growth area and was brought into the urban boundary when the City adopted the current Official Plan in 2022. Before development could proceed, a planning process was required to help guide future development, and the concept plan and studies approved today fulfill that requirement.
Councillor Gower provided his comments to the Committee expressing his support for some elements, but not all. “There are elements of this neighbourhood concept plan that I support including the mix of low density and medium density residential which is appropriate for the location in Stittsville. The park locations, natural buffer, and stormwater facilities are well integrated and connected with similar facilities to the north. But what’s missing in this concept is any non-residential use, aside from the parks and green space. Residents in this future neighbourhood would greatly benefit from neighbourhood retail space or similar commercial amenities.
This is the first future neighbourhod concept plan in the Stittsville area under the 2022 Official Plan, but it does not represent any meaningful improvement over subdivisions approved under the “old” Official Plan. As it stands, the concept plan does not support the Official Plan policy direction that residential areas evolve towards a 15-minute neighbourhood. This concept plan should be revised to incorporate more mixed-use opportunities: local retail, restaurant/café, community centre, school, daycare, recreation, etc. I recommended to Cavian that they could even consider some kind of “live-work” design in the homes to encourage more non-residential uses.”
City staff responded to Councillor Gower, “An area-specific policy has been included in the recommended Official Plan Amendment (Document 2) to address the inclusion of neighbourhood focused commercial uses. The location and quantity will be implemented through a Zoning By-law Amendment application.”
The proposed development is in Ward 21 represented by Councillor David Brown. The City report indicated that “Councillor David Brown is aware of the application related to this report.” He made no comments regarding the development plan.
Residents can find Document 2 included with all of the documents at this link: https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=260498.
The Official Plan amendment will allow the applicant to proceed with next steps, which include seeking approval of a Plan of Subdivision application and a Zoning By-law amendment. The Official Plan amendment also includes a policy requiring the development of some commercial space for the neighbourhood, to help foster a complete community, with details to be finalized through the zoning amendment.
An information meeting about Caivan’s future community known as Stittsville South (W-4) is taking place at the Johnny Leroux Community Arena (10 Warner-Colpitts Lane) on October 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. providing residents with the opportunity to review the proposed development plans, ask questions, and share feedback with the applicant’s representatives.