City of Ottawa Special Event By-Law Review

The City of Ottawa recently published the Special Event By-law review and recommendations report. OFN's Executive Director, Tara Shannon continues to provide feedback from the festivals and events perspective to the city's joint committee.

Here is the summary of recommended changes.

Every year, Ottawa is host to hundreds of outdoor special events that draw millions of attendees. These events contribute to the quality of life of residents and attract investment and tourism. According to the Ottawa Festival Network, large festivals support approximately 70,000 jobs and generate over $320 million in spending. The variety of festivals, charity runs, and cultural and community events enrich the lives of both residents and visitors.

Staff’s review indicates that while the existing by-laws have largely been effective, growing demand and increasing complexity of events necessitates updates to improve operational efficiency and enhance public safety. Therefore, the report recommends both regulatory amendments as well as non-regulatory initiatives to support special events programming.

In terms of regulatory amendments, two separate by-laws are recommended and are

intended to work in tandem:

• Special Events By-law (Document 1): Building on the success of Event Central and the Special Events Advisory Team (SEAT), staff are recommending an updated Special Events By-law that leverages the expertise of Event Central as the City’s coordinating body for all outdoor special event permits. This would encompass outdoor special events with 500 or more participants at any given time in addition to 6 events occurring on City streets that require coordination with multiple departments and services.

• Highway Events By-law (Document 2): Complementary to the Special Events By-law, the recommended Highway Events By-law would address specific highway events such as block parties, film projects, sidewalk sales and other activities occurring on the highway, including demonstrations. The Public Works Department would retain authority over these events, excluding demonstrations, to manage traffic and mobility impacts. The Ottawa Police Service would maintain their authority to manage demonstrations.

Additional regulatory amendments recommended in this report include:

• A new 180-day permit application category to enable better planning for first-time events with more than 10,000 participants, events that close an interprovincial bridge, or events that require changes to O-Train services.

• A new delegated authority for the General Manager of Public Works to streamline the process for road closures on local and collector roads, with consultation with impacted Ward Councillors required for major roads.

• Amendments to several by-laws (including the Vendors on Highways By-law, Designated Spaces By-law, and Licensing By-law) to allow mobile vendors, such as food trucks, to operate more easily at certain special events.

• Providing the Director of By-law and Regulatory Services, in consultation with Ward Councillors, the ability to approve extensions to noise exemptions for weekday special events by up to 60 minutes when the event has been delayed or paused due to extreme weather or other factors beyond the control of the operator, as further described on p. 34.

• Creating exemptions for bar and restaurant owners and special events operators to offer late-night events having approval of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) without needing an additional City license, as further described on p. 35.

• New safety requirements, including a requirement for Ottawa Public Health’s free online training about event safety and a requirement for event organizers to establish a code of conduct for participants, will increase safety for all involved and help ensure events are successful and achieve the expectations of organizers and participants, as further described on p. 23.

Recommended non-regulatory initiatives in support of special events include:

• Exploring the development of workshops to build knowledge and capacity for event organizers and to encourage more community-led events with a greater variety of offerings for residents, as further described on p. 39.

• Developing partnerships with school boards to connect students with special event volunteer opportunities, as further described on p. 40.

• Options to improve access to automatic external defibrillators, as further described on p. 39.

• Use of the City’s Yellow Bags to facilitate waste collection from smaller community events (with less than 500 participants), as further described on p. 38.

• Options for future programs to increase waste diversion from large special events through the Solid Waste Master Plan, as further described on p. 38.

The recommended framework establishes a new approach for managing demonstrations that will provide clearer management processes, including a voluntary notification system to improve communication between the City, organizers, and law enforcement.

Demonstrations would no longer require a special event permit but would be requested to complete a simple demonstration notification form as well as still having to follow applicable laws and by-laws, including specific provisions in the recommended Highway Events By-law, as further described on p. 24.