Councillor Kelly Applauds Council's Rejection of Latest Application to Expand Urban Boundary in South March

West Carleton-March Councillor Clarke's Kelly's Statement Nov 18, 2025

Last week at Council, I was very happy to get the full support of my council colleagues and the mayor in voting to support the staff recommendation to deny the most recent application to expand the urban boundary in South March.

If this application had succeeded, it would have brought the urban boundary all the way to Dunrobin Road on the East side, to Old Second Line Rd. on the Northeast side, and Cameron Harvey on the Southeast side.

In other words, it would have brought Kanata right to the doorstep of Dunrobin.

I was very discouraged when the last urban boundary expansion was approved, causing the loss of a family berry farm and other land that had been farmed for decades. It was yet another expansion of Kanata into West Carleton-March. Seeing the pace of development move way faster than the pace of our infrastructure and the problems it has caused, motivated me to put my name on the ballot to fight any further incursions into rural Ottawa.

Further sprawl is not the answer to our housing shortage. It makes it harder to serve residents in a cost-effective manner, removes important land from rural areas, puts pressure on existing infrastructure, and frankly is not what rural residents want to see happening in their communities.

We live in rural Ottawa because it is rural, and we enjoy it that way. Continuing to chip away at Ward 5 with unnecessary urban boundary expansions is irresponsible, and I will always fight to ensure West Carleton-March remains rural.

I am very pleased to see these efforts pay off and want to thank the mayor and my council colleagues again for their support in maintaining the current footprint of our big, beautiful, and rural community.

Nov. 18, 2025: Some sunset photos of Ward 5 rural areas that would have been affected if Council had chosen to expand the urban boundary in South March