It all begins with the City of Ottawa’s Urban Design Review Panel. Before a development application is submitted, the developer must sit down with the Panel to review the development case. The Panel comprises of a number of building and landscape architects, urban planners, and other industry experts.
Only high profile cases in the city are required to be presented to the Urban Design Review Panel for evaluation. For example, all high rise condominium developments you see in Ottawa have been reviewed by the Panel.