Dear Friends of Lansdowne:

What better way to spend a Sunday evening than enjoying some on-line entertainment. So take a moment to watch video extracts from the Lansdowne Follies. And if you haven't yet heard Ian Tamblyn's powerful song "Village", now's the time to listen.

Also on the web these days--courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen--is a video of the Friends of Lansdowne Rally at City Hall in November 2009. Citizen editorial board member and columnist Ken Gray has posted the video to illustrate an article on how citizens groups are at war with the City. He will take on these issues LIVE from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m on Wednesday, Feb. 16 on his blog, The Bulldog. Please participate in this live blog. http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/bulldog/archive/2011/02/13/live-blog-a-city-at-war-with-itself.aspx

In other news , at a pre-hearing last week, the Ontario Municipal Board determined a schedule for adjudicating appeals related to the recently-revised zoning of Lansdowne Park. The hearing will begin on May 9, 2011 and is expected to last several weeks. Prior to that there will be another pre-hearing as well as mediation.

The OMB appeal is a completely separate initiative from the Lansdowne Legal Challenge. It is another important battle to fight. If the zoning is overturned, then the retail and commercial aspects of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan cannot go ahead.

Friends of Lansdowne did file an appeal with the OMB but we have withdrawn as we are still in the middle of litigation with the City. We do not want to prejudice our case. Fortunately, there are many other appellants including the Glebe and Old Ottawa South Community Associations, the Glebe Business Improvement Area and 8 neighbours. With so much citizen engagement and leadership from the community and business associations, the Friends of Lansdowne can step out of the OMB appeal, knowing that others are stepping in. We wish them every success.

Let's Get It Right! www.letsgetitright.ca