The City of Ottawa's planning department was slammed by Diane Holmes.

Diane Holmes was the City Councillor for Somerset Ward, Little Italy. This is her opinion of  an unaccountable municipal agency:
     "The Development Review Services Branch is responsible for processing development applications. It has become increasingly apparent that this branch no longer represents the citizens or neighbourhoods in the ward. Rather, this branch represents the interests of the development industry. Input from the public is generally disregarded because this branch considers residents comments to be NIMBY comments..The branch provides support to any application with little-or-no recognition or consideration of the neighbourhood wants and needs...This is happening throughout the Ward where applications are submitted before the developer and the community have a chance to sit down and discuss the proposal...You want to add 10 extra stories on your building? Fine by us. You don't want to provide visitor parking? Use on street public parking instead. Too many trees in front of your building? No problem, we'll remove them." (From:" Diane Holmes whacks the city's planning department" by Dave Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, May 19, 2014)

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It is time for a moratorium on the conversion of green space behind the former High School of Commerce, the creation of a social housing complex on 933 Gladstone Avenue; on the construction of a new Civic Hospital near Little Italy; on the construction of residential towers on the Natural Resources Canada property. The character of this area will disappear if any more housing projects are initiated--- Ottawa Community Housing director Catherine McKenney promised that affordable housing units will be constructed on Natural Resources Canada land. Urbicide is the deliberate destruction of  a city neighbourhood by out-of-control intensification. Future generations will be negatively affected by planning decisions made by politicians today.

England and Wales have Planning Inspectorates which are agencies that routinely hold public inquiries into major and minor land use developments. Planning Inspectorates are comprised of "independent experts, inspiring confidence and shaping exceptional communities, now and for future generations."