City of Ottawa hires former Prince Edward County CAO as new planning boss

David Sali

May 20, 2025

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The City of Ottawa has hired a veteran municipal administrator to oversee its planning department as it pushes ahead with major changes to zoning bylaws and potential new infrastructure projects such as Lansdowne 2.0. Marcia Wallace will assume the role of general manager of planning, development and building services effective June 16, city manager Wendy Stephanson announced on Tuesday. Wallace most recently served as chief administrative officer for the Corporation of the County of Prince Edward, where she managed 10 departments with a total budget of more than $200 million, the city said in a news release. In her five years on the job, Wallace spearheaded the county’s 10-year community plan and led a comprehensive bylaw review, among other initiatives. Before joining the County of Prince Edward’s leadership team, Wallace spent two decades in various senior roles with the Ontario government, including a two-year stint as assistant deputy minister for the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Wallace earned a PhD in urban planning from the University of Waterloo in 1999. She also holds a master of arts degree in political studies from Queen’s University and a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Calgary. She replaces interim city planning boss Vivi Chi, who will move into a new role as special adviser of planning. The city's last permanent planning chief was Stephen Willis, who left the job in August 2022. In a memo to the mayor and councillors, Stephanson said Wallace has “vast expertise in urban, suburban and rural planning, public administration and transformative leadership within both the municipal and provincial contexts,” adding she “has cultivated strong relationships with key community groups, the development sector, various levels of government and Indigenous communities.” The hiring comes as the city’s planning department tackles a number of major issues and projects. For example, a massive revision of Ottawa’s comprehensive zoning bylaw is now working its way through city hall. Among other changes, the rewritten bylaw would boost building height and housing density limits in much of the city, eliminate rules that require developers to build a minimum number of parking spots at new multiresidential housing projects, and allow at least four units on every residential lot. Meanwhile, city council is also expected to weigh in on the Lansdowne 2.0 plan later this year. The project – which would see the city construct a new arena and north-side football stands at TD Place in partnership with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group – has a projected price tag of more than $400 million.