Rules covering what kinds of homes can be built alongside Ottawa's Island Park Drive for 100 years are now a few years away from expiring, leading the area's councillor to start looking ahead to what may happen early next decade.

City Coun. Jeff Leiper says Island Park Drive has a historic charm. (CBC) The Ottawa Improvement Commission, a precursor to the National Capital Commission, signed a deal with Robert H. Cowley on Feb. 9, 1922.

Cowley would get various parcels of land beside what is now Island Park Drive until 2020 or 2021 after agreeing "that certain building restrictions shall attach to and run with the land immediately facing on both sides of the Driveway" for a dollar, roughly the equivalent of $13.84 in 2015 dollars.

The street today is mostly made up of large, single-family homes, but Kitchissippi Ward councillor Jeff Leiper said there will likely be a push from some groups for more density.

"I think there is a charm about Island Park [Drive] the way it is right now, it's a historic street. There's something nice about the big broad front lawns," he said.

"Certainly I'm aware it's a very desirable address and one of the things we're going to have to reconcile as a city."

Leiper said he's setting up meetings between homeowners, the NCC and the city to talk about what the street should look like once the zoning rules start to expire in 2020.

The NCC declined an interview, but said in an email it's committed to working with the community and will explore a number of options to maintain the area's character.