Drivers will soon face a $100 fine if they are caught idling their vehicles for too long in Ottawa.

A controversial bylaw that bans drivers for running their engines for more than three minutes while stopped was passed by city council in a 12-8 vote Wednesday night, despite being voted down at a committee meeting last month.

The man who proposed the idling bylaw last year over health and environmental concerns about fumes from idling vehicles said he was overjoyed it got another chance.

"It's a tremendous breakthrough for citizens of Ottawa because something will been done that will gradually, carefully improve the quality of air," said Charles Caccia, a member of the city's environmental advisory committee and a former federal environment minister under prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

The bylaw will be in effect when the temperature is between 4 C and 27 C starting this September, but fines will not be levied until next year.

The bylaw includes exceptions for circumstances such as being stuck in traffic and was developed by staff based on similar legislation in other cities, such as Toronto and Montreal.

The proposal for the bylaw was voted down in a 4-4 vote at a committee meeting last month by opponents who questioned how it would be implemented and who said education would be preferable to legislation.