City buys $4.1 million property with no intention to develop it
A remote tract of land near London’s southeast corner was snatched up by city council for reasons that will become clearer over the next 20 years.
On Nov. 24, council approved spending $4.1 million to purchase 1462 Westminster Dr. (near Old Victoria Road) to preserve its woodlot and wetland as environmental compensation for future infrastructure work by the city.
“When we conduct an infrastructure project and we have to remove a sensitive woodlot or a species-at-risk, or anything environmentally sensitive, we have to use offsets,” Mayor Josh Morgan explained.
Morgan added that it’s a provincial requirement that municipalities obtain offsets when essential infrastructure work has negative impacts on the nearby environment.
He believes it’s better to have the compensatory preservation of environmentally-sensitive land be within London.
“When it’s outside the city, we are giving money to other municipalities to buy those offsets,” the mayor told CTV News. “This will allow those environmentally significant offsets to be here in the city forever.”
However, Coun. Susan Stevenson argued against the purchase.
Stevenson told council colleagues that there should be public input before a decision to purchase compensatory environmental offsets that are expected to cover 15 to 20 years of the city’s infrastructure projects.
“We would want to have a public discussion about that,” she warned. “Otherwise it has us not discuss the consequences of the environmental impact [of] infrastructure plans because we've already pre-bought the offsets.”
Morgan said it’s yet to be determined if the new public lands will eventually become an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) or otherwise made accessible to Londoners.
“There is opportunity for the city to explore all of those options, depending on the sensitive nature of what’s there. But those environmental offsets will be protected forever,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'There's mom and dad's house': New video appears to show destruction of Jasper neighbourhood
Video posted to social media on Thursday morning appears to show the charred remains of a Jasper, Alta., neighbourhood.
LIVE SOON Extent of Jasper wildfire damage still unknown; Alberta Wildfire hosting update
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Jennifer Aniston criticizes JD Vance for 'childless cat ladies' remarks: 'I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children'
Jennifer Aniston is criticizing JD Vance for comments he made in his past about women without children.
WATCH LIVE Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Prince William made $42 million from his newly inherited estate last year, reports show
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Melania Trump to tell her story in memoir, 'Melania,' scheduled for this fall
Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, 'Melania,' billed by her office as 'a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.' It's the first memoir by Trump, who has been mostly absent as her husband, former U.S. President Donald Trump, seeks to return to the White House.
Spicy dispute over the origins of Flamin' Hot Cheetos winds up in court
A former PepsiCo executive is suing the company, saying it destroyed his career after questioning his claim that he invented the popular flavor of Cheetos snacks.
NASA says no return date yet for astronauts and Boeing capsule at space station
Already more than a month late getting back, two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule, officials said Thursday.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.