Development delays blamed on update to UTRCA floodplain maps that’s years behind schedule

Simmering tensions between the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) and planning officials at city hall are now out in the open.

On Tuesday, council’s Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) requested quarterly updates and a final presentation about an upcoming Service Level Review of the UTRCA’s Environmental Planning and Regulations Department, plus a Value-for-Money audit of the conservation authority’s long-delayed update to floodplain maps.

“Mapping needs to be current, needs to be up-to-date, and needs to be available,” Mike Wallace of the London Development Institute told the committee.

The maps are critical to planning municipal infrastructure and designing developments on properties along the Thames River and other local waterways.

“This process started in 2016,” said Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis. “We are in 2024 and we still don’t have publicly available floodplain mapping.”

Floodplain maps consider a number of predictive factors in order to determine how close to the riverbank development can be permitted.

The update is expected to consider the greater frequency and severity of floods due to climate change.

The deputy mayor suggested the UTRCA follow the lead of other Conservation Authorities by hiring an outside consultant to expedite updates to the maps.

Lewis expressed concern that further delay will stand in the way of London meeting its housing target of 47,000 new homes by 2031.

“Floodplain maps need to be updated and publicly available— yesterday,” he urged.

“The city has struggled a bit because we know that there’s mapping available for the Thames River, but we have not been able to see that yet,” admitted Shawna Chambers, Division Manager of Stormwater Engineering.

The staff report to PEC states, “Up-to-date floodplain mapping that reflects the impacts of climate change for the Upper Thames River watershed is not publicly available. In several cases, UTRCA has relied on draft floodplain mapping when providing comments. This mapping is not publicly available or endorsed by their board.”

Chambers added that the city has had to hire consultants to complete floodplain mapping of significant projects including around Mud Creek.

The UTRCA has agreed to complete a service review of its department that is responsible for reviewing building permits, development applications and Section 28 permits to streamline the process and enable more timely development approvals while protecting the natural environment.

However, representatives of the conservation authority who attended the PEC meeting said the city expanded the scope of the service review beyond its initial parameters without notifying them.

“The UTRCA was not in collaboration with, or consulted [about] the proposed change in scope the RFP has had, or had the opportunity to discuss it with city staff,” explained UTRCA Chair Brian Petrie.

City staff were blunt about communication problems going both ways.

“We’ve been on a very need-to-know basis on a lot of items, and you know, I’m just kind of being honest about that,” Chambers said. “So we hope that this initiative and working for together will be positive through the Service Level Review.”

The Service Level Review and Value-for-Money Audit are estimated to cost $100,000 and be completed in Q3 of 2025.

The staff report to PEC commits, “One of the objectives of this review is to establish a culture of continuous improvement within UTRCA.”

“I think you heard today some of that frustration come out from councillors, from staff, [and] from the development community.” admitted Coun. Steven Lehman after the meeting. “I’ve been hearing about this since I got on council two terms ago.”