Neighbours appeal contentious infill townhouse development on Upper Queen Street

The province may have the last word on a residential redevelopment plan in south London, Ont. that a sparked citywide debate about intensifying existing neighbourhoods.

The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) is being asked to overrule a recent council decision that rezoned 489 Upper Queen St. to permit two, five unit townhouse buildings.

“This does not jive with the ambience of the street, and more importantly, it doesn’t abide by the zoning rules,” explained neighbour Marcus Lennox of the Upper Queen Ratepayers Association.

The street is lined by luxury homes on large lots.

A letter attached to the appeal outlines the neighbours’ objections:

• Reduced setbacks (from property line)
• Increased traffic
• Over development and over intensification
• Insufficient parking

Earlier this year, the concerns of neighbours failed to sway the planning committee or city council.

As part of the province’s plan to address the housing crisis, council recently pledged to achieve London’s target of 47,000 new residential units by 2031.

Lennox agrees more housing is needed in London, but argues that intensification is more appropriate in new subdivisions than existing neighbourhoods.

A 10 unit townhouse development proposed at 489 Upper Queen St. in London, Ont. (Source: City of London)

“That’s where it could be planned to happen properly, not by shoehorning intensification into pre-existing situations,” he told CTV News London.

Western University Political Scientist Martin Horak predicts conflicts with infill developments will become more frequent as intensification policies in The London Plan are implemented more often.

“Most cities have still been sprawling quite a bit and I think London, with The London Plan, has been a bit of a leader in trying to do more compact development,” Horak explained.

He described it as a clash between different interests, and said “Peoples’ individual interest in their home values and the character of their neighbourhoods on one hand, and the kind of development that might be good for the city as a whole on the other hand.”

Lennox said the appeal is not rooted in “not-in-my-back-yard” NIMBY-ism.

“No one is saying there shouldn’t be two or three [residential units] on that spot, because the street can accommodate that,” he said.

The appeal is at the initial intake stage, and no hearing dates have been scheduled.