The battle over a retail development in south London is both heating up and dragging on.
PenEquity Realty Corporation's plan to construct a $300 million retail plaza near Highway 401 and Wellington Road is one of London’s most controversial developments in years.
While PenEquity is promising jobs, a wetland and woodlot are at stake.
The fate of the proposal is now in the hands of the Ontario Municipal Board after council approved the development last week and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority gave notice Tuesday, it is appealing council’s decision.
PenEquity has said timing is crucial for their plan to move ahead, but an OMB hearing could take months.
“Any time it goes to the OMB, it gets delayed. Approvals get delayed and then construction and jobs get delayed,” says Mayor Joe Fontana.
PenEquity’s proposal would require builders to remove the woodlot and wetland and that has sparked controversy across London. Many welcome the move by UTRCA.
“I think that we have to understand that Upper Thames is doing their job … and a lot of people are …thinking about the future,” says Diane Szoller, chair of the city’s advisory committee on the environment.
Fontana says he is now unsure of how this will affect the future of the development and is disappointed UTRCA is going this route.
“Everyone has the right to go to the OMB including the Upper Thames, but it’s unfortunate that they've chosen to do so on an item I think we could have resolved.”
