Tenant parking lot result of illegal conversion by landlord of apartment towers, according to city staff
A parking lot created for tenants of three apartment buildings in the Old East Village is the result of an illegal conversion, according to London, Ont. city staff.
A report to the Planning and Environment Committee reveals that seven residences were incrementally demolished from 2009 to 2016 and, “illegally converted to surface parking to serve the (three) residential apartment buildings at 690, 696, 698, and 700 King Street and 400 Lyle Street.”
The high-rise buildings are operated by Medallion Corporation.
A re-zoning is being requested to permit a temporary parking lot to operate on the site for up to three years.
However, city staff recommend council refuse the change because it is inconsistent with The London Plan’s intensification goals for the Old East Village.
The report also stated that a temporary surface lot, “continues to foster the use of automobiles and is a use that conflicts with the long-term planning of the subject lands for development which promotes mobility alternatives that are transit-supportive and pedestrian-friendly.”
“I understand staff’s concerns about policy,” Councillor Susan Stevenson told CTV News. “In this particular case it truly is a temporary parking lot.”
A map of residential zoned properties being used as a parking lot. (Source: City of London)
Stevenson said an approved development plan for Medallion Corporation to build another apartment building at the corner of Dundas and Hewitt Streets will add to the overall parking capacity.
“They’re putting a couple of more floors of underground parking into the new building to meet the parking demand. We just need a temporary extension on this parking lot to let these residents who are already having some struggles keep their parking,” explained Stevenson.
Dale McCutcheon said even with the lot at King and Hewitt, it can be difficult to find a spot to park his SUV, “There’s not enough parking at all, not for any of the residents that live here.”
In August 2022, city council reduced the minimum parking requirement for high rise apartment buildings to one spot for every two units.
The planning report explained that measured against the new parking minimum, the 566 parking spots already approved for the three existing Medallion Corporation buildings should be sufficient for the 916 apartment units.
“I understand the vision of having reduced parking, but until we get the [bus rapid transit] up and running fully, we need to have other things in place to accommodate people,” said Stevenson.
“Municipal Compliance is aware of this matter and other potential illegal commercial parking lots in the general vicinity,” Wade Jeffery, manager of Municipal Compliance & Animal Welfare Services told CTV News in a statement.
The city refused to say if there has been any enforcement activity to date.
Medallion Corporation has not yet responded to a request for comment on the situation potentially facing its tenants.
The Planning and Environment Committee will consider the rezoning on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.