Conservation authority rejects proposal to build McDonald's on northeast London flood plain

An Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) committee has refused a developer's application to build a McDonald's drive-thru restaurant on a northeast London flood plain. 

UTRCA staff told the five-member committee on Tuesday that the proposed development at 1310 Adelaide St. N. and 795 Windermere Rd. would be contrary to UTRCA's riverway and flood hazards policy and block access for people and vehicles during floods. 

"The development activity will likely create conditions or circumstances that in the event of a natural hazard might jeopardize the health and safety of persons or result in the damage or destruction of the property," said committee chair Brian Petrie in his explanation for the decision.

In February, city council approved the controversial proposal by Royal Premier Development to build two one-storey, commercial buildings with a combined gross floor area of 975.6 m², and dozens of parking spaces, despite opposition from UTRCA and city planners warning the area near the Thames River would pose a high safety risk during flooding. 

UTRCA owns the land which is managed by the City of London as part of an acquisition agreement. Any commercial development requires the conservation authority's approval. 

The company's president Farhad Noory said he has made exhaustive efforts to meet UTRCA's requirements. He's been in regular communication with the fire department to figure out how the site can be made safer, said Noory. 

"This will be a very complicated project for us to build this safely, so we're raising the building and any structure that is there is all going to be safe," he said.

"When we say the floods can cause issues to the health and safety of the public, our 3D modelling and engineering says vice versa of what [UTRCA] staff say in their report. The site is going to be 100 per cent dry, safe and flood proofed. We need to emphasize that."

UTRCA's regulation coordinator Joe Gordon said Noory hired a consulting firm to do an impact assessment study, which proposed flood mitigation strategies that would include the area being raised above flood elevation and flood drainage around the property's perimeter to bypass flows.

"They're, in essence, creating an island within the middle of a high flood risk area, so the work that's being done is proposed to potentially mitigate damage to the buildings but it's still isolated and surrounding by high-risk flooding," he said. 

"They have made efforts to improve those conditions and note that Adelaide Street is accessible by emergency vehicles, but when we look at provincial standards for safe access, it's whether or not people in vehicles can come and go from the property."

Gordon said although the development wouldn't increase flood risks, overall existing issues with flooding still remain.

Historically, there have been multiple flood events which have resulted in road closures and damage to properties within the vicinity of Adelaide and Windermere. The property was completely covered by water when the nearby Thames River flooded in 2018. 

Nick Dyjach, a planning consultant with Strik Baldinelli Moniz, presented the company's case and said the site could be flood proofed with improved vehicle access. 

"In our opinion, removing the residential use to a commercial use is a reduction of risk. Yes, there would be more visitors to the site but in shorter periods of time," said Dyjach, noting the developer can't control the restaurant's hours of operation if it chooses to run 24/7. 

Noory can appeal the conservation authority's decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 90 days of receiving a written verdict. CBC News has asked Noory what his next steps are and will update this story if he responds.