Where the streets have no room: Subdivision residents lose fight to scrap second sidewalk

In the yet-to-be filled Silverleaf subdivision, something as simple as garbage day can be a big headache. 

Silverleaf Chase is a residential street half filled with brand new single-family homes in the subdivision located on the southwest corner of Colonel Talbot Road and Pack Road in Lambeth.

Empty lots are everywhere but the homes that are built feature double garages, modern stone facades and new sod lawns. 

So why is garbage day such an issue? 

Because some streets in the subdivision are only six metres wide — that's less than 20 feet — and the typical width of a car is between six and seven feet. When cars park on both sides of the street it becomes a serious squeeze to navigate, even in a compact car.   

Silverleaf Chase resident Robert Galizia said sometimes the garbage trucks simply can't get down the street. 

"On numerous occasions they've had to turn back without picking up garbage or recycling," he said. 

The Silverleaf squeeze

The trash pickup is a problem but Galizia — who moved his family into their new home last June — has bigger worries. 

"What about when an ambulance, a fire truck or a police car has to get through and there are vehicles parked on both sides of the street. What is going to happen in that situation?"

Getting goods delivered to the street has been another problem. Sometimes stymied delivery drivers simply lean on their horns until someone comes out and moves their vehicles. 

Galizia has a petition of about 40 Silverleaf residents asking the City of London to not enforce a part of the subdivision plan that calls for sidewalks to be installed on the east side of Silverleaf and the inside of an adjacent street Silverleaf Crescent. 

The reason?

Residents say building the second sidewalk will limit residents' driveway parking and force more cars to park on a street that is already clogged, even with only about half of the lots developed.

"Building those sidewalks is going to make worse an already very difficult situation," said Galizia.

Sidewalks are already installed on the west side of Silverleaf Chase and on the outside of Silverleaf Crescent. Another problem? About a dozen homes in the subdivision have already installed driveways, which may have to be cut or otherwise altered when sidewalks are installed. 

In their submission to the planning committee residents said they were told by developer York Developments that the second sidewalks would not be installed.

• Read the residents submission to the planning committee.

Debate comes to council

The issue came to city hall this week, first at planning committee and then at full council. Planning committee voted 5-1 to receive the residents' submission but not act on it, with Mayor Ed Holder opposed. A vote on a similar motion passed council by a tighter 8-6 vote (Holder, Phil Squire, Steve Lehman, Paul Van Meerbergen, Steven Hillier and Josh Morgan voted against). Coun. Shawn Lewis was away.

Councillors voting in favour of keeping the second sidewalk requirement pointed to the Southwest London Area Plan a document that guides planning in the area and calls for sidewalks of streets with the exception of smaller streets (less than 10 houses) and cul-de-sacs.

Some councillors also argued that sidewalks were specified in the subdivision plan approved three years ago. They also pointed to a developer's request to waive the sidewalk requirement, which was eventually voted down at council. 

Coun. Stephen Turner, a planning committee member, said he was particularly disappointed to see Holder bring forward a motion to scrap the second sidewalk at full council. 

"It's completely contrary to all our policies, it sets a really poor precedent and the optics are awful," he said. "The residents believed that they might be able to not have a sidewalk based on what they were told by a developer which is absolutely contrary to what the city had told the developer."

CBC News called York Developments for comment on Thursday but did not receive a response. 

In reply to councillors' questions, city staffers said double sidewalks are an essential element of good planing and key to providing active mobility for residents of all ages. As for the street width, planning staff told council the six-metre wide streets work as an effective traffic calming measure and are built to the correct specifications.

Holder argued that councillors should listen to the will of the residents, and said the two-sidewalk rule hasn't been evenly applied in other subdivisions in the area. He also pointed out wording in the Southwest Area Plan that says sidewalks on both sides of the street "shall generally be required."

"I emphasize the word generally," he said. 

"What we've proposed for Silverleaf is more stringent that in neighbouring developments similar in size and character," said Holder. "What the neighourhood is telling us clearly and loudly is they don't like [the second sidewalks] and they don't want them."

Deputy Major Jesse Helmer, however, said the sidewalks on both sides of the street were always part of the subdivision plan and are clearly shown on documents. He also suggested the city stay out what might become a dispute between the property owners and the developer. 

"I'm very wary of re-opening a lot of these things that have been settled years ago," said Helmer. "It would create a lot of uncertainty. The value of consistency is very important."

Residents look at other options

With the council fight seemingly lost, Silverleaf residents are now looking at other options; some are speaking with lawyers. 

Galizia says what residents wanted was a small exemption to planning rules that have left them with a street that is at best not working properly, and at worse unsafe. 

"We didn't know the road would be a problem," he said. "We were the first to move in on this street and at that time, it was a dirt road."