Too much growth too fast, says councillor, of rezoning proposal in her ward

A proposal coming to London politicians this week that could transform a southwest London neighbourhood is being received with apprehension by the councillor whose ward it would impact.

In a report that landed on the desks of councillors last Wednesday, city planners recommend that council greenlight the proposal from Southside Construction Ltd., which seeks to add roughly 4,000 new dwellings to a stretch of Pack Road, between Colonel Talbot and Bostwick roads.

It would do so in part by changing the zoning rules at 6309 Pack Rd., to allow increased density and building height limits.

"I'm so disappointed," said Coun. Anna Hopkins, whose ward the potential development site is in. "It's great to see all this intensification, but we don't need this [much] intensity."

"Our schools and our parks and our amenity spaces are going to be so far behind."

The zoning application at 6309 Pack Rd. is the latest in the area near Lambeth and Talbot Village that would add to the significant growth seen in that portion of the city in the past decade — growth that has only accelerated in recent years. 

Its approval would pave the way for 206 single family houses, 36 street townhouse units, and five high-density apartment blocks, served by six new streets. It would significantly increase the maximum density of parts of the area to 300 units per hectare, and raise maximum building heights along pack road as high as 16 stories.

Future developments in the area could make room for more than 17,000 new people, with a number of high density residential blocks along Pack Road, and lower density areas including single detached homes and townhouses south of those.

The added density, while expected in the neighbourhood that's been home to many recent developments, is too much too soon, and with too many questions still unanswered, Hopkins said.

"If you read this recommendation, there's still a lot more work to be done as we approve it. We still have to look at how we get in and out of Pack Road [with the additional traffic]."

Issues identified by staff in the report include concerns over the capacity of the existing sewer system in the area. Another concern is potential great blue heron habitat existing on nearby land.

Development actually happening once the land is rezoned is dependent on some of those concerns being addressed before any shovels hit the dirt.

The site plan process required for anything to be built on the land is likely to address the issues, but Hopkins questions if city hall would be doing the right thing by deferring such critical decisions to later.

"We're starting to do that more and more with applications, and I'm starting to put my feet on the brakes a little bit. We want to meet our housing targets. We can still get to where we're going, but we can do it, I think, in a more thoughtful way," Hopkins said.

She said she's heard similar concerns from constituents, some of whom have submitted letters to the committee in opposition to the application. Those letters say the neighbourhood would be drastically altered by the plan, and the addition of high rises across the street from homes that back on to Pack road would be detrimental.

While Hopkins isn't on the planning and environment committee, she said she'll encourage councillors on it to ask for more work to be done to address the existing concerns before approving it.

The committee will consider the proposal on July 15, and if it's approved there, it will go full council for approval later this month.