There’s little progress being reported almost six months after City Council extended a lifeline to a high-rise planning application just outside Downtown London. In January, city staff recommended the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) refuse the planning application by BSN London Corporation seeking to permit a 38-storey residential tower with 422 units on an unused parking lot at 415 York St. in London’s Midtown neighbourhood. At the time, staff explained that the building was too tall for a property located outside the Downtown planning district, and provincial policy required a Land Use Compatibility Assessment to ensure the residential use was appropriate and safe near the London District Energy (LDE) facility at Colborne and Bathurst. In a new report, city staff continue to recommend that the application be refused. The report reveals, “Staff attempted to engage in discussions with the applicant with the intent of resolving the issues identified in the (Council) resolution. To date, a Land Use Compatibility Assessment has not been completed to assess the impacts on the proposed sensitive land use from the London District Energy facility, and no changes to the development have been made.” A letter from a lawyer representing LDE is even more blunt. “The Applicant has elected not to consult with LDE on its Application. Furthermore, the environmental studies that they have submitted to the City do not account for the presence or operation of the LDE Facility. This omission persists despite multiple requests by LDE for meetings both directly and through legal counsel),” the letter reads. A Provincial Planning Statement (2024) directs sensitive land uses like residential buildings to be planned in a way that avoids, minimizes, and mitigates any potential adverse impacts from odour, noise, and other contaminants and thereby minimize the risk to public health and safety. BSN London Corporation has amended their application to add a holding provision (h-165) that would prevent residential uses on the property until a compatibility study has demonstrated that Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change guidelines for compatibility between industrial facilities and sensitive land uses can be met, or mitigation measures are provided that satisfy the City of London. However, city staff suggest the holding provision does not adequately address all of their concerns about the proposed development. There is, however, support for the project. A letter from the Midtown Community Association states, “This property has remained vacant for far too many years, and its ongoing underuse has held back progress in a key part of Midtown.” It goes on to emphasize, “We are not concern about the proposed height, but the height restriction of 15 floors is too low for that corner, and currently with the high-rise residential towers in the area, just north and north-west of this site in our view, this corner is currently operating as a high-density area.” The Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) will consider the planning application on June 22.
