Land swap convinces Council to approve high-rise development near Westminster Ponds Environmentally Significant Area

A development near London's largest environmentally significant area got the go ahead at city hall on Tuesday after a heated debate.

A high-rise development on Commissioners Road was approved by Council despite concerns about the development’s proximity to London’s largest Environmentally Significant Area (ESA).

Prior to the vote Coun. Sam Trosow warned, “This council needs to do better to protect the environment. This is a failure of policy.”

However, the planning application by Auburn Developments to permit four 14-storey buildings on a 6.9 hectare property at 845–875 Commissioners Rd. E. was approved by Council on Tuesday.

Mayor Josh Morgan argued that the proposal for a residential development was a better option than the existing zoning that would permit light industrial development on most of the site.

“We actually have to be pragmatic here and recognize the history of the site and what’s allowed to be developed on it,” Morgan told council.

He added that the location of the buildings on the property intentionally reduce their impact on the nearby wetlands.

The buildings and parking areas are concentrated in the northwest corner along Commissioners Road.

A land swap would see the city provide the developer with an unused municipal right of way on the site in exchange for an undeveloped portion of the property that could be used to expand the ESA.

“So I disagree that this is a failure of policy. I disagree that this is bad environmental policy decision-making,” Morgan said in response to Trosow’s earlier comments. “This is rationale decision-making based on the circumstances we have before us.”