Infill or awful? 2 council approvals an indication of how London is going to grow

London city council votes to approve two controversial housing developments this week are being seen as precedent-setting moves that indicate how the city will grow in the years to come, even in the face of occasional neighbourhood opposition.

At issue were two proposed developments that qualify as infill projects: New buildings that pack more density onto lots that for years were home to single-family dwellings or other low-density housing: 

• 608 Commissioners Rd. W. - A 95-unit, six-storey apartment building on a lot where two homes now stand. 
• 489 Upper Queen St. - A cluster of 10 two-storey townhouses.

Coun. Paul VanMeerbergen called the Commissioners Road West application "the wrong building in the wrong spot."  

Meanwhile, the Upper Queen Street application triggered opposition from more than 80 residents. 

Their main concerns, expressed in letters and emails to council, were increased traffic and a poor overall fit with the existing neighbourhood.

Despite the pushback, both projects were approved in line with staff recommendations and the London Plan, a growth guidance document that calls for densification and concentrated growth in the city's core instead of rampant sprawl at its perimeter.

But while that "inward and upward" growth model is held up as a mantra for sound planning and a way to preserve some of Ontario's most fertile farmland, residents are often uncomfortable seeing a single home fall to a multi-storey housing complex. 

Zoning now 'doesn't matter' says opponent

Gene Gordon lives close to 489 Upper Queen St. He says the jump in zoning, from R1 to R5, is too drastic and unfair to homeowners who bought into a specific kind of neighbourhood. 

"It seems like it doesn't matter what the zoning is, [council] is saying, 'We're going to infill with whatever the developers put forward,'" he said. 

And while residents may rise up when infill projects come to their neighbourhoods, a Western University professor says those projects can help manage growth in a city expected to add 200,000 residents over the next 30 years.

"What it boils down to is it's either infill or sprawl," said Martin Horak, an associate professor of political science who focuses on local government. "The less infill you allow, the more sprawl you're going to have." 

Horak sees council's decisions on these two projects as essential and precedent-setting. He also said they send an important message to developers. 

"The private sector developers need a signal that infill is going to pay so that they don't continue just building outwards," he said.

The development application signs popping up along Commissioners Road west of Wonderland Road are an indication that infill applications will likely speed up, not let up. 

They can put councillors in the crosshairs and cut across political lines. VanMeerbergen, a pro-business conservative, is opposed to the Commissioner's Road West development. However, Skylar Franke, a left-leaning councillor, voted in favour of both applications, pointing to the need to control sprawl.

Mayor Josh Morgan also voted in favour of both applications. In speaking to council on Tuesday, Morgan said he expects more battles over infill projects in the months and years to come.

"Intensification will be an increasingly important part of us being able to meet the housing need for the people who are going to come and for the people already here who are struggling with affordability," said Morgan. "We simply don't have enough housing options on the market." 

Horak said growth and change go hand-in-hand.

"Residents often don't like change," he said. "But the bottom line is that a city is a dynamic, growing entity. It does change. You can't freeze neighbourhoods in time."