OK, the proposed highrise isn't much uglier than what's built anywhere else these days. You may like it or you may not. But those of us who oppose the rezoning are concerned about more than aesthetics. There are good reasons why a highrise shouldn't be built at this location:
* City Planning Department recommended that City Council refuse the Auburn application. Why does the city employ expert staff if the politicians won't take their advice?
* The proposed development is not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement of 2020 which promotes intensification in appropriate locations while preserving heritage.
* The proposed development does not conform to the Official Plan of 1989.
* The proposed development is not in keeping with the policies outlined in the West Woodfield Heritage Conservation District Plan.
* The proposed development sets a precedent that may enable more highrises around Victoria Park and in other city HCDs.
* The city is developing a Victoria Park Secondary Plan to establish maximum building heights and densities around the park. The plan is not yet completed. Why should the city make zoning decisions prematurely?
What London should do, of course, is:
1) Build highrises outside of HCDs, preferably on the downtown parking lots.
2) Allow a one-block low to mid-rise buffer zone around Victoria Park.
As I've said before, there's not much point in having guidelines if any developer can override them by pressuring City Council. Why have rules when exceptions apply to anyone who asks?
Update: May 2022: City Council has voted to give the Victoria Park Secondary Plan the go-ahead, despite there being very little agreement about what the perimeter of Victoria Park should look like. But of one thing there can be no doubt: allowing highrises to flank the park will detract from this valuable core-area green space.
