PERSPECTIVES — Notre Dame development: all parking, no progress

Over the next 3 years, some 300 cars are moving into the middle of our neighbourhood. The federal government is helping to pay for it.

At 90 to 100 units per hectare, the City of London and developers are looking to put up some of the most crowded housing in the city at Notre Dame Drive and Viscount Road, in the middle of the neighbourhood sometimes known as ‘the Ten’. So far the plan is for 265 units on 2.3 hectares, with no provision for transportation other than paving over 97-98 per cent of the space for parking. At an average 1 car per adult in London, that’s 300 more cars, traveling in and out of the middle of the Ten all day and competing for some place to park.  

Stage 1 goes up for approval soon

The first stage goes up for consideration before the city’s Environment and Planning Committee on August 11, and while the public has the opportunity to speak, it’s hard to believe that objections so late in the process will influence the outcome. Stage 1 proposes putting 54 units on a half hectare of parking lot at Notre Dame Drive and Viscount Road. The developer Wastell is asking for a zoning variance for super high density with just a thin strip of greenspace on some sides of the buildings. The rest of the site is a parking lot; the 10 trees are gone. According to the developer’s application, the additional cars will not add to congestion, but the application leaves several questions unanswered. Within their application, the developers predict 1 car per unit rather than the London average of nearly 1 car per adult. They also expect the regular morning and afternoon crunch outside Arthur Ford and St. Jude Elementary Schools can take more cars without widening the road. 

Stage 2 eliminates ample green space

The second stage of the development is 211 units on the north side of Viscount, replacing what is now 64 units at Ladybrook Maisonnettes. In the new development the number of units is increased 350% by taking out virtually all greenspace including backyard gardens, patios, play areas and a wood of mature evergreen trees. Despite the upheaval, the number of affordable units will remain the same at just 47. 

The Big Choke

The Ten is already coping with air pollution from the 5-lane highways that ring the neighbourhood. According to Public Health Ontario, car pollution causes 7 to 11 per cent of dementia and Alzheimer’s cases in people living next to roads like these. Car pollution is linked to risk of early death in seniors, and Health Canada states that it can cause asthma in younger children and makes seizures worse.

Up for committee approval on August 11, Wastell’s stage 1 development calls for 34 new parking spots to surround the daycare play area, itself just a bit bigger than 10 parking spots. As parking tightens in the area, there’s a significant chance that children and recreational services in the area like Dance Extreme on Viscount may decide to pack up. 

No new transit

Bus service in the Ten has declined significantly in recent years. The route to the hospital was cut entirely, while the other two routes saw their hours and frequency cut, and half their bus stops in the neighbourhood removed.  

“Affordable” does not mean affordable

Stage 1 is above-market rental. The rents will be as high as the market will bear. Stage 2 is called “affordable” because the federal government will kick in some rent money for some tenants the first ten years. As the Globe and Mail documented, however, this subsidy to landlords makes the rent “affordable” for affluent middle class families only. In all this development, noise, congestion, pollution, and health burden, there are no more truly affordable units than the 47 that were there before. Our neighbourhood has welcomed all kinds of housing for people seeking suitable, affordable shelter, from co-op housing and private nonprofit to granny flats and group homes. It was done without sacrificing our well-being or quality of life, or that of our new neighbours. Let’s stick to London’s official plan, known as the London Plan: more people, better living, fewer cars, no road widenings of any kind, and say “no” to stage 1. 

No rubber stamp! No on 725 Notre Dame Drive zoning change. 

Approval of the zoning change is already set and ready to be passed in the 370-page agenda of council’s next meeting, August 25, even before the Planning and Environmental Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 11. With council caught up in their vision for Big London and the developers’ relentless stampede, our little bit of heaven is about to get bulldozed. 

There’s been almost zero opportunity for community involvement in any of this and it shows. Tell city council, our ward 10 councillor and the Planning Environment Committee (Councillors Steve Lehman, Shawn Lewis, Peter Cuddy, Susan Stevenson, Steven Hillier) to quash this zoning change proposal. No to parking around play areas, no to virtually zero green space, no to more traffic and health problems, no to profit-maxing, yes to a liveable neighbourhood. Attend the committee meeting at city hall on Tuesday, August 11, beginning at 1pm. Say your piece.