Politicians may further loosen rules on buildings in London’s busiest spots

Mixed commercial and residential highrise buildings could become the new normal in London’s busiest areas to meet housing targets, according to a new proposal from city staff.

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Coming to council’s planning committee in September is a plan for the city to update zoning rules downtown and along the city’s main transit corridors to allow for mixed-use automatically, such as commercial or office use in lower levels with residential units above.

Also part of the review is allowing apartment buildings eight storeys and taller, up until 25, 30, and 45 storeys depending on the area of ​​the city.

“I would like us to be thinking forward, not just for what heights are appropriate today, but what heights (and) densities might be appropriate in five years,” said deputy mayor Shawn Lewis. “We don’t want to be just going around in circles on this and having to do reviews every two, three years, because we’re falling behind again.”

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Instrumental to the plan is allowing mixed-use highrises “as-of-right” – meaning while applications would still come before city council, they would not need exceptions or special provisions from the city’s zoning rules.

The city already is undergoing a review of its eight-year-old blueprint for growth, the London Plan, to reflect the massive population growth and housing crunch the city has seen in recent years, which outpaced the plan’s projections.

But city staff note this new initiative is a part of London’s obligation to the federal government for the money it received from the housing accelerator fund last September. The key requirements include allowing fourplexes on any lot, and pushing high-density housing near major transit hubs.

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As part of the London Plan, the city is already looking at loosening height limits in the city’s dense corridors, with proposed changes including:

• Downtown: 45-storey limit, up from 35 storeys
• Transit villages: 30 storeys, up from 22
• Rapid transit corridors:
  • 25 stores, up from 16 within 150 meters of transit stations
  • 15 stores, up from 12 elsewhere on corridors
• Urban corridors: 15 storeys, up from 10
• Shopping areas:
  • Major (new): 15 storeys
  • Community: Eight stores, up from six

The new proposal applies to downtown and to the city’s transit villages and corridors, which follow the legacy of London’s bus rapid transit network, including the canceled north and west connections to Masonville mall and the Oxford Street-Wonderland Road intersection.

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Having dense, mixed-use buildings served by transit makes for more convenience, Lewis said, which further allows cars to be taken off the road, particularly on what are the city’s busiest roads.

Lewis doesn’t expect seismic changes, but hopes any changes could make developments move through the pipeline more quickly to make room for even more projects.

Mike Wallace of the London Development Institute, a consortium of local builders, told The Free Press recently that looser restrictions would mean less red tape and zoning could “get caught up to what is actually happening in the marketplace.”

Council’s planning committee will hold a public input session on the proposed changes on Sept. 10.

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