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A committee of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has rejected a proposal to build a strip mall and McDonald’s on a flood plain in northeast London.
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The authority’s hearing committee decided Tuesday to reject the application from Royal Premier Homes at 1310 Adelaide St. N. and 795 Windermere Rd., mirroring many of the same concerns that its staff had regarding a lack of safe access to the site during a flood, potentially jeopardizing the health and safety of people and buildings.
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“The development activity will likely create conditions or circumstance that, in the event of a natural hazard, might jeopardize the health or safety of persons or result in the damage or destruction of property,” said Ingersoll mayor Brian Petrie, who chairs the committee.
The lot in question, near the north branch of the Thames River, falls entirely within a flood plain area regulated by the conservation authority, meaning that any commercial development requires a special permit. The land was previously home to a fire-damaged, vacant home and a GoodLife fitness centre, both of which were demolished in 2021.
Royal Premier Homes was granted city council approval for development of a two-unit, one-storey commercial building and a McDonald’s in February despite objections from Upper Thames and some city politicians.
Nick Dyjach, a planning consultant with Strik Baldinelli Moniz on the developer’s behalf, argued against concerns the site is intensified compared to previous use — saying the new buildings take up the same footprint as the old ones, and that visitors wouldn’t be staying as long.
“Removing a residential use . . . is a reduction of risk,” he said. “Yes, there would be more visitors to the site, but during a shorter period of time.”
Royal Premier Homes chief executive Farhad Noory also addressed the committee, saying they have been working with Upper Thames and city staff, and the London Fire Department to try to address access concerns.
“Any structure that is there is going to be safe,” he said. “The site is going to be 100 per cent dry, safe, and floodproofed. We need to emphasize that for the buildings, and the public in that subdivision.”
Joe Gordon, regulations coordinator for Upper Thames, explained in a presentation that the area has been known to flood several times to varying degrees, leading to closed roads and damaged properties.
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Using visuals from a floodplain impact assessment, he said the development would be raised above the regulatory flood elevation standard and includes drainage channels around the perimeter, but that still proved to be an issue.
“They’re, in essence, creating an island within the middle of a high-risk flood area,” Gordon said. “The work that’s being done is proposed to potentially mitigate damage to the buildings, but it’s still isolated and surrounded by high-risk flooding.”
The development would not increase flood risk overall, and while the site could still be accessed via Adelaide Street by emergency vehicles, it does not meet provincial standards for safe access by vehicles during extreme floods, he added.
The developer maintains the right to appeal the rejection to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 90 days.
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