The City of London is facing a rapid, insidious expansion of urban growth from for-profit developers, both at the outer perimeter and across the city, in the form of luxury high-rises and subdivisions. This has created the situation we have now where the majority of new development is out of reach for the majority of residents. The cost of these expansions has also hit communities hard; existing commercial and residential buildings sit abandoned and vacant in disrepair, parks and green spaces are being compressed or eliminated, and necessary farmland is disappearing.
A pause on approving new for-profit luxury development plans for a period of one to two years is what I propose is needed. The development focus needs to shift to assessing and recognizing areas that are being underserved, and providing support to development geared towards the needs of the majority of Londoners. A good start would be to prioritize repurposing (and rezoning where necessary) buildings that have long been forgotten and sit underutilized. Implementing a scaling Vacancy-Under-Disrepair Tax would provide clear messaging that the City wishes to see our pre-existing spaces operational for the benefit of the community.
Additionally, there needs to be proactive focus on the infrastructure needs of the City, as new development must consider existing communities and how they are served so that it can properly integrate into and enhance these spaces. Maintaining efficient waste removal and energy delivery while looking for ways to update and use infrastructure components more effectively is fundamental to future city planning success.
We're considered the Forest City and it should rightly stay that way. Here are a few ways that council can go about protecting this title.
Adding or amending the wording in the Yard and Lot Maintenance By-Law (PW-15) that specifies a percentage of a given property must remain as grass, preventing porperties from eliminating green space per lot. This would be similar to the already existing language that states specifics for driveway width and landscaping parameters, and would be mandatory for all lots.
Developers are not able to buy out of obligations to provide green space requirements.
Creating a program to convert empty building roofs into eco-roofs and green spaces, modeling it after Toronto's Eco-Roof Incentive Program to provide rebates for buildings that choose to convert. Committing to developing currently vacant properties instead of infringing on green spaces to build new structures.
Effective September 1st, 2026, Toronto will be rolling out a new Capped Bus Pass Program. Elements of this program could be transferrable to London Transit, making city transit more accessible for riders unable to travel to acquire a monthly pass, and more affordable for those who consistently use public transit but cannot afford the upfront monthly cost. I do also support increasing frequency of buses on main routes during peak hours, and expanding bus service coverage to neighbourhoods with limited or no access.
In terms of affordable living, the current application wait times for Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) Housing is several years, with the possibility of longer than 10 year waits for some households. This shows just how underserved our low and working class residents are, and highlights the need to shift away from expensive, for-profit developments. Rent-Geared-to-Income housing is an option we can invest in, in order to decrease wait times and help keep families in homes and off the streets. Another option is Community Land Trusts, which would shift part of the decision-making power into the hands of communities themselves and provide tenured land not owned for profit (and not able to be sold for profit) that communities can develop residentially, commercially, or in whatever way will benefit their community most. Rental prices on Community Land Trusts stay locked and affordable, keeping them sustainably growing over a long-term period.
October 13 Update:
After speaking with London Transit drivers, I've learned there are not enough buses at present to increase frequency of buses on existing routes, or to expand to service new routes. Funding will need to be allocated for additional buses to be added in order to solve this deficiency, which will create more jobs in the City. I believe a portion of the current budget would be efficent in funding this expansion.
In terms of what can be done at a municipal level to support the unhoused, we can:
Providing a Data Analyst role for non-profits to ensure quality data collection, aiding in securing consistent funding to support ongoing function of facilities.
Defining specific language for tracking data across all organizations, to keep communication clear and easy to process.
Investing in our emergency services (fire and ambulance), and divesting excessive funds from police services. Subsequently, channeling investment of police funding into more practical avenues like Virtual Reality Training equipment instead of a large facility that will wipe out valuable farmland.
Looking into Community Land Trust options for non-profits to maintain or reduce operational costs.
London currently hosts the largest Anaerobic Biogas Digester in Ontario. The facility has been operational since 2012, and at present generates enough Renewable Natural Gas energy to heat approximately 9,000 homes. The byproduct of this breakdown process is fertilizer, which gets distributed to surrounding farmlands.
The established composting program in London sends all organic material to a composting facility that breaks it down and converts it to fertilizer and compost only, missing out on harnessing the molecular components that can be converted into usable energy. It only spans residential homes, as the high-rise buildings that participated in the pilot reported low engagement in the program.
If the existing program could be expanded to include residential high-rises, with the incentive that participation would go towards generating an alternative energy source to balance our utility bills, we could grow the composting program alongside the expansion planned for the Digester facility, and work alongside them to create a more circular local economy.
September 17 Update:
I was very fortunate to receive a tour of the Anaerobic Digester facility, and to speak with the manager. The following questions were answered.
Where does the digester currently get organic material?
Compost from Toronto-Peel region gets sent to a facility in Oxford County for processing (sorting out any inorganic material), before making its way to the digester facility. The Maple Leaf plant also sends organic waste and used oil to the digester facility.
Where does London's compost go?
London's compost goes to the Municipal Dump, where a facility was created to process the organic waste. They then churn the compost to create fertilizer. London has a rule that states all organic waste must be processed within the municipality.
What happens with the Renewable Natural Gas produced at the facility?
As soon as the natural gas is refined, it feeds directly into our existing natural gas grid (operated by Enbridge, previously Union Gas). So, if you currently use natural gas in your household, a percentage of that comes from this facility!
What would it cost if London wanted to support an expansion of the facility?
This was a tough question, as I put the manager on the spot when I asked this. A very rough calculation was done using whole, even numbers: approximately $10,000 per household in London invested into expanding the digester facility would be enough to generate between 1 and 10 Gigajoules (equal to roughly 277 to 2,777 kWh) of energy, which could heat that same household for a lifetime.
Additionally, I've spoken with a previous worker at the Municipal Dump. He outlined that we don't at present have enough garbage trucks to properly service the City in a timely manner. He explained that this is why yard waste removal is spotty; that trucks go out in the morning to collect garbage, and if they have time remaining on their shift they'll go and collect as much yard waste as they can using the same trucks. Learning this, it would be smart to invest a portion of our current municipal budget into expanding waste removal transportation, which would also generate more local jobs. This could be paired with a more robust composting program that partners with the Digester facility, generating more jobs with both the City sanitation program and the natural gas facility.