London City Council's June 2 Meeting: Commemorations, Conflict Disclosures, and Key Votes

London City Council's June 2 meeting included commemorations, conflict of interest disclosures, and votes on land use, bylaws, and property matters. Council approved expropriation for the Wellington Gateway Project, refused a 9-storey development application after a referral motion failed on a 7-7 tie, passed an item on animals left unattended in vehicles, and approved the repurchase of industrial land in Huron Industrial Park.

Topics Discussed

1. WELLINGTON GATEWAY EXPROPRIATION AND ACCESS TO SKYLINE PLAZA

Council voted 13-1 to approve expropriation of lands for the Wellington Gateway Project Civil Works-Phase 2 under the Expropriations Act. The affected property includes Skyline Retail Real Estate Holdings' mall at 387 and 401 Wellington Road.

Speaking for the owner, Brendan O'Callaghan said, "My client currently has a full movements access onto Wellington Road, which as you know means that cars can make a left or a right in and a left or a right out." He said staff were proposing to remove that access as part of the project, while the owner was seeking to retain full turning movements.

City staff defended the redesign as standard corridor planning. Transportation planner Miss Dan told council that "access management is a standard part of designing major arterial and rapid transit corridors," and said signalized intersections are "typically reserved for major public streets and consolidated access points rather than individual driveway locations." She said the approach was guided by "corridor function, safety, and transit reliability."

2. DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION REFERRAL AND REFUSAL

Council debated whether to refer a development application back for further review or make a decision that night on a proposed 9-storey building.

Councillor Anna Hopkins opposed another referral. She said, "It's been a long time since a decision on this application has been made. We open ourselves to as a corporation being vulnerable for a non-decision." She also argued the revised proposal was too different from the original application to fit within a normal referral process, saying, "In my view, this is substantially a new application in that the parcels of land are not contiguous."

Councillor Corrine Rahman also raised concerns about process, saying a referral could create "precedent setting opportunities" and make applications harder for the public to follow because "now we're treating applications as add-ons, negotiations, and waiting for sales to happen."

Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis supported referral, but the motion failed on a 7-7 tie. Council then refused the application.

3. COMMEMORATIONS AND SCHOLARSHIP RECOGNITION

Council marked upcoming June 6 commemorations, including D-Day and the fifth anniversary of the 2021 attack in London.

Mayor Josh Morgan said council should remember that "our free and open democracy that we practice right here in this council chambers is earned with the sacrifice of those who serve our military branches." Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen said the fifth anniversary was "a chance for us to recommit to stomping out hate in all of its forms, whether it's Islamophobia, anti-semitism, bigotry, sexism."

Council also recognized Jaime Lin Easter, a nursing graduate from the University of Windsor, as the recipient of the Tim Hickman Memorial Health and Safety Scholarship.

4. ANIMALS LEFT UNATTENDED IN VEHICLES

On item 2.2, council discussed enforcement of the bylaw on the protection of animals left unattended in vehicles. Councillor Elizabeth Peloza asked whether officers could issue separate fines when multiple animals were involved. Staff said officers have discretion to issue multiple offences. The motion carried 14-0.

5. PROPERTY, HOUSING, AND OTHER CORPORATE ITEMS

Council approved the repurchase of 1 acre of industrial land from Thompson Foods Incorporated in Huron Industrial Park C1 for $157,500. The vote was 14-0.

Council also approved the London Middlesex Community Housing Master Regeneration Plan on a 12-1 vote. Councillor Sam Trosow, who voted against it, said, "I just think that we have to be paying more attention to the current situation in terms of the condition of the current buildings particularly as they bear on the living conditions of the tenants and the living conditions of people in the area."

A separate corporate governance discussion drew criticism from Councillor Jerry Pribil, who said he was "really struggling" with financial statements and strategic plans being placed on the consent agenda, calling them "for 99% of corporations worldwide two most important documents."

Motions

• Approval of May 12, 2026 council meeting minutes — Passed, 14-0
• Wellington Gateway Project Civil Works-Phase 2 expropriation — Passed, 13-1
• Gateway Expropriation Bylaw / Bylaw 235 — Passed first, second, and third readings, 13-1 each
• Development application referral motion — Rejected on a 7-7 tie
• Refusal of 9-storey development application — Passed
• Protection of Animals Left Unattended in Vehicles (Item 2.2) — Passed, 14-0
• London Middlesex Community Housing Master Regeneration Plan (Item 12) — Passed, 12-1
• Repurchase of 1 acre of industrial land from Thompson Foods Incorporated — Passed, 14-0
• Gateway cleaning item — Passed, 13-0
• Bylaw 218 — Passed all three readings, 13-0; Councillor Skylar Franke declared a conflict and did not vote
• Bill 19, Drainage Bylaw — Passed all three readings, 14-0

Attendees

Councillors identified in the meeting notes as present or participating: - Josh Morgan - Shawn Lewis - Anna Hopkins - Peter Cuddy - Elizabeth Peloza - Hadleigh McAlister - Sam Trosow - Jerry Pribil - Corrine Rahman - Paul Van Meerbergen - Skylar Franke