London City Council Approves Transit Commission Changes and Housing Developments

London City Council approved changes to the London Transit Commission's board, adding three citizen members to a seven-member body composed of four councillors and three citizens. Council also approved developments at 725 Notre Dame Drive and 350–356 Windermere Road, rejected a request to increase a Sarnia Road student-housing project from six to eight storeys, approved a traffic signal at Bradley Avenue and Old Victoria Road, and extended the YMCA's lease at 165 Elmwood Avenue.

Topics Discussed

LONDON TRANSIT COMMISSION

Council voted 14–1 to amend Bylaw A-6377-206 and change the London Transit Commission board from five councillors to four councillors and three citizen members. Recruitment is expected to begin immediately, with appointments anticipated in November or December. Applicants will be assessed for experience in areas including financial auditing, transit planning, economic development and accessibility. Experience as a conventional or specialized transit rider will be considered an asset.

Councillor Skylar Franke explained that the change followed a recommendation from the KPMG report: "One of the recommendations from the KPMG report was to amend the bylaws to allow for three residents to serve, three citizen members to serve on the London Transit Commission and four members of council. Our current bylaw states that we have five members of council, which is what the commission composition is currently."

PLANNING AND HOUSING

Council approved the 725 Notre Dame Drive development by a 12–3 vote. The proposal calls for townhomes in the parking lot of an existing commercial plaza. The area councillor said that, following a 30-day referral period, most residents in the area opposed the development.

Council also approved the 48-unit development at 350–356 Windermere Road by a 14–1 vote. Discussion focused on traffic congestion, hospital access, parking and the timing of the traffic study. Councillor Sam Trosow opposed the application, citing concerns about ambulance access: "Any intensification that we see on Windermere Road has to be more sensitive to the already existing congestion that exists in that corridor on Windermere Road especially with respect to access to the hospital. So based on the traffic report that we received and based on my concerns about what happens when people are stuck in traffic in an ambulance, I cannot support this in good conscience."

The project will include coordination with city staff on the planned widening of Windermere Road.

SARNIA ROAD STUDENT HOUSING

Council did not approve the requested increase from six to eight storeys for the proposed student residence at 299–307 Sarnia Road. The related bylaw was removed from the agenda after the planning application failed.

Councillors discussed the site's elevation, the building's scale, traffic on Sarnia Road and the effect of changing a previously negotiated six-storey compromise. Councillor Trosow also questioned the affordability of the proposed units, citing rents of more than $1,200 per bedroom, stating: "And for the developer to come in now at the end and say well never mind that we want to go to eight stories because we technically can. I think that if we approve that, we're sending a very bad signal to every neighborhood group who is seriously thinking about engaging in good faith negotiations with a developer. And that really bothers me."

Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis supported the staff recommendation and warned that rejecting it could lead to an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal. "I just want to remind colleagues this is a staff recommended application. It has met all of the Planning Act and London Plan requirements. And it is taking something that we've talked about regularly on this council, an underutilized space and creating housing. And so I would really encourage colleagues to support the staff recommendation on this. The alternative will be an OLT appeal. That's been made very clear to us. And there is nothing in the staff recommendation on which you're going to base an opposition vote."

TRANSPORTATION AND PARKS

Council approved items 1 through 8 of the 14th Report of the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee. The approvals included a new traffic signal at Bradley Avenue and Old Victoria Road. Council also discussed planned roundabouts at Old Victoria Road, Commissioners Road and Hamilton Road, and at Hamilton Road and Gore Road.

During discussion of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, Councillor Lewis asked about reduced mowing, garbage collection and other maintenance after seasonal staff returned to school: "We are now well into September. A lot of our seasonal staff has left and returned to school, and it's noticeable in our parks. The grass cutting, the garbage changing, the frequency and the level of service delivery has noticeably changed and I'm just wondering if staff can comment at all through you chair on steps we might be taking with Local 107 or internally that might address the need for the fact that parks are functional longer into the season than they typically have been historically."

Staff said service delivery and crew logistics would be reviewed during the 2027 budget process, including whether maintenance work could be completed during one visit and whether service standards should be published.

YMCA LEASE

Council approved a six-month lease extension for the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario at 165 Elmwood Avenue. The extension runs from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, with an option for another six-month extension.

The vote was 13–0. Councillors Elizabeth Peloza and Paul Van Meerbergen recused themselves after declaring conflicts of interest.

Motions

• Closed-session recess: Passed 15–0 to recess to Committee Room 5 to discuss four confidential matters.
• Approval of previous minutes: Passed 15–0 for the minutes of the 13th Council meeting held August 25.
• Consolidated communications and petitions referral: Passed 15–0, referring communications, petitions and additional items to the appropriate agenda sections.
• London Transit Commission governance amendment, Bylaw A-6377-206: Passed 14–1, creating a seven-member board with four councillors and three citizen members.
• 13th Report of the Planning and Environment Committee: Approved, including the 725 Notre Dame Drive development; related Bylaw 335 passed final reading 12–3.
• 299–307 Sarnia Road height-increase application: Failed. The proposed increase from six to eight storeys was not approved, and Bill 336 was removed from the agenda.
• 350–356 Windermere Road development: Approved 14–1; Bylaw 338 passed final reading.
• 14th Report of the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee, items 1–8: Passed 14–0, including the Bradley Avenue and Old Victoria Road traffic signal.
• YMCA lease extension at 165 Elmwood Avenue: Passed 13–0, with two recusals; finalized through Bylaw 339.
• Final unidentified measure: Passed second and third readings 15–0. The excerpt does not identify the measure's title or file number.
• Adjournment: Passed by a hand vote.

Attendees

The excerpt identifies the following councillors and officials as participating or referenced:

• Mayor Josh Morgan
• Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis
• Councillor Peter Cuddy
• Councillor Skylar Franke
• Councillor Anna Hopkins
• Councillor Steve Lehman
• Councillor Hadleigh McAlister
• Councillor Elizabeth Peloza
• Councillor Jerry Pribil
• Councillor Corrine Rahman
• Councillor Susan Stevenson
• Councillor Sam Trosow
• Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen

The supplied excerpt does not provide a complete official attendance list. It indicates that Councillor Trosow was absent for the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee vote and that Councillors Peloza and Van Meerbergen recused themselves from the YMCA lease vote.