The plan to build a controversial highrise next to Victoria Park in London is on hold.
The city’s planning committee voted Monday to send a proposed 22-storey highrise back to staff for more discussion and possibly a compromise.
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The proposed Auburn Developments building would be located on Wellington at Wolfe Street, just north of Centennial Hall, across from the park.
Auburn’s proposal did not receive support from the city and has faced opposition from the community as well because it isn’t consistent with heritage in the Woodfield neighbourhood.
“I fear that if you get highrises around this park, eventually, Sunfest and the other concerts will be told, ‘bye, bye,’ because you can’t get a lot of people having to stay up late listening to music all the time,” said one resident who spoke during the public participation meeting.
Coun. Stephen Turner questioned why the developer would submit the plan, knowing it doesn’t meet regulations.
“The question, though, is knowing that proposal is inconsistent with the planning policies of the city and province, why not put an application forward that meets the framework that has been established,” said Turner.
A consultant argued it does meet regulations and would fit into the neighbourhood.
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“I just think there’s a lot of talk about downtown and order to make it vibrant and feasible, we need to get people down here,” said Jay Parkinson, who argued in favour of the project.
“If we want to compete with any other city, like Kitchener-Waterloo or Toronto, we need people down here. Then the big infrastructure projects will start to make a lot more sense.”
While the committee rejected the Auburn Developments plan, they did approve a 32-storey highrise for Richmond Street, just north of Dufferin Avenue.
Both committee recommendations now go for final approval before council next week.
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