Posted Aug 5, 2024, 3:40 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 848
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I think you guys may be right ... when I google "Walmart" and "Meadowlily", this post from another forum (not SSP) comes up from 2008:
Quote:
Residents near London's Meadowlily Woods have won a major battle with the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. A drive that delivered hundreds of people to public meetings and thousands more to sign a petition now is in position for a big win at city hall. Politicians on the planning committee want the city to set the pace and agenda for deciding what development is best for a south London tract surrounded by the woods, a heritage site and a neighbourhood with homes and open space. If council follows suit, as appears likely, those hired to evaluate the area's needs would be selected and paid by city hall rather than by the developer, Smart Centres, which builds big-box malls often anchored by Wal-Mart. That makes all the difference, community activists say. "It's not about Smart Centres. It's not about Wal-Mart . . . It's about (what's best for) London," said Gary Smith, who lives on Meadowlily Road across from where the developer wants to build 225,000 square feet of retail space.
Smart Centres had paid its own experts to evaluate the effect of the mega-plaza on the woods, an approach to development that council often has supported in the past. City planners supported the approach, but found Smart Centres hadn't completed the job adequately. Planners recommended giving the developer more time, but neighbours wanted city hall to take charge -- a push accepted by all five members at this week's planning committee meeting. "It's absolutely wonderful," Controller Gina Barber, a committee member, said yesterday. "I can't imagine anything more incongruous (with the area) than a large, big-box development."
Some on the planning committee wanted to reject the development outright, but Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best persuaded them not to. Council will undermine its ability to defend itself if it rejects a development before city-hired consultants evaluate local needs, she said. "I've lived in this area all my life. Our job is to make sure we protect it," she said. Residents say a city-led plan has several advantages: - Citizens can provide input throughout the process rather than just near the end. - The study will be more exhaustive. - The study will look at what's best for the area rather than simply accommodating what a developer wants. "We got exactly what we wanted," resident Peter Meisenheimer said. "This will set a precedent on how the city will deal with (land that can be developed)." Smart Centres says other developers won't invest in London if city hall takes over the process midstream. "It puts many developers in a not-very-happy position," said Peter Nikolakakos of Smart Centres. Coun. Roger Caranci and the mayor dispute that a precedent has been set. Both say the woods, heritage and neighbourhood warrant special treatment. But Barber believes the tide has shifted from development at all costs to managed growth. Community groups can carry the day, she said, citing recent council decisions to side with residents in Stoneybrook Heights, Old Masonville and Oakridge. "It's an example of the new way we do business," she said.
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