With developers around, river waters turn choppy

Opinion Poin of View. London Free Press, July 18 2008

By Randy Richmond

A river is more than its water and banks. It is affected by -- and affects -- the land hundreds of metres from its course. After years of fairly standard policies guiding the land along the Thames River and fairly standard ideas about development on that land, everything is changing. It's a subject we'll explore in Saturday's Free Press. In London, there's a feeling among some designers and planners that the south branch of the Thames, where it winds behind industry and the South Street hospital close to downtown, should come out of its shell and turn downtown on its ear. Much of the land along the south branch, especially its north bank, is comprised of parking lots, thick fenced-off bush and, in the case of the soon-to-be- closed South Street hospital, a prime piece of real estate owned by the city. Instead of turning that land into more parks and cycling paths, however, these designers want the city to help develop urban plazas full of stores, restaurants, clubs and housing. They'll likely have a battle on their hands, because revitalization would require a change in the way the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority guides development on flood fringe land. The authority, meanwhile, is taking a look its own guidelines in the wake of a battle over a golf course expansion in Woodstock. Opponents of the golf course expansion argued that principles determining how watershed land should be used are out of date. Current principles say land should be designated for its "highest and best use." That means urban pockets of land owned by the conservation authority can be designated for residential and commercial development. Given the demand for more natural space in urban areas, the authority is now examining if that principle should be changed. Perhaps the "highest and best use" of land should be based not on what is there, but what isn't. A cornfield ripe for development could easily be a cornfield ripe for reforestation. Complicating the new ideas is climate change, which could send more catastrophic floods along the river and wipe out all traditional guidelines, never mind new ones. City dwellers should pay attention to the brewing debates. How all this settles out will determine how they get to use their river.