Proposed zoning bylaw amendment to allow 52 condominium townhouses, 36 single detached dwellings on a 5.2 Hectare parcel that is bounded on three sides by protected land: Meadowlily Woods Environmentally Significant Area to the east, Meadowlily Nature Preserve to the north, and the city-owned Highbury Woods Park to the west that is one of the last remaining rural landscapes in London.

February 9, 2021, Chair, ACO London Region, Kelley McKeating to City Development Services and London Advisory Committee on Heritage:
The area bounded by Highbury Road South, Commissioners Road, Hamilton Road, and the eastern boundaries of Park Farm and Meadowlily Woods is extraordinarily rich in natural and heritage resources. In addition to three natural areas, it contains a bee and duck sanctuary, the ruins of Meadowlily Mill and two properties designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act: Park Farm and the 1910 Meadowlily Bridge. The rural landscapes around the designated properties retain an historic sense of place appropriate to the heritage sites: open fields, woodlots, farmsteads and narrow, uncurbed Meadowlily Road. The latter is strongly reminiscent of the historic pathways that have led to the bridge and the mill since at least 1851 and probably since the 1820s. Although Meadowlily Road has been paved and widened at various points in its history, it remains relatively narrow and its borders retain the embankments, ditches, and vegetation characteristic of a minor country road. This quality is important as part of the overall character of the area.

For any potential rezoning and development at 101 Meadowlily Road South, we recommend:

1. A lower density development that is in keeping with the rural character of the area, and that is consistent with the core principles of the London Plan.
2. Provide more imaginative architectural design evocative of traditional styles, clustered to leave visual spaces at intervals between them, providing hints, at least, of rural space. The design presented in the revised application is even less imaginative and less appropriate to the location, than the original design.
3. A single access point to Meadowlily Road for the subdivision, instead of the two streets included in the revised application. The access point should be at the far south end of the subdivision property.
4. Keeping the soft shoulders and rural laneway feel of Meadowlily Road. In particular, Meadowlily Road should not be widened.
5. A large buffer zone between the development and the Park Farm buildings. These buildings are so close to the southern border of the original Park Farm property, any high-density development or development impinging on the property line would seriously affect their character.
6. Increase setback from Meadowlily Road, hide the development behind a barrier of large trees, both evergreen and deciduous and shrubs to provide a visual, sound, and light buffer between the development, the road, and Park Farm. The renderings show manicured lawns that are not suggestive of any kind of buffer or barrier.

March 30^th, 2021, Andrew Lupton, CBC News

A controversial plan to build a cluster of condo units beside two protected areas in southeast London failed to get the support of the city's planning committee Monday, setting up a final decision at council and a possible appeal to the province's land planning tribunal. 

Kelley McKeating of Architectural Conservancy of Ontario said the proposed development doesn't fit on a road with the dimensions of a country lane in area that is unique and worth preserving. 

"To put a development squarely in the middle of one of the last remaining rural landscapes in the city is the antithesis of urban intensification. This is a place that should remain natural and if it doesn't ... the density should be a lot lower than 88 houses." A motion to support a staff recommendation in favour of building 88 condo units at 101 Meadowlily Rd. S. failed in a 2-4 vote at committee.