Southwest Area Secondary Plan (SWAP) Detailed Review

About this project:

On February 15, 2022, City Council asked City staff to begin a detailed review of the Southwest Area Plan (SWAP) to see if any changes were needed to this plan. Currently, both the Southwest Area Plan and The London Plan are used to guide future growth in the southwest area of London.

This review looked at whether potential updates should be made to SWAP to match it with The London Plan, or whether SWAP should be removed and its important policies added directly into The London Plan.

Based on the review, City staff are recommending that the SWAP be removed to help clarify and streamline the development process, and that any important rules from SWAP be added into The London Plan so they can still be used.

The City is currently collecting feedback and answering questions about this potential change.

Background:

A secondary plan is a detailed planning framework that guides the development of specific areas within a city, addressing local issues that might not be covered by broader documents like the Official Plan. The Southwest Area Plan (SWAP) is one of these secondary plans, created in 2012, which is now being proposed by City staff to be removed.

The reason for this is that SWAP no longer aligns well with The London Plan, which replaced the city's 1989 Official Plan in 2016. Many of SWAP's regulations simply repeat those in The London Plan, leading to redundancy and overlap. SWAP was designed based on the outdated rules of the 1989 Official Plan, while The London Plan adopted more flexible and modern regulations.

SWAP overview:

The Southwest Area Secondary Plan (SWAP) is a document that provides rules for the development of the southwest part of the City of London. It gives detailed guidelines for specific areas within the city. The SWAP covers land in the southwest, generally bordered by Southdale Road West, White Oak Road, Exeter Road, Wellington Road South, Green Valley Road, and Dingman Creek.

The area is divided into 13 neighbourhoods, each with its own unique characteristics. The SWAP was approved by City Council in November 2012, but it was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. The plan was fully adopted and put into effect on April 29, 2014.

An in-depth review of SWAP was needed because it was created before The London Plan (2016), which is now the city's official plan. The review found that some of SWAP's policies are outdated or no longer match the rules in The London Plan. In June 2016, City Council officially adopted The London Plan, replacing the 1989 Official Plan. In 2022, an amendment was made to help update SWAP making it more consistent with The London Plan.

SWAP area shown in the image above

How these changes impact you:

Removing SWAP and adding pieces of it directly into the London Plan is intended to clarify and streamline the development process. The London Plan would then solely be used to guide future growth in the southwest area of London.

Removing SWAP would not require property owners to alter their property or zoning. This change would not affect existing zoning, and any future rezoning applications would be guided by The London Plan.

The unique policies from SWAP that remain important to the community will be incorporated into The London Plan, ensuring continued implementation. City staff is consulting with affected parties, including residents, property owners, and businesses, to ensure the removal of SWAP does not negatively impact the community.

Next steps:

The City is committed to addressing all concerns before making any final decisions. To do this, an Open House will be held to engage with residents and other affected individuals. This will be an opportunity for attendees to meet the project team, learn about the potential impacts, and ask questions. For more details about the Open House, please subscribe to email updates to stay informed.

In May or June 2025, the project team will present a recommendation about SWAP to Council’s Planning and Environment Committee. More information will be posted to this webpage as it becomes available this spring.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below, and a member of the project team will follow up with you.