Sofia Rodriguez

In a plea to a provincial watchdog, a local neighbourhood and business association is saying&nbsp;that a supervised consumption site, near the city's core, would be a danger to children and youth.&nbsp;

Last week, the province's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) threw out the Midtown Ratepayers Association's appeal to block the supervised consumption site at 446 York Street.&nbsp;

While the business group argued that a drug use site would lead to public safety concerns, the tribunal dismissed it saying a supervised consumption site would actually improve public safety in the area.&nbsp;

Appeal to block supervised consumption site at 446 York thrown out

The Province's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has thrown out a move by local businesses to block the creation of a supervised drug consumption site at 446 York St. in London.

City staff are recommending that 446 York St., former home of John Bellone music store, be re-zoned to allow for the site to become a safe consumption facility. 

446 York St. Safe Consumption Facity

The province's Local Planning Appeals Tribunal has thrown out an appeal of a re-zoning needed to operate 446 Street and a supervised drug consumption site. 

On&nbsp;Monday, the group sent&nbsp;a formal letter to Paul Dubé,&nbsp;the provinces' ombudsman, an independent officer&nbsp;who promotes fairness and accountability by&nbsp;investigating&nbsp;public complaints.&nbsp;

They're asking him to investigate&nbsp;if city officials, including Mayor Ed Holder and the city's Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie, would be&nbsp;"endangering thousands of children&nbsp;by exposing them to open drug dealing and use&nbsp;and other crime" by establishing a drug consumption&nbsp;site at the proposed location.&nbsp;

"We feel like we need to keep going until we can't go anymore to protect our neighborhood and schools," said Denise Krogman, the president of the business association.&nbsp;

Supervised consumption sites allow illegal drugs to be consumed under&nbsp;medical supervision as a way to prevent overdoses and limit the spread of disease through contaminated syringes.&nbsp;

"We don't want to be construed as people that don't care about helping people. If [officials] believe an injection site is going to help people, that's their right to believe that, but it's not the right area for us and we shouldn't have to compromise our safety," Krogman said.&nbsp;

The Middlesex London Health Unit declined to comment on this latest development.&nbsp;

Do supervised consumption sites increase crime? 'The answer to that is a flat no'

Amid a debate over whether London should open a supervised consumption site inside a residential building, the woman who pioneered the first-ever such facility in the country says it reduced crime and kept addicts alive.

InjectionKit

The country's first-ever supervised consumption site inside a residential building began in Vancouver in the fall of 2016, not as a bold enterprise, but as case of misinterpretation. 

In the letter to the ombudsman, the association argued&nbsp;that the&nbsp;site will be too close&nbsp;to youth who attend&nbsp;H.B Beal Secondary School and Central Catholic High School.&nbsp;

"I'm hoping [the ombudsman]&nbsp;will step in and address the fact that it's not safe for the vulnerable high school kids to be around people who will perpetuate drug use and drug dealing," Krogman added.&nbsp;

In the letter to the ombudsman, the association argues that the site at 446 York Street will be too close to youth who attend H.B Beal Secondary School and Central Catholic High School. 

Neighbourhood association refuses to give up the fight to stop supervised consumption site

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