Staff Report (not approved), May 2009:
Siting
Because of the narrowness of the site, the building was proposed to be built essentially lot
line to lot line. As a consequence, the Zoning By-law requirement for setbacks on the
south side of the building where windows were to be located could not be met. The Bylaw
requires that developments within the CR zone have windows that are set back 5.5
metres from a lot line that is not a street line or from the wall of a building. In this case,
the proposed setback is zero as the building is located on the lot line. However, on the lot
located south of the site, there is a significant open space between the proposed building
and the existing building. The applicant was in the process of securing a limiting distance
agreement with the property owners to the south to ensure that the current lack of setback
would not become an issue should that site be redeveloped. Should Council approve this
application, the limiting distance agreement should be in place prior to the introduction of
Bills in Council.
The proposal also raises issues related to the Council-approved ‘Design Criteria for the
Review of Tall Building Guidelines’. The document states that setbacks beyond those
required when planning for an as-of-right development are often necessary in order to
achieve appropriate tall building conditions, including light, view and privacy. Among
other things, the guidelines call for a 25 metre separation distance between tall buildings
to allow for sun access and sky views between buildings and to protect the quality of life
for residents by providing adequate separation for privacy. The inability of this proposal
to achieve this setback speaks to the small size of the site and the potentially negative
precedent it may set for other areas of the Downtown.
In this particular case, the two adjacent properties are built-out and appear unlikely to be
re-developed in the short term. If, however, either of these properties had been considered
redevelopable, the approval of this application could have had the effect of sterilizing or
at least limiting development on that site. As it is, permission to encroach the south side
balconies must be obtained from the owner to the south. In addition, a limiting distance
agreement would be required. This requirement is an agreement between the owner to the
south and the applicant that, should the property to the south be redeveloped, the new
building will be set a sufficient distance from the property line in order to ensure that
light, view and privacy are retained. (See Attachment 6: Separation distances between
buildings to the north and south of the site.)
On the north side, no windows were proposed. In response to concerns raised by Planning
staff, the applicant had proposed decorative elements on the wall to ensure that it did not
read as a blank wall, e.g. the elevator shaft would be enclosed by glass block. This would
be acceptable only because the building to the north screens much of this blank wall from
the view of pedestrians.
