To celebrate Jane Jacobs Day, May 4th 2008, you are invited to participate in Jane’s Walk 2008, hosted by Catherine Hennessey as she tells the stories of the places and people of her downtown neighbourhood. Jane’s Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours given by residents who care passionately about where they live, work and play.
Read more about Jane’s Walk.
The first time I realized urban planning was a serious discipline was more than twenty years ago when I was visiting friends in Toronto who were neighbours of Jacobs. I was 16, and I was a guest of my friends at Jane’s 70th birthday party in her home across the street on Albany Avenue in the Annex. I remember being very surprised that someone could be so famous for “thinking about cities”, but at the time I don’t think I had a clue what was involved in urban planning. Jane’s Walks are a great way to honour her legacy and promote her ideas for creating vital, livable cities.
I sent an email to all members of council and some City staff tonight, with a link to an article from another municipality. I highlighted my favourite line:
“‘When it comes down to making choices between cars and people, we invariably choose cars. This is outdated and marks us for the civic dinosaur that we are.’
“Can you tell I’m not very excited about building a new parking garage?”
No responses yet.
UPDATE, day later: Received supportive responses from one staff member and one councillor.
The height variance was granted by Planning Board last night for the new Fitzroy office building. The final design is seven stories, but the seventh floor is to be stepped back fifteen feet across the entire front, making the street side facade only six stories. And the previous concession of a twelve foot setback from the property to the immediate west is still part of the deal. This is supposed to be a high(er) quality building compared to some of the other office cubes that have sprung up around the city in recent years. Looking forward to seeing that particular empty space, that I pass several times per day, being filled up.
Planning Board voted earlier this week, by the slimmest possible margin, to recommend against the height variance for the proposed building on Fitzroy Street, contrary to the recommendation of Planning staff who thought the new 8-story design would be acceptable with a few minor design changes. That leaves the developer with a couple of options at this point. They could allow the recommendation from Planning Board to proceed to a vote at April’s Council meeting, or they could pull the application, go back to the drawing board, and start the application process over again with a redesigned building.
There is a significant risk to the developer if they choose to proceed to Council, because if Council agrees with Planning Board’s recommendation, the developer cannot re-apply for one year unless the proposal is significantly altered. There are potential tenants anxiously awaiting the outcome of this application, but even if the variance issue is resolved, there is still the difficult issue of parking to deal with.
The proposed new 7-story building on Fitzroy was discussed at Planning Board last month and the board voted to reject the application. The consensus was that without any setback the building was just too imposing over the neighbouring properties. There appeared to be support for the height variance, but the lack of side setback was definitely a problem with most board members.
The developer has resubmitted the proposal with a twelve-foot side setback but with an additional story on the building, for a total of eight. The original plan showed the seventh story stepped back from the sixth. The additional floor in the new plan is stepped back further again from the one below it, so it does not give the impression of a straight 8-story wall from the street.
Notices have gone out to the same property owners within 100 meters. The feedback was good the first time around and certainly had some influence on the board. I assume those property owners who submitted comments on the initial proposal will want to comment on the amended plan.
Peter Rukavina, whose office is located a few doors from a proposed 7-story office building for Fitzroy Street, has posted a notice from Charlottetown’s Planning Department, received by his landlords, asking for comments on this proposal. The bylaw requires notification of property owners within 100 feet of the application, but since many residents have an interest in the development of our downtown core, it would be interesting to know how the public in general feels about this, rather than just the immediate neighbours.
I should also note, the City owns a small portion of the land that would be required for this proposal. A market appraisal is underway to determine the fair value of that piece of land, and council would have to agree to sell it to the developer.
You may leave comments here or at Peter’s blog. I will be reading them all and taking them into consideration when Planning Board, and eventually Council, meets to discuss this proposal.
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