A Review of Zoning Bylaw 2018
Zoning requirements re 50 Government Street
What the updated zoning bylaw allows on this lot:
- 3 storey building
- 12m height
- 7.5m side setbacks for a building of this design (would be 9m if higher than 3 storeys)
- 8m rear setback, or 25% of lot depth, whichever is greater (8.6m for this lot)
Instead, the proponent is proposing:
- 6 storey building
- 16.6m height
- 1.55m and 2.19m side setbacks
- 5.65m rear setback
Their justification for their request for a variance to allow such narrow side setbacks is that such setbacks exist elsewhere in the neighbourhood. This is misleading as they are using examples of two storey buildings! Setbacks are important both for livability and for reducing fire risk.
And then there’s parking … even if this many units were allowed, which is not the case, 21 off-street parking spaces would be required. They are proposing 2.
In summary:
- Requesting variance for 3 more storeys than allowed given property frontage
- Requesting variance for 4m (15 feet) more height than allowed
- Requesting variance for reduction of more than 5m (over 16 feet) for each side setback
- Requesting variance for reduction of 2.95m (9.7 feet) in rear setback
- Requesting variance for reduction in off-street parking from 21 to 2
If Council allows these variances, it will make a mockery of the OCP process and send developers the message that it’s a free for all.