1444 Alberni
When these proposed New York designed passive house towers were rejected by the UDP, we were more than a little surprised. From the tone of the minutes, it appeared that most of the panel’s concerns were related to the podium and the treatment of public realm. Given the scale of the project, our feeling was that these were minor issues that would be simple to improve. It turns out we weren’t the only ones to feel this way
Recently we have learned that the applicant has discussed these issues with city staff, and have agreed to make several design revisions if city council approves the rezoning. In return, staff have agreed that the project will only need to return to UDP at the development permit stage, despite the advisory opinion that the rezoning application should be resubmitted.
The end result is a savings of time and money for both the city and the applicant. The positives for the city are that the understaffed planning department doesn’t have to spend more time and resources guiding the project through these simple changes. Meanwhile, the applicant benefits as they can move the project ahead sooner, and save the thousands of dollars that would have been spent on designing a new model for the rezoning stage. While we assume the timeline of the project has now been sped up, the question remains, will it go before the current council or have to wait until after the civic election?
Source –
The issues behind the Panel’s re-submission have been discussed with the applicant, who has responded by proposing some design revisions which would be incorporated at the DP stage and would be reviewed again by the Panel at that time.
City Duo 