DALHOUSIE COMMUNITY

ASSOCIATION
755 SOMERSET STREET WEST, OTTAWA, ONTARIO, K1R 6R1
12 lebruary, 2013

Lrln C'Connell, ClLy of CLLawa
lannlng and CrowLh ManagemenL uepL.

8e: Zonlng 8y-Law AmendmenL roposal: !!" $%&'()'* $*+ ,+

uear Ms. C'Connell,
lease flnd below commenLs from Lhe ualhousle CommunlLy AssoclaLlon (uCA) concernlng Lhe proposed
developmenL aL 770 SomerseL SL. W. 1he uCA ls encouraged Lo see developmenL proposals aL slLes LhaL
have long gone underuLlllzed. We are especlally happy LhaL Lhls proposal feaLures aL-grade commerclal
space and a number of 2-bedroom resldenLlal unlLs. 1hese are lmporLanL elemenLs ln ensurlng LhaL Lhe
fabrlc of ChlnaLown ls preserved wlLh sLreeL level reLall and accommodaLlons sulLable for famllles.
Powever, we have a number of serlous concerns abouL Lhe proposal as lL currenLly sLands. 1hey are
ouLllned below.
-./0-1
1he parLlcular comblnaLlon of helghL llmlLs and seLbacks on SomerseL SLreeL were developed followlng deLalled
consulLaLlon and collaboraLlon amongsL Lhe local buslnesses, resldenLs and clLy planners. lndeed, Lhey were Lhe
LemplaLe for LradlLlonal malnsLreeL zonlng elsewhere. 1hls ls where Lhe C's 4 Lo 6 sLorey LradlLlonal malnsLreeL
descrlpLlon began. 1haL oLher malnsLreeLs may have an 18m helghL llmlL ls lrrelevanL: SomerseL's parLlcular helghL
and seLbacks were speclflcally developed for SomerseL. C pollcy 3.6.3.8 !"##$%&! (")*+),-! "# &$ . !&$%/0!1 for
malnsLreeLs.
A 9 Lo 10 sLorey bulldlng ls LoLally ouL of characLer wlLh Lhe exlsLlng and lnLended proflle of SomerseL. A bulldlng
Lwlce Lhe permlLLed helghL wlll be an unconsclonable precedenL for all of Lhls LradlLlonal malnsLreeL.
1he exLra helghL causes undeslrable shadowlng across SomerseL SL whlch a 6 sLorey bulldlng would noL.
Cne cannoL preLend LhaL Lhe upper floors are noL Lhere because Lhey are clad ln a llghLer maLerlal. 1hey
sLlll casL a shadow, flll Lhe skyllne, and block llghL and vlew.
1he exLra helghL lmposes shadow and loss of vlew on Lhe face of Lhe ad[acenL aparLmenL balconles and
wlndows Lo Lhe easL whlch are slgnlflcanLly more deLrlmenLal Lhan a bulldlng meeLlng Lhe zonlng helghL.
We noLe Lhe Lhe ueslgn 8evlew anel does noL supporL Lhe helghL lncrease.
1he appllcanL argues LhaL belng wlLhln 600m of a LranslL sLaLlon (LebreLon) permlLs a greaLer helghL. 1he slLe ls
barely wlLhln 600m horlzonLally buL ls noL lf Lhe slgnlflcanL elevaLlon dlfferenLlal ls lncluded. 1he slLe ls noL wlLhln
600m walklng dlsLance. ln our vlew lncreased lnLenslflcaLlon ls noL [usLlflable on Lhls basls for Lhls slLe.
8egardless, Lhe C's compaLlblllLy crlLerla, 4.11.1, dlrecL LhaL 233333 4,&/,!)5)67&)$, +/8/*$#9/,& :)** (/ 97!!/+ &$ 5)&
;7%9$,)$"!*0 5$% &;/ 7%/7 ), :;)6; &;/ #%$#$!/+ +/8/*$#9/,& )! *$67&/+3 3331
MosL anyLhlng on Lhls slLe would be lnLenslflcaLlon. !usL because a slLe ls vacanL, doesn'L glve 67%&/ (*7,6;/ ln
developlng a slLe.
12345$ 6 12788/4
1he 1ransporLaLlon lmpacL SLudy makes no assessmenL of Lhe Lruck Lrafflc expecLed Lo use LebreLon SLreeL for a
large grocery sLore and resLauranL.
1he sLudy assesses Lrafflc only aL Lhe LradlLlonal am and pm peaks. lL provldes no assessmenL of SaLurday and
Sunday mld-days or laLe week evenlngs whlch are Lhe peak perlods ln ChlnaLown.
1he sLudy predlcLs a peak hour doubllng of Lrafflc volume on LebreLon from 80 & 130 Lo 143 & 248 vph for Lhe am
& pm peaks, and falls Lo reallze Lhe lmpacL on Lhe resldenLlal sLreeL. (1he usual yardsLlck for local sLreeLs ls max.
100vph). 1rafflc counLs Laken for Lhe slLe's 2001 proposal, showed an exlsLlng SaLurday noon volume of 237vph on
LebreLon. SlgnlflcanLly more Lrafflc on LebreLon would be deLrlmenLal Lo LhaL resldenLlal sLreeL.
As per C 4.11.3.b, </;)6"*7% 766/!! 7,+ /-%/!! :;)6; ;7! &;/ #$&/,&)7* &$ -/,/%7&/ !)-,)5)67,& 79$",& $5
8/;)6"*7% &%755)6 !;$"*+ (/ $%)/,&/+ $, !&%//&! $&;/% &;7, *$67* !&%//&!3 3331 1herefore physlcal means are requlred
Lo ensure all Lruck Lrafflc and mosL oLher vehlcular Lrafflc Lo and from Lhe garage enLrances Lravel vla SomerseL SL.,
noL LebreLon.
We recommend LhaL Lhe developer pay Lo physlcally consLrlcL Lhe LebreLon roadway lmmedlaLely souLh of Lhe
proposed garage enLrances, so as Lo enLlrely preclude Lrucks vlslLlng Lhe slLe from uslng LebreLon SLreeL souLh of
Lhe slLe and Lo also dlscourage all oLher Lrafflc from uLlllzlng LebreLon souLh of Lhe slLe.

$.19745$
1he rear seLbacks have a severely deLrlmenLal effecL on Lhe redevelopmenL poLenLlal of Lhe lands Lo Lhe souLh.
no compensaLlng seLbacks, due Lo Lhe doubllng of Lhe helghL, are provlde faclng Lhe aparLmenL wlndows and
balconles aL Lhe rear of Lhe slLe.
1he 2.7m alleyway on Lhe easL slde of Lhe bulldlng ls unsafe. (1here are already securlLy problems ln Lhe ad[scenL
seml-open aL-grade, clLy parklng garage. lL ls also conLrary Lo Lhe lnLenL of malnsLreeLs (and zonlng) havlng
conLlnuous fronLage. A sLeel fence won'L cure Lhls. 1he alleyway should be lncorporaLed lnLo Lhe bulldlng aL leasL
aL Lhe ground and second floors.

9/4:4;.$
1he proposed verLlcal" rack sysLems don'L work (many people cannoL, and mosL people wlll noL, ralse Lhelr blkes).
Such racks are usually subsequenLly abandoned for pavemenL level racklng, resulLlng ln severely reduced blke
sLorage capaclLy. 1he narrow alleyway ls an unsafe and unfrlendly soluLlon.

<725/=0
ln supporL of Lhe appllcaLlon, Lhe 1rafflc lmpacL SLudy clalms LhaL &;/ 7%/7 )! :/** !/%8)6/+ ), &/%9! $5 #7%=),-
576)*)&)/!". 1hls ls lncorrecL. 1he november 2012 drafL Local Area arklng SLudy, belng carrled ouL by Lhe arklng
CperaLlons 8ranch, lndlcaLes a very low avallablllLy of parklng spaces aL local peak Llmes. As per C 4.11.3.c>
2?+/@"7&/ $, !)&/ #7%=),- )! %/@")%/+13

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*(@KF*F%>@E &@F>)*(''*B L?* *CF) L?FEKF>I F) *%% CFIC+ 7>A H(%M'G* NFEE >''K *% F>GE?K' &F*FI@*F>I
&'@)?(') J%( *(?GO @>K %*C'( *(@JJFG %> ;'L('*%>.

Slncerely,
Mlchael owell
resldenL, ualhousle CommunlLy AssoclaLlon

Cc: Counclllor ulane Polmes