Attachment 2 - Glentana Revised DP Letter

ANKENMAN MARCHAND ARCHITECTS

1645 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6J 1N5 Tel: (604) 872-2595 FAX: (604) 872-2505 EMAIL: tim@amarchitects.com

June 04, 2019

Township of View Royal Development Service 45 View Royal Avenue Victoria, BC V9B 1A6

Attention: Jeff Chow - MCIP, RPP Senior Planner and Deputy Approving Officer | Development Services

Dear Sir:

As per your request and discussions, the enclosed letter outlines the nature and necessity of minor exterior changes to the original Development Permit (DP 2018-03) submitted for Lots 105-108 Glentana Road. We have made changes to the original DP that require approval, and we are confident that the changes are all for the betterment of the overall project and the surrounding Community.

The project was recently purchased by the Glentana Development Corp. with the Development Permit approved for the site. When reviewing the project to prepare taking it into the Building Permit phase, as well as having listened at the Council readings various public concerns relating specifically to privacy and overlook concerns from surrounding residents the Development Team felt that minor changes were warranted. It should be noted that these changes do not in any way alter the number of units being proposed for the site, the height of the building, setback requirements, balcony projections, parkade access etc. The overall aesthetic of the proposal remains very similar to the project as approved.

In an effort to create more usable, efficient and most importantly comfortable and liveable units for the future residents, we created revised and workable interior unit floor plans that are within the constraints of the exterior wall locations. Further, several units did not meet specific code requirements, such as all bedrooms having access to an operable window, as well as a number of inefficiencies and less that ideal use of floor space that required revisions. This has resulted in minor changes to the overall project that we are currently seeking approval for.

The necessity of the minor exterior changes came from the redesign of the residential units hence changing the locations of interior unit walls and inter-unit demising walls. In order to facilitate proper balcony, door and window locations, and to ensure all bedrooms had operable windows, the balconies, doors and windows were shifted along their respective facades. In some cases, particularly in corner units, some windows were moved from one side of a room to another, to avoid overlook from adjacent units’ balconies into private bedroom spaces. Some interior units changed enough that the addition or deletion of a window or balcony was necessary, though this was rare. All of the proposed changes have been highlighted in an Elevation Comparison document.

Other changes to the building were the addition of an accessible amenity and strata room to be used by the residents as they wish, which we feel is a necessary and considerate change to the first floor plan. One other change, (which only occurs below grade) is the expansion of the parkade on level P2. Though the unit count did not change from 50 units, many 1-bedroom units were converted to 2-bedroom units, increasing their respective parking stall requirement from 1 stall per unit to 1.5 stalls per unit. This resulted in the required number of stalls to increase to 73, and thus required expanding the lowest level of underground parking.

There are minor amendments proposed to the landscaping of the site, such as the addition of an accessible ramp to the primary building entrance that was missing in the previous design, as well as an accessible pathway leading to the common green space and children’s play area in the rear yard. A revised landscape drawing has also been submitted.

Finally (and perhaps most importantly), based on feedback from the public, the strategy for the various common decks and associated privacy concerns has been completely revised: Previously, four large common roof decks were proposed and as noted, located at various locations throughout the project on the 5th & 6th floors. These four common roof decks have now been condensed to one (which is considerably smaller than the original), and a children’s play area has been added to the ground-scape where it is more appropriately located. The one remaining common roof deck has been sensitively located away from neighbouring properties, circumventing any potential noise and privacy overlook concerns.

This location of the one remaining common roof patio is the furthest away from any neighbouring properties, primarily overlooking the open parking lots and beyond of the properties to the north and east. The patio is also reduced in size as a portion is being given to an adjacent residential unit, and the use has been converted from an amenity deck to a combination of an amenity deck with some small gardening plots, which in turn forces a more benign use at the edge of the patio edge. These changes can give the surrounding strata’s the peace of mind that there will not be an impact in noise or overlook to their properties.

In summary, are very confident that the minor changes being proposed are necessary from a building code/life safety perspective and will be welcomed by the project’s future residents as well as the surrounding property owners.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (604) 872-2595, ext’n. 28 should you or any members of Council have any questions or concerns regarding this minor amendment.

Yours truly,

A N K E N M A N M A R C H A N D Architects

per:

Timothy Ankenman ARCHITECT AIBC | MRAIC | M Arch | AIA | Principal Registered in State of Washington