Dear Editor:
The Official Community Plan (OCP): OurCity 2041 process is a forward-looking process that we have a lot to be thankful for. As with any policy initiative, there are intended consequences and unintended consequences. The goal is to be as knowledgeable about the unintended consequences before policy is crafted into design guidelines and bylaws. In the discussions around our table at one of the Your Future City workshops, a number of us were clear about this: if the current OCP draft intentionally seeks to encourage carriage/laneway houses without putting the current FSR (Floor Space Ratio) up for discussion, the intended consequence – greater and smarter density – will be defeated/trumped by the unintended consequence: FSR rules prohibit it. The theoretical possibility of increased, sensitive density will be practically impossible. Our final OCP could well become just another pretty document.
Before our city completes this process, I hope that we will:
- Study the best practices of neighbouring municipalities. For example, see the City of Vancouver guidelines.
- Open up the FSR discussion so that your intended consequences are not defeated by the unintended consequences.
- Review the use of site coverage limitations and proximity limitations as tools (other than FSR) to control massing and neighbourliness.
An example for you: without any change in your FSR requirements, our 66-by-66-foot lot in Queen’s Park (4,356 square feet) would never be able to host a carriage house.
With Vancouver’s guideline, I could envisage a 697-square-foot carriage house (provided we met all the other guidelines such as site coverage, etc.).
Mark Fox, New Westminster
