405- 447 Groves
78 residential units,
8 bachelor
34 -1 bedroom
28 -2bedroom
8 - 3 bedroom
58 resident parking spots, 9 visitor, 2 van accessible
82 bikes
Town homes 1750, 1300 sq ft
1 bedroom 562-684 sq ft
2 bedroom 805- 828 sq ftl
3 bedroom 1096 - 1264 sq ft
Questions asked of Mark Tanner, the planner assigned to the Groves Street project, and his answers:
Who owns the back lane? Answer: City
Who is responsible for winter snow removal? Answer: City responsibility
Is there room in the back lane for 2 cars, travelling in opposite direction, to pass? Answer: Yes, there will be room for two cars to pass as long as no one parks in the lane.
The Planner did say consideration is being made for removing the Bollards to the Sopa Square parking lot. There was no mention of removing the Bollards on Newsom Avenue as the residents on that road that would want to advocate for keeping them.
Noting that the turning radius at Groves Avenue and Abbott Street is narrow, will a building further impede sight lines? Answer: At the corner, there is a setback of 5 m x 5 m for the building which does allow for visibility and does allow a future bulb in the road to be constructed as is on West Avenue at Abbott Street.
What consideration has been given to the sight line turning onto Abbott Street from the lane? Answer: No setbacks are planned for the laneway. This is why they are talking about opening the other end of the lane way up into the Sopa Square parking lot.
Will building tenants be able to store things on their balconies? Answer: City Planning has no control over that that. It is up to the owner of the building.
Why are there so few bike parking spots? Answer: The requirements are for 0.7 bike spots per unit up to three bedrooms where there needs to be two. Just remember that it was Cathy who made a point about the amount of bike storage and magically Paul, the developer, found 12 more spots for bikes. Now there will be 82 spots rather than 70.
Would having a car share affect the amount of parking needed within the building? Answer: For every car share, there can be five less car parking spots.
What is being done about the design of the building which appears very low quality and ugly to many of the neighbourhood residents? Answer: This has also been a concern with City Planning. They’ve made some rather forceful comments to the architect, saying it does need to be improved. This is probably why an Open House is not happening anytime soon as they are likely reworking their design.
And finally, the question was asked about why it says on the developer's application that the building is allowed to be eight stories when the map for heights definitely shows that only six is allowed. The Planner explained that having rental and density allows for the height to go to eight stories, but that many developers won’t do eight stories because it requires concrete construction. So, rather than go to eight stories, most developers will simply do six. Or if they want to go higher, they will do something much higher. The Planner also said that developers can pay money in lieu of having more height - the amount being $20 per square meter. In the case of this building, the cost would have been $50,000 more. The money the city collects is supposed to go for affordable housing or public communities like sidewalks.
If you have further questions, feel free to call Mark Tanner directly @ 250-469-8589
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