Taller not necessarily greener

Rick McGowan of the Burnaby Green Party recently expressed his view on the allowing of taller residential towers to be constructed in Burnaby. Although "building up" has been touted as a sustainable way to increase residential density in Burnaby, McGowan believes the heights are going too far.


Taller highrises a bad plan
 
 
BY RICK MCGOWAN, BURNABY NOW SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
 
 
DEAR EDITOR:

Recent changes that allow developers to build taller highrises will not make Burnaby more sustainable. These bylaw amendments were introduced by city staff last November and quietly passed in December without proper public debate. One would think a change that allows developers to add 10 or 20 floors to a 30storey highrise would be worthy of a comprehensive public consultation process.

Since the adoption of the amended bylaw, a flurry of applications for significantly taller buildings have been proposed. The latest proposal for station square calls for four new towers up to 57 storeys. The new rules are unfair to residents who currently reside in Burnaby's four town centres.

As a resident of Metrotown, I am surrounded by highrise residential apartment buildings, mostly under 30 storeys, and three-storey condominiums. I live in a three-storey condo that has 26 units. My building was constructed about 20 years ago and each unit is relatively large compared to today's standard. The recently constructed condo behind us has 26 units also but is built on a smaller property assembled from three single-family lots. What is most appealing to me about my neighbourhood is the opportunity to get to know my neighbours in the building, and, to a lesser extent, a few of the people in other buildings. Another aspect of the urban lifestyle my family enjoys is the convenience of being able to walk to the grocery store or Metropolis. The opportunity to walk or take transit reduces my family's carbon footprint and makes us healthier also. Cycling could make daily errands even more convenient, but with so many cars in the area creating hazards and pollution and inconvenient storage facilities it is usually less hassle to walk.

While the benefits to living at Metrotown are great, the people who currently live there have also had to make sacrifices. We are forced to breathe the toxic pollutants emitted from commuters who travel on the streets. Also, we share our green spaces and walls with our neighbours and families, so we have to show consideration for them. SkyTrain is crowded at certain times of the day and shopping at Metropolis can be stressful. All in all the benefits outweigh the costs.

That said, Metrotown's density is well above what is considered a "compact neighbourhood" and is approaching a density close to what is called a "pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood" and this has been achieved without resorting to constructing towers above 30 storeys.

It is unfair for city hall to expect residents in the Metrotown area to absorb greater and greater numbers of people and residents, while other neighbourhoods in Burnaby continue to live at densities far below what is considered "compact."

Other parts of the city including the other town centres can absorb more people without the need to build the higher towers and without the need to encroach on existing commercial and industrial space.

Furthermore, the process and people that introduced these changes have demonstrated a lack of consideration for the residents of Burnaby.

Rick McGowan, Burnaby Municipal Green Party

© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now
 

Views on taller buildings determined by the resulting view

Recently a resident of the Brentwood neighbourhood wrote a letter to the Burnaby Newsleader opposing the Brentwood Crossing project.

Poor planning reaches new heights in Burnaby's Brentwood area

Published: September 08, 2011 9:00 AM
Updated: September 08, 2011 9:20 AM
Re: Proposed development to transform Brentwood (NewsLeader, Sept. 2)

I read the article about the proposed development with towers 39 to 48 storeys for the southwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway and find that the proposal is at the best obscene. Perhaps Burnaby needs a change of leadership, for allowing developments like these to go ahead. They allowed highrises on the north side of Lougheed that cost $400,000 to $2 million and now are proposing to lower the value of these properties by cutting off all views from the north.

People on the east and south sides of the buildings on the north side of Lougheed will have nothing to see but cement buildings. This will certainly lower the property values for all the buildings on the north side (but probably not their property tax assessments).

It appears Burnaby does not have anyone in its employ, or even a consultant with any idea of how to keep views for everyone. The new buildings should be lower than the buildings on the north side and any new ones to the south after these new buildings should be shorter than the proposed buildings. The whole area is turning into a mini-Toronto but with no amenities to match.

So now we have the option of selling and moving, or staying and suffering from lowered property value. What is wrong with Burnaby’s city council and planning department?

Patricia Muss

Burnaby

Carter GM renovating

The Carter GM dealership across the street from Brentwood Mall has been busy constructing a building next to an existing one.  The fact that the dealership is investing money in expanding its building there means that it will not be leaving the vicinity of Brentwood Station anytime soon as did the Morrey Nissan dealership recently to Still Creek and Willingdon.  The former site of the Nissan dealership (across the street at Willingdon and Lougheed) will be the location of the "Brentwood Crossing" development by Appia.

Brentwood Crossing development

The Brentwood Crossing development appears to be moving ahead with a public hearing scheduled on September 20th at Burnaby City Hall.  The development will begin to establish (at its corner) the intersection of Lougheed Hwy and Willingdon Ave as major pedestrian crossing as more residential and commercial/office units are established.   With the Vantage project underway just west of this project and the Brentwood Mall project in it's infancy at the opposite corner, we can expect cranes to be prominent features in the skyline around Brentwood for a number of years.

Below are conceptual images from www.dikeakos.com

Burnaby Newsleader article below

Proposed development to transform Brentwood

By Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader

Published: September 01, 2011 10:00 AM

Updated: September 01, 2011 10:25 AM

A new Brentwood-area development proposal could transform the southwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway.

The mixed-use proposal is for a 6.65-acre site kitty corner from Brentwood SkyTrain station that currently includes a car dealership, restaurant, auto-repair shop and other light industrial properties. Bounded by Willingdon, Lougheed, Rosser Avenue and the north lane behind Dawson Street, it requires a rezoning and will go to public hearing Sept. 20.

An earlier proposal for the site which received second reading in 2008 comprised two highrise office buildings, three highrise apartment towers and ground-oriented commercial and retail, according to a city staff report.

Since then, Burnaby council has adopted a change to the city’s zoning bylaw expanding density bonus provisions to certain zones within the four town centres of Brentwood, Metrotown, Lougheed and Edmonds.

As a result, the developer is now proposing a new plan that takes advantage of the potential added density.

The current proposal consists of 1,351 residential units in four highrises, ranging in height from 39 to 48 storeys, the latter within a mixed-use tower that includes 13 storeys of office space. Units will range in size from 413-square-foot studios to 1,750-square-foot three-bedrooms-plus-den units. Five per cent, or 68 units, will be adaptable for persons with disabilities.

It includes about 250,000 square feet of office space and about 112,000 square feet of commercial space. It also now includes significant plaza and open green space.

Within the site, Sumas Street will be a “high street” with retail storefronts, pedestrian walkways and street furniture and the entire project aims to be pedestrian friendly with front doors of commercial spaces opening directly to the street, the report said.

The developer plans to build to a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standard, and will provide transit passes for two years to 15 per cent of the units, twice the required secured bicycle parking, memberships in a car-sharing program and three cars per residential phase for the car co-op.

If approved, the project would be built in four phases. As part of the density bonusing program, the developer will provide an amenity bonus for the first phase of more than $8.8 million. Of that, $2 million will come in the form of a 4,570-square-foot city-owned community space on-site and $6.8 million cash-in-lieu to be used for future Brentwood area amenities. Of that, $1.36 million will be designated for affordable and special needs housing projects.

The applicant is Chris Dikeakos Architects of Burnaby. The public hearing will be held Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in city hall council chambers.

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

Rezoning proposed for Brentwood Mall

Less than 2 years after its purchase of Brentwood Mall in 2010, Shape Properties has submitted a rezoning application (REZ# 11-23) for the site located at Willingdon Ave and Lougheed Hwy.  Although details have not been released, the application is described as a mixed-use residential high-rise and commercial development that will be built on the surrounding parking lots.  It will be interesting to see how many high-rises and what types of commercial spaces are proposed for what will undoubtedly be the largest single development in Burnaby's history.

       

Parking pressures at Steve Nash Fitness World

A few days ago, I was shocked to see cars lined up waiting to get a parking spot in front of Steve Nash Fitness World.  Whereas parking was never an issue before Steve Nash moved in, I now must consider whether or not I really need my Timmy's steeped tea anymore.  It's at least good to see that the new fitness facility is a success.

Please Mum closes in Brentwood Mall

 Burnaby Now Story:

Please Mum closes two Burnaby locations

BY JANAYA FULLER-EVANS AND JENNY LEE, POSTMEDIA NETWORK INC. AUGUST 4, 2011

Children's clothing company Please Mum has closed its doors at the Brentwood and Lougheed town centres.

The closures came with little notice in early July, according to Brentwood Town Centre manager Brian Wong.

The company's location at Metropolis at Metrotown is still open, as are two other locations in the Lower Mainland; on West Broadway in Vancouver and at Willowbrook Mall in Langley.

Please Mum closed 68 stores in early July, leaving just 21 open across the country.

The Vancouver-based company filed for creditor protection in mid-July and laid off 750 employees.

"There has been a massive increase in competition from the U.S. and other countries," Please Mum founder and CEO Kathryn Adrian said in an email interview with The Vancouver Sun. "This comes as a result of the recession down south. The recession there, and to a degree here, has changed the market's focus from 'hand-me-down' quality to less quality but a lot cheaper prices."

An administrator for the company's toll-free line said the media relations line had been disconnected, but redirected the NOW to customer service - and another line for the media - which was consistently busy throughout the day on Wednesday, Aug. 3.

The company is only honouring exchanges and returns on purchases made before filing for bankruptcy on July 11, according to the Please Mum website, and all merchandise purchased after that date is a final sale.

Gift cards are not being accepted, the website also stated.

The website is offering deals of 50 to 70 per cent for all merchandise.

The company is protected from creditors' claims - including employees - for 30 days after filing for bankruptcy protection while it comes up with a restructuring plan.

© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now

Read more:http://www.burnabynow.com/Please+closes+Burnaby+locations/5206399/story.html#ixzz1U6537f8Z