Variance Application Results

Posted by grice in News on June 24th, 2009

Tuesday morning the Board of Variance ruled against the application to relax the rules of the CD zoning in St. Helen’s Park. The applicants were unable to prove that if the board did not allow their application they would suffer undo hardship. They supplied a petition with 20 area neighbours in favour of their application. Members of the SWRA executive successfully argued that the rules of the CD zoning must be upheld and that a message be sent that St. Helen’s Park should remain a unique and protected area.

Several volunteers managed to obtain 227 signatures representing 146 households in less than a week. Many residents were conflicted in their decision to sign the petition as the applicants have been residents in the area since 2002 and are well liked by their neighbours. This unfortunate situation, pitting neighbours against each other, could have been avoided if city staff had not originally approved their plans. This is the second time this year that building plans that were first approved had to be sent back to the owners once it was discovered that they did not comply with the new zoning.

The Board of Variance was impressed with the resolve of our community and congratulated the group on their presentation. Special thanks go out to the folks who collected signatures and to all those residents that expressed their support for their community. It is especially gratifying to meet all the new families that have settled in this area because of its unique character and sense of community.

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Quick Glance at House in Upcoming Variance Application – Part 2

Posted by St. Helen's in News on June 22nd, 2009

Here is how the house would look when following the CD zoning by-laws. Notice how the roofline over the garage now emulates the roofline of the neighbouring rancher. The actual square footage would not be changed from the original application, but now the house’s profile matches the surrounding houses and would conform to the CD zoning by-law for our area.

House2

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Quick Glance at House in Upcoming Variance Application – Part 1

Posted by St. Helen's in News on June 22nd, 2009

Thought we would take the architect’s rendering of the house involved in the upcoming variance application and see what it would look like sitting on the proposed lot. We added a little colouring and some shadowing to make the drawing fit in a little better (not just black and white, as in the previous post). This is not 100% accurate to scale, but every attempt was made to make it fit as close as possible to the lot, including measuring the existing houses in the image to correspond to the measurements on the architects drawing.

House

CD Zoning Bylaw

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Upcoming Variance Application

Posted by St. Helen's in News on June 17th, 2009

After three years of public meetings, dialogue with the city planning department and presentations to council, a special Comprehensive Development (CD) zone was created in December 2006 in the historic neighbourhood of St. Helen’s Park (127A Street to Park Drive & 100th Avenue to 104th Avenue). The purpose of the CD zoning was to stop the infill development of the area with mega homes and preserve the unique character of the area.

New residents to the neighbourhood are informed of these guidelines by their realtors and purchase homes because they believe these guidelines will protect the character of St. Helen’s Park. These characteristics include large lots with green space and trees, homes that provide a sustainable level of space for growing or extended families, and a sense of community that is welcoming to a diverse population.

Since the CD zoning came into effect, there have been many positive developments in the area. Homeowners have done extensive renovations and landscaping while the area continues to attract new residents. However, there have been a few violations to city bylaws including illegal additions of rental suites. The SWRA executive has been in constant contact with city planners, the Manager of Residential Building inspections and bylaw enforcement.

There have been two recent demolitions in the neighbourhood. The first one on 126th Street has been replaced by a home that fits the required 3,200 sq.ft. maximum house size. After the original plans were approved, changes were required to accommodate the maximum height and roof pitch in the zoning. The SWRA pointed out that the original application was non-conforming and city planners sent the design back to the owner for changes. As long as the approx. 1,000 sq.ft. of deck space at the back of the building remains open; the house will conform to the CD zoning.

The second property at 10079 Helen Drive has applied to the Board of Variance to allow the house to exceed the roof pitch maximum of 6/12 and seek permission for a 12/12 pitch on three roof areas. The SWRA executive adamantly opposes this application on the grounds that the community has agreed to the CD guidelines and that if the board grants this exemption it will open a floodgate of applications for further exemptions.

According to Board of Variance guidelines, the property owner must prove that it would create a hardship on him if the Board of Variance does not approve the requested changes. The board will hear this application on June 23rd starting around 09:00 in City Council Chambers. We would appreciate your support in fighting this application by signing the petition that is making its rounds in the neighbourhood and if possible, coming to the hearing next Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Grant Rice

President – SWRA