Why micro suites, towers?

On Nov. 25, Kelowna city council approved another 40-storey tower downtown. Couns. Ron Cannan, Charlie Hodge, and Gord Lovegrove voted against the motion.

The 2040 OCP height map for downtown shows 26 storeys. Why is the city approving all these towers over 26 storeys? Because the developer asks.

In the 2030 OCP, 26 storeys meant 26 storeys. Now in the 2040 OCP, 26 storeys means 40 storeys (Section 14.14, zoning bylaw UC1). Similarly, 12 storeys means 15 storeys, and 20 storeys means 25 storeys. There are two major loopholes in the zoning bylaw and in the OCP. The original plan was to keep the tall buildings further back from the lake. However, if a developer builds an all-rental building, the developer can automatically build to 40 storeys no matter where the project site is, no questions asked.

Why have a height map? It is a farce. The public thought 26 storeys was 26 storeys. They didn’t expect these tall towers.

If the building isn’t all rental, there is a second loophole called OCP Policy 4.4.3, which is actually called “Taller downtown buildings,” to allow for heights higher than (those shown on) the height map. Why does this policy even exist, if the goal is to keep taller buildings farther from the lake?

There are five points in the policy which may or may not be followed. For example, if the developer includes a “component” of rental. Can it be two units in a 40-storey tower? Who knows? Or in the policy, how about “outstanding and extraordinary architectural design”?

Who decides on that? Some people like peaks, some like flat roofs. How about the inclusion of an “enhanced streetscape”? Stamped concrete? Wider side walks? Should the developer get an extra 14 storeys for that? Who decides? This all sounds weak and/or subjective. Who wrote the OCP and the zoning bylaws?

Now, to micro suites. There have been a few letters about them—Let micro suites sit empty (Castanet, Nov. 27), and Why build small suites? (Castanet., Nov. 26) There are 68 micro suites in the recently approved 40-storey tower and in other developments in Kelowna. Why would the developer include them?

The city charges development cost charges (DCCs) at around $30,000 per door and the developer has to pay them before the building permit is issued. Another loophole. DCCs are not applied to micro suites. (29 square metres).

Based on that, the developer of the 40-storey tower approved Monday saved $2.04 million. Now we know why these are popular. The city has just given a nice savings to the developer and allowed the developer to go to 40 storeys. There is something wrong with this picture.

As an aside, I think DCCs just increase the cost of housing as they are passed onto to buyers of the units or to renters.

Finally, 40 storey buildings are too tall for a number of reasons—impacts on water use and sewage treatment, cars on the road, shadowing, blocking street views, wind tunnelling, heat islands and the cost of air conditioning and energy consumption with so much glass.

Another reason is health. Scientists from St Michael's Hospital in Toronto analyzed data of nearly 8,000 people who suffered from a heart attack from 2007 to 2012. They found that 4.2 per cent survived who lived on the third floor and below compared with only 2.6 per cent of those residing on higher floors. Meanwhile, those living above the 16th floor had a 0.9 percent chance of survival and for those living above the 25th floor, there were no survivors.

Maybe the city should stick to the height map, expect developers to build decent buildings, scrap Policy 4.4.3, get rid of the bonus heights for rental buildings (many of these are rented out anyway) and not allow micro suites.

Susan Ames