Editor,
When the issue of house massing was brought up, I agreed it was a problem we should address sooner rather than later. To date, I have not changed my position.
In the last few weeks, I have tried to listen to all parties. I spoke to individuals and groups, made site visits, and attended the two public consultations at city hall. I did this because I wanted to listen to the people directly in order to make an informed, independent decision.
There are many voices in the community. In a perfect world, I will support neighbourhood zoning because I do not believe one size fits all. Richmond is a diverse community and different types of buildings will fit different neighbourhoods. I was told by staff that in North Delta a neighbourhood can choose to down-zone. However, staff also told me that there were practical challenges to going that route.
After careful consideration, I support the recommendation made by the planning committee for the following reasons. First, there are real and substantial changes with this recommendation. With a height cap of nine metres high for two storey buildings, a five metre restriction on interior ceiling height, elimination of drop ceilings, clarity in regards to measuring the height, reduction in garage height and other setback requirements, the buildings under the new bylaws will shrink in overall size, but not in livable floor area.
Secondly, this is better than the staff’s recommendation. Staff recommended a 3.7 metre interior ceiling height with a 15 sq/m exemption/bonus anywhere in the house, subject to certain setback requirements. In my opinion, allowing this kind of exemption will definitely cause problems in bylaw interpretation in the future. The current bylaws had worked well until a few years ago when some builders found a loophole in the definition and began to manipulate the interpretation. I support a clear definition of a five metre ceiling height with no exemption whatsoever. Period.
Thirdly, I am mindful of the unintended consequences of a stricter bylaw. For example, if we choose to restrict future houses to be much shorter and smaller, some existing houses in neighbourhoods that are almost built up will be “stuck” as they will be prevented from matching up with the bigger houses next door. I don’t believe it is beneficial to have these odd houses in a neighbourhood.
In conclusion, my decision may not be the best in some people’s opinion. However, I believe that it is a reasonable, defensible middle ground which represents an improvement of the current situation. Furthermore, with the proposed strengthening of bylaw enforcement, it is a step in the right direction. As well, we can make further amendments to the bylaws in a year’s time.
Chak Au
Richmond Councillor
