The Parish Hall at 68 Queen Road, Downtown St. John’s is owned by the Anglican Diocese and they are looking to sell the buildings and land behind up to Harvey Road. The buildings are currently zoned Institutional and the land is zoned Open Space. A developer wants to rezone the entire property to Mixed Commercial to enable them to build two condominium buildings, totaling 40 residential units.
We object to the rezoning of the last naturalized green space in downtown St. John’s from Open Space to Mixed Commercial space.
· Rezoning the land would result in the permanent loss of the last naturalized green space in downtown St. John’s.
· This space, while privately owned, is not fenced off and is used, enjoyed and maintained by the community year-round.
· This space houses trees and wildlife that give the city some reprieve from the high housing density.
· This space is an integral part of the fabric of the ecclesiastical district it is a part of and downtown in general.
· This space offers a sense of nature to residents and to tourists as they visit famous landmarks of the City of St. John’s, such as The Basilica and The Rooms.
· While heritage designations are limited to buildings, the space has been an integral part of the community for at least 130 years and probably longer.
· To change this zoning and lose this green conflicts with stated priorities in the St. John’s Municipal Plan (2003) in regards to preservation of existing Open Spaces, environmentally valuable lands, character of residential neighbourhoods, skylines and the architectural scale of downtown.
· To change this zoning and lose this green conflicts with stated priorities in and the Envision St. John’s Municipal Plan (Feb. 2019-Draft).
· It would be a tremendous and permanent loss to our city if this “Open” space were re-zoned to “Commercial Mixed” to allow the construction of a 10-storey condominium (currently under consideration).
· Naturalized urban spaces have value beyond economic ones such as ecological, social, heritage, and visual and this should be recognized and appreciated.
· Should the zoning be changed, this would apply regardless of what happens to this specific proposal. Should the zoning go through but this project die before completion, it is entirely possible the space could end up as a vacant lot or be subject to an even more tasteless or obtrusive development.
· These trees make the skyline that the city sells to everyone. They are even on the cover of the proposed development regulations
· This is in Heritage 1 area, which is supposed to have the most protections.
· The justification of the heritage designation for the Ecclesiastical zone is partly because of the open spaces. It specifically states “generous open spaces”, “non-formal and traditional treed footpaths” and “existing major views to and from the district”.
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Here is a link to the proposal on the city website under the April 17 2019 Committee of the Whole agenda here:
http://www.stjohns.ca/city-hall/about-city-hall/agenda?md%5Bvalue%5D%5Byear%5D=&md%5Bvalue%5D%5Bmonth%5D=&field_committee_name=17720
The Decision/Direction Note starts on page 18. The Preliminary Design Report starts on page 34.
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We would further object to the phase 1 condominium installation fronting on Harvey Road and have concerns about the phase 2 condominium installation fronting on Queen Road:
· We feel that the proposal itself is deliberately attempting to mislead and downplay the negative impacts of this proposed building on the city.
o There are not West facing views from Garrison Hill in the proposal. This would show how the development is out of keeping with the local architecture and would affect local residences and every tourist who visits the city.
o The views included do not line up with photos of the area.
· The proposed building is out of scale and proportion to the surrounding residences.
· The density of units would negatively impact the traffic patterns on the already busy Queen Road thoroughfare
· The location and height of the building would obstruct views of the rooms from the rest of the city
· The location and height of the building would negatively impact the panoramic picture of the city
· While bringing higher density housing to downtown is not inherently bad, this proposal is restricted to high end housing.
· This proposal gives nothing back to the community in terms of services, affordable housing,
· The city doesn’t need more condominiums right now. There are numerous examples in downtown that are built or partly built which are only partly occupied.
· The Parish Hall space is valuable and could be developed in a way that serves the community rather than the rich. Some suggestions include: a downtown library, a community mental health centre, affordable or supported housing.
· The Parish Hall is a designated Heritage Building.
· The Anglican Church should not be allowed to neglect a Designated Heritage Building and then make the case to tear it down because of their neglect.
· The proposed development rises 10 stories straight up from neighbouring houses. This violates the new regulations (not yet passed) in the Envision St. John’s document which would require set-backs from neighbouring buildings. We feel the developer is trying to fast track this proposal before the new regulations are able to pass council.
