[Drybrain]

So council ok'd this to move forward, but there was some discussion about whether or not there should be a neighbourhood-specific set of planning rules. I didn't pay attention to council yesterday, but my second-hand gleanings are:

Watts, it seems, felt it was too big, and wanted to slow things down and look at instituting a set of design standards specifically for this area. I’m not sure why that would be desirable, since this area will soon be covered under the centre plan.

The Karsten and other councillors went on the offensive and the other extreme, saying that context is unimportant and saying “yes” to development is.

I wouldn’t agree with either of those perspectives (context is always important, but I think this project fits great in its context).

If anyone listened to the council stream or has any insight into this, I’d be curious to know any more, especially about Watts’ rationale for a local set of planning rules, or why some councillors deemed the project too dense. (I know a lot of people would dogpile on that notion, but six storeys on a residential side street IS quite significant, and would be considered pretty big in any city in the country. I've got no problem with it though.)