Proposed Hotel Development - 123 Water Street

The following is a copy of an e-mail I sent to the city's planning department concerning the proposed development at 123 Water Street - Corner of Prestcott Street and Water Street.

Once again the city of St. John’s is proposing to amend its development regulations to satisfy a development within the city’s boundaries.

For me, this is the main issue of the proposed development. Why is the city accepting this proposal in the first place? The municipal plan requires buildings to be no more than 15 metres in height for this site. Why was this written into the municipal plan? What is the city’s reasoning for this? Is it because it had a desire to develop a certain template for the city?

Currently the city’s plan is to preserve the heritage value of the east end of Water Street by imposing height and density restrictions on developments. This proposed development does not enhance the heritage aspect of the municipal plan. It is a building that reaches a height of 27.3 metres above Harbour Drive. This is approximately 82% above the zoning’s maximum building height. (Why is the city advertising the lesser height of 17.8 metres?) It will create a wall of indiscretion on a corner that should entice a welcoming to preservation and heritage.

For some reason, the applicant was not asked to provide a traffic study for this development. There should be one. There may be sightline issues associated with exiting from Water Street and Harbour Drive. The hotel also has only one customer vehicle access point and this is from Water Street. What is the traffic impact, especially as the entrance is close to traffic lights and turning traffic?

There is also no comment on infrastructure impacts. Are there any impacts to the water and sewer infrastructure?

And what of snow-clearing?

Another issue the city should consider is the need for another hotel development in St. John’s. Currently I am aware of two approved developments (Bell Street and opposite The Delta). In a 2007 economic report submitted to city council, the occupancy rate for the city’s hotels was 67.4%. This does not indicate a desperate need for hotel accommodation within the city. Has the city carried out any research into the future needs of hotel accommodation within the city? This should be done.

The city should give serious thought to the impact of approving this development proposal. If this is approved, the city may as well throw out its current municipal plan and do away with height and density restrictions and allow developers to build what they wish. For approval of this development sends a message to developers that the city’s municipal and development regulations are only guidelines and not accepted policy.