Neighbours not happy with big home going up
Neighbours call it “the dinosaur.” Even without a roof on it yet, the building going up at 591 Pineview Rd. towers over others around it.
“It doesn’t fit,” said Florin Zamfirescu, a retired engineer who spoke Monday on behalf of concerned neighbours in Pineview Estates directly behind the new project. “I feel claustrophobic.” Zamfirescu worries the house, which features two floors on top of a full basement, will be taller than the 10.5 metres allowed under the local zoning bylaw, but has been unable to find out from the city if, and how, it has checked compliance with the height restriction.
And even if the house is of legal height, he continued, someone at City Hall ought to have worked with the builder to ensure the house fits with the character of the neighbourhood.
The land under the house — which will feature six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, according to BC Assessment — is zoned R1, which allows a maximum height of 10.5 metres.
The land under Pineview Estates is zoned RM2, which allows a maximum height of 8.5 metres.
Given the disparity between the two zones, said Zamfirescu, the house should have merited special attention from city planners.
It seems apparent the existing homes in the area that are also zoned R1 were planned with neighbours in mind, as their roof lines gradually descend with the slope of Pineview Road hill.
And another new home going in directly beside 591 Pineview Rd. also fits the mold, its owner having put a flat roof on top and kept the building to just one level.
“Everything is done so nicely here. Even new neighbours choose to build houses (that) architecturally fit to the neighbourhood,” said Zamfirescu, who’s also worried about property values.
Anthony Haddad, the city’s director of development services, doesn’t share the neighbours’ concerns.
“The building currently under construction complies with the zoning bylaw,” he said in an email Monday.
Asked if the project merited any special attention due to its location, Haddad explained there were no requirements for city planners to give it any.
“The city does not have any development permit guidelines for building design in our single family areas. The densities allowed in the RM1 zone are greater than the single family zones,” said Haddad.
“The slope of our hillsides has an impact on many areas of our city, but there is no guarantee that views will be protected where properties are located adjacent to residentially zoned lands.”
Building permits for the main residence and a secondary suite at 591 Pineview Rd. were issued by the city in August 2017 to Rajinder and Anjana Mohan.
They couldn’t be reached for comment Monday and no one was at the construction site when the Herald visited.