Vancouver Sun

SHADE PROBLEM STRETCHES FAR BEYOND BRENTWOOD'S HIGHRISES

Neighbourh­oods deserve relatively equal access to sunlight to be livable

- DOUGLAS TODD dtodd@postmedia.com

As urban issues go, the shadows cast by tall new buildings are often overlooked. They shouldn't be.

Take the shadows generated by the dozens of massive residentia­l towers that have gone up in the past eight years at Burnaby's Brentwood Town Centre, which already spread darkness for hundreds of metres around the SkyTrain Station.

The shadows are going to lengthen much farther if the owners of The Amazing Brentwood tower complex get their way. The developers are now asking Burnaby council permission to build more towers and much higher ones than were originally approved in 2013.

Shape, the company behind The Amazing Brentwood, now wants to construct a total of 15 towers northeast of Willingdon and Lougheed Highway. That would double the residentia­l space on the sprawling site, and hike total building floor area to a startling 12.3 million square feet.

Two of the towers being proposed would soar to 80 storeys, making them the tallest skyscraper­s in Western Canada. The developer also wants at least three other Amazing Brentwood highrises, which had been slated for 20 to 25 storeys, to soar as high as 60 storeys.

The residents in the neighbourh­ood north of Amazing Brentwood are justified in fearing the complex is increasing­ly turning into a massive wall of concrete, glass and steel. It will blank out the sun in their neighbourh­ood of detached houses, called Brentwood Park, for large parts of the day.

That would especially be the case in winter, when humans are most desperate for light. That's not to mention how the increased shadow will darken life for those who have already bought into Brentwood's highrise condos.

It's not only Amazing Brentwood's towers that concern neighbours, though. They have realized in the past few months their houses, which include many rental units, are also going to put in the dark because the B.C. NDP last December suddenly imposed Bill 47, without permitting debate.

Bill 47's drastic new zoning rules require municipali­ties throughout Metro Vancouver to approve 20-storey buildings within 200 metres of SkyTrain stations like that at Brentwood, as well as 12-storey buildings within 400 metres, and eight storeys within 800 metres, the latter being the equivalent of a 10-minute walk. All this without having to provide parking.

The shadow problem is only one issue being raised by Ronelle Theron and Edward Pereira and other Brentwood Park citizens.

Their group has several concerns about the intense upzoning that is going on in their peaceful neighbourh­ood of curved streets and boulevard cherry trees around Brentwood Park elementary school. Theron is troubled Brentwood Park will be rapidly enveloped by a concrete jungle. That will lead, she says, to loss of green space, tree canopy, birds, parking spaces and neighbourl­iness. Not to mention, she says, population growth will increase traffic and further overcrowd the elementary school, which last fall added eight new portables.

Yet even though expert urban designers support the Brentwood Park neighbours' worries about shadowing, the issue typically goes under-analyzed when highrise developmen­t occurs.

One reason citizens rarely bring up concerns about shading is that developers frequently produce misleading architectu­ral renderings for city councils, which sharply play down buildings' shadow effects. The other reason is developers, politician­s and their allies have a habit of stereotypi­ng citizens who oppose large-scale residentia­l projects as selfish NIMBYs, people who oppose higher density. Their voices become especially mocking if neighbours raise concerns about losing sunlight.

That's despite urban planners and architects having long made the case it's often unhealthy — and unfair — for residents to be forced to live in the shadows of gargantuan new buildings.

As Pereira, a longtime homeowner, stood on a quiet residentia­l sidewalk north of the Amazing Brentwood's existing towers last week, he pointed out that a few months ago, when the sun was lowest on the horizon during winter, building shadows were already falling over nearby houses.

The increasing shade is one reason Theron, an assistant professor in anesthesio­logy at UBC, worries homeowners will be tempted to sell to the developers' agents who suddenly started knocking on doors after Bill 47 became legislatio­n.

The land assemblers were telling homeowners they ought to sell their properties because land was being assembled for apartment blocks of eight- to 20-storey buildings.

“One reason people would sell their houses is realizing they're going to be in permanent shade,” said Theron.

That shade would be produced either by the 60-to-80-storey towers at the Amazing Brentwood, or by a new next-door apartment block. “You wouldn't be able to grow anything,”

Vancouver architectu­ral writer Erick Villagomez understand­s the shadow worries of the Brentwood Park residents. Completely.

The urban designer, who teaches drawing and rendering at UBC and Kwantlen Polytechni­c University, says the issue of shadowing often gets lost among seemingly more pressing urban planning issues.

“However, the relevance of shadow has only grown,” he says. “Ultimately, well-designed neighbourh­oods strike a balance between density and access to sunlight as a means of ensuring that residents enjoy comfortabl­e, just and healthy living conditions.”

A perennial problem, he said, is the way developers often mislead the public about their proposed buildings' shadows.

They hire architectu­ral firms to create renderings of their highrises that assume, for instance, the sun is always high in the sky, like in summer. Such renderings give the impression the towers will produce virtually no shadows, he said, when in reality in certain seasons and times of day they will generate shade for hundreds of metres.

It's only in the past 70 years, with the rise of skyscraper­s, that “shadow studies” have become an important part of planning, he said. “Concerns arose about the potential negative impacts of shadows on streets, parks and public spaces. A city of shadow-dwellers was unanimousl­y seen as negative.”

There are many fundamenta­l benefits of access to sunlight, Villagomez says.

Sunlight contribute­s to mental health, including by mitigating seasonal affective disorder, which is prevalent in northern regions. As well as creating a sense of well-being, sunlight exposure also stimulates production of Vitamin D, improves sleep and lowers blood pressure.

Sunlight also reduces energy consumptio­n, by cutting the need for artificial light and heat.

It makes possible solar power. And, without it, plants, grass, trees and flowers have difficulty growing.

Shading is an ethical issue, he says. Neighbourh­oods deserve relatively equal access to sunlight. “Parks, plazas and streets with good solar access become vibrant community spaces, fostering social interactio­n and a sense of belonging.”

There are a “wonderful variety of benefits” to sunlight. That's why, he says, “Any attempt to undercut shadow studies can be seen as an attack on creating a just and livable city.”

Concerns arose about the potential negative impacts of shadows on streets, parks and public spaces.

ERICK VILLAGOMEZ, architectu­ral writer

 ?? NICK PROCAYLO ?? Nearby residents are raising concerns about issues such as increased shadow in the event the developers of the Amazing Brentwood Tower complex be allowed to build the additional 15 towers they are planning in the area.
NICK PROCAYLO Nearby residents are raising concerns about issues such as increased shadow in the event the developers of the Amazing Brentwood Tower complex be allowed to build the additional 15 towers they are planning in the area.
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