Q&A
Discussion on developer's communication with Community Board 9 and project design evolution
0:17:42
·
141 sec
Council Member Kevin Riley questions David Rosenberg about the developer's communication with Community Board 9 regarding the project's revisions. Rosenberg explains the evolution of the project design, including initial presentations, challenges with implementing the step-down design, and the introduction of the solar plane concept.
- The developer presented the original R8A development scenario with a step-down design to Community Board 9 in April, pre-certification
- Challenges arose in finding a legal mechanism to lock in the step-down design
- A text amendment was introduced during the public review process to implement the solar plane concept
Kevin Riley
0:17:42
The proposal that was accepted by CPC is based on the revision you made after certifying your application and after the council board excuse me, community board 9's review.
0:17:53
Have you kept in touch with community board 9, and have you received feedback from them base on your revisions?
David Rosenberg
0:18:00
Yes.
0:18:00
So to walk back about the design, when we first presented the original RNA development scenario with the step down design, we had first presented that to community board 9 in April pre certification.
0:18:14
At the time, as we said to the community board, we were still in discussions with city planning about what a legal mechanism might look like that would lock in that that building lasting with the step down.
0:18:29
At the time, we were also the intention was to do it through a restrictive declaration as part of the parking reduction special permit that is also part of this application.
0:18:40
As we got closer to certification and city of yes was certified into public review, that avenue became impossible.
0:18:47
And so the project that was certified by the city planning commission showed a full build out of the RADA Massing in the back.
0:18:55
Even though we had already shown the community board that we wanted to do this step down with the step down massing.
0:19:03
We just at the time, we had not found a mechanism with city planning that we could lock in that mechanism.
0:19:09
During the public review process and through discussions, we introduced this idea of a text amendment that introduces the solar plan that you can see on the image on this slide.
0:19:18
And we took that.
0:19:19
We modeled that from the way that zoning treats the areas around airports that creates this kind of an inclined plane that sets firm height limits, no permitted obstructions, no funny business about what Canon cannot do it.
0:19:32
It's an absolute height limit that the way we proposed it guarantees that the garden maximizes sunlight and also does not sacrifice density.
0:19:44
Alt and ultimately at the City of Planner Commission, they modify the angle of it, which has the effect on density.
0:19:50
But it has the effect of allowing someone to go through.
0:19:53
But throughout the process, we've been in touch with the community board about this even before certification is that this was the building we wanted to get to and we would figure out what the mechanism would be to get there.
