Chapter 5.1 - CASE STUDY - 241 Tranquille - North Shore Barbers

 Part 3 - entitled "Why its so hard to build on Tranquille" is a series of case studies that show how with the current paradigm of City regulation, building or renovation of buildings is financially impossible - thus despite all the great things happening on big lots by big developers, the small buildings largely remain boarded up and empty lots remain empty.

First I want to highlight what our Neighbourhood Plans have been asking for.

In all, The North Shore has had 3 Planning Documents that specifically address the concerns and aspirations of the neighbourhood:

• The McDonald Park Plan (2004)
• The North Shore Neighbourhood Plan (2008)
• The Draft North Shore Neighbourhood Plan (2021)

The North Shore is also addressed specifically in other plans, like KAMPLAN - the Official Community Plan for the whole city, the Sustainable Kamloops Plans, Transportation Master Plans and others.

All of these documents see thousands of hours from City Planners, hundreds of engagement sessions, with thousands of residents, pool their ideas, hopes and dreams for the neighbourhood to come up with a vision that should guide new development, guide City policy and guide City Council decisions on proposals and projects. I also work closely with the community, and the municipality in all kinds of ways. I hear stories and aspirations from all level of community citizen.

In general people on and around Tranquille want:

• More local stores and shops filling vacant store fronts and generating "vibrant streetlife"
• Pedestrian oriented streets that feel safe
• Housing affordability
• Vibrant streets with more people
• Greener buildings and transportation options

A verbatim comment from a Neighbourhood resident, speaking against a new housing project was "we want more shops".

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It is important to realize that it is not just one aspect of regulation that influences these outcomes either.

There is five major documents that influence the ability to build or renovate and the viability of doing so. None of those five in Kamplan or The North Shore Community Plan. While residents and the City spend millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours to create these documents collaborating with community members and the public - most new buildings go through a Development Permit process, in which City Council vote Yes or No on a project. They can often vote Yes for projects that do not at all meet the criteria in the Community Plans, and at the same time, can often vote No on projects who have been dramatically changed and reworked by City Staff to meet the planning documents. 

The five regulatory documents that really make a difference here are:

1. BC Building Code - which the City cannot control
• Provincial Document, regulates things like stair tread length, colours, door heights, swing directions, door knob heights, ceiling finishs, plumbing pipe sizes, electrical cable connections, things like that - in most cases safety issues
2. The Design Criteria Manual - City controlled
• Regulates things like roadway widths, sidewalk width, vehicle turning radius, bike lane widths, traffic signal locations, sewer pipe sizes, backfill specs. It is supposed to be informed by best practices in various engineering disciplines.
3. Division 52 - Off Street Parking Requirements - City Controlled
• Regulates how much parking is required for various uses, like a bowling alley needs 4 stalls per lane. As well as dimensions of stalls, lanes within parking areas, ramps, etc.
4. Division 53 - Landscaping, Screening and Fencing Regulations - City Controlled
• Regulates things like fence materials, allowable screws, colours, schrubs, trees, garbage bin enclosure gates, etc.
5. Zoning - In this case "C1-T Tranquille Road Commercial" - City Controlled
• What uses are allowed, for example, allowed to have a Video Outlet or Television Broadcaster, but not allowed a Bowling Alley or Art Gallery. Includes for example which aspects of Off Street Parking and Landscaping Apply, Setback, Lot Coverage, Height Limits, Maximum number of units, Floor Area Ratios and others

All of these documents impact each of these case studies.

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241 Tranquille

The first property I want to look at is North Shore Barbers at 241 Tranquille. This 60 Sq. M property pays taxes at $1207/Sq.M. Controlling for size, most commercial properties in Aberdeen pay less than $400/Sq.M. This property is great bang for the buck and should be broadly encouraged by planning. It reflects all of the massing ideas that the City asks for in all its plans since 1990. Check out some of the following graphics from the 1997 OCP saying that Big Buildings are required to look smaller, because Smaller Buildings are preferred:

So what if we wanted to build this charming, fantastic little building today?

In the C1-T zone, there is a minimum lot size of 246 Sq.M. so today, this property is illegal.

As well, as a barber, this property as part of division 52 parking requirements, is required to have 4 stalls per 100m2 GLA - which in this case means 3 stalls. At 100% lot coverage, you are not going to be able to put 3 stalls, or any stalls for that matter on this lot. You also need to have a minimum set back from the street, as it is a corner property, of 4.5m. As the lot, at its widest point is 7.3, it only leaves 2m left. If someone had some leftover lot, and they wanted to subdivide it, let someone own a cool new building like this, on an unused corner of their lot - and I can think of a TON of such weird corners on Tranquille, you would not be allowed to build this building and put in a barber shop.

If you wanted to move into this building, and change its use, they City would be within their right to say no. You may be able to go to City Council, get a neighbourhood petition together, and get councilors to vote on whether to allow you to do something here. But that is expensive and takes alot of time. Time you have to pay for, in opportunity cost, rent, etc. Check out all these underdeveloped little blobs of land, which could be fantastic little cool, single story buildings like the North Shore barbers, if the owners were willing to sell at $80/Sq. Ft. (market rate) and the zoning actually allowed it to happen:

This little 3000 Sq. Ft. chunk on Clapperton buried into the hill. Even with a huge architectural budget at $300/Sq. Ft. to build something crazy, you could build a viable little property on even half of this for $570,000 and rent it profitably for a commercial art gallery or record store for under $2500 per month.