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APPELLANT’S SUBMISSION:
Ms. and Mr. Scrymgeour, property owners, submitted an application to allow for
the interior
alterations and addition to an existing single family dwelling at 3734 McGill
Street.
Ms. and Mr. Scrymgeour, property
owners, and Mr. Britton, architect, appeared before members of the Board of
Variance.
BURNABY
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT COMMENTS:
The subject site, which
is zoned R5 Residential District, is located in the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood,
in which the age and conditions of single and two-family dwellings vary. This
interior lot, approximately 15.24 metres (50.00 feet) wide by 37.19 metres
(122.00 feet) deep, fronts onto the south side of McGill Street. Abutting the
subject site to the east and west are single family dwellings and directly
across McGill Street to the north is a high-rise building with a parking lot
(a seniors’ assisting living complex) and a single family dwelling. Vehicular
access to the subject site is provided from the lane to the south. The
subject site is improved with a single family dwelling and detached garage,
originally built in 1920 (house) and 1975 (deck). Interior alterations and an
addition to the existing single family dwelling are proposed for the subject
site which is the subject of two appeals.
The first a) appeal is to vary Section
105.10(1) - "Side Yards" of the Zoning Bylaw requirement for the
minimum side yard width from 1.50 metres (4.92 feet) to 1.16 metres (3.80
feet) to legalize the existing construction which was built without permit
and to allow new construction to the rear of the existing single family
dwelling.
The second b) appeal is to vary Section 6.3.1
– “Distance between Buildings on the same Lot” of the Zoning Bylaw from a minimum
distance of 4.50 metres (14.76 feet) to 3.48 metres (11.42 feet).
In reference to the first
a) appeal, the intent of the Bylaw is to mitigate the massing impacts of
new buildings and structures on neighbouring properties. Additionally, in
reference to the second b) appeal, the Bylaw requires a separation
between buildings on the same lot in order to prevent massing impacts on the
occupants of the subject property and neighbouring properties, as well as to
provide for sufficient outdoor living space.
In reference to the
first a) appeal, the existing dwelling observes an east side yard setback
of 1.16 metres (3.80 feet), and is legal non-conforming with respect to the
side yard setback requirement (1.50 metres (4.92 feet)). There is an existing
first floor terrace, attached to the south of the existing dwelling,
approximately 4.70 metres (15.44 feet) deep and the width of the building.
The current proposal is to legalize the enclosed area under the terrace and
to cover the terrace with a new roof. The recreational area below and the
proposed roof over the existing terrace are proposed to be flush with the
existing non-conforming east wall of the building. The structural posts
supporting the proposed roof are set back approximately 0.90 metres (2.95
feet) from the edge of the terrace, so the roof above it will not overhang
past the non-conforming wall.
However, there is also an
existing small roof which slopes to the south over 1.88 metres (6.12 feet) on
the existing portion of the building. This roof is proposed to be replaced
with a higher roof. This proposed higher roof follows the existing
non-conforming roof height, slopes and side to side extent. The proposed roof
is an approximately 2.50 metres (8.20 feet) extension of the dwelling’s
existing legal non-conforming roof and covers the existing 1.88 metres (6.16
feet) deep second floor addition on the south face of the dwelling.
In reference to the
second b) appeal, the enclosed space under the existing terrace reduces
the distance between the existing detached garage and the principal building.
The existing detached garage is located at the southeast (rear) corner of the
site. As a result, the southeast corner of the space enclosed under the
terrace overlaps by approximately 2.95 metres (9.68 feet) the north wall of
the existing detached garage. There are no windows in the overlapping portion
of both the dwelling and the garage. Given the relatively small scale of the
overlap area and lack of windows, the compromised distance between the
proposed recreational area under the terrace and the existing detached garage
has little impacts on the interior of the dwelling. In fact, with this
design, the enclosed area below the deck (which was built without permit)
would be shortened by approximately 1.00 metres (3.28 feet). As a result, the
distance between the buildings would be increased from the current 2.96
metres (9.70 feet) to 3.48 metres (11.42 feet) as measured to the structural
0.20 x 0.20 metres (0.66 x 0.66 feet) posts located in front of the proposed
addition, where a minimum distance of 4.50 metres (14.76 feet) is required.
The original 1920s
dwelling is compact by today’s standards, and is surrounded by gardens, so
that the reduced separation between the buildings would marginally affect the
outdoor living space on the subject site. The area of overlap occurs in the
eastern half of the site, and is approximately 6.60 metres (21.70 feet) away
from the west side property line, so the reduced separation does not impact
this dwelling. The dwelling on the east side may be slightly affected by the
proposed new roof over the existing terrace. However, this dwelling is much
taller (two storeys plus basement) with a much bigger building footprint, so
in this context, the small scale of the proposed building overlap is not
significant.
ADJACENT OWNER’S COMMENTS:
A petition was received from the
following residents/homeowners in support of the variances being requested
for 3734 McGill Street;
324 Boundary Road, 3724, 3740 McGill
Street, and 3735 and 3743 Eton Street.
The petition read as follows:
We are writing this letter to ask
you for your support of the variance application submitted for the proposed renovation
of our house at 3734 McGill Street. In particular, we are asking for your
approval of two variances:
1. Side yard (east)
reduction from 1.5 metres to 1.15 metres
2.
Accessory
building separation from principal building reduction from 4.5 metres to 3.5
metres
Both variance items relate to a
pre-existing condition that was in place prior to our purchasing the
residence 19 years ago. Changing the existing building now to conform to
current zoning bylaw requirements represents a serious hardship that we are
unable to bear.
Below indicates your support as we
prepare to have our variance reviewed by the City of Burnaby. Thank you for
your support.
Correspondence was received from the
owners/residents of 3746 McGill Street, in support of the variances being
requested.
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