The application should be rejected, not because the density limits would be exceeded (those are too low), but because it would be taking commercial amenities away from the people living here. The building was approved as it was for various reasons- because it was within the density limit, which is not a particularly good reason, but also because much of its parking was to be underground, and it was to have a certain amount of commercial/office space to serve both the building’s population and nearby residents.
Now, they’re proposing removing the office space, making the area more uniformly residential, less mixed-use. It’s a positive thing to have developers pay into funds to pay into funds to contribute to amenities when they can’t on their own land, but those funds are fungible- if approved, the application will mean residents here will pay for a park somewhere else in the city, and lose some important mixed-use elements in their neighbourhood.
Edit: And, of course, if the City were sensible, surplus parking would be considered a drawback, not a benefit. This is definitely one part of the Region where extra parking is not needed. Keeping a variety of uses within the development will reduce the draw on parking- conceivably, someone working in one of the offices on the second floor might decide to live in this very development, and go car-free since other things are right in his or her building or around the corner, too.
Now, they’re proposing removing the office space, making the area more uniformly residential, less mixed-use. It’s a positive thing to have developers pay into funds to pay into funds to contribute to amenities when they can’t on their own land, but those funds are fungible- if approved, the application will mean residents here will pay for a park somewhere else in the city, and lose some important mixed-use elements in their neighbourhood.
Edit: And, of course, if the City were sensible, surplus parking would be considered a drawback, not a benefit. This is definitely one part of the Region where extra parking is not needed. Keeping a variety of uses within the development will reduce the draw on parking- conceivably, someone working in one of the offices on the second floor might decide to live in this very development, and go car-free since other things are right in his or her building or around the corner, too.