02-01-2022, 04:53 PM
(02-01-2022, 02:24 PM)the_conestoga_guy Wrote: First, those glass stairwells aren't going to be making friends with the neighbours. At night, I can totally envision them illuminating the neighbours. If I were in this neighbourhood, I'd be advocating for them to consider of a solid wall rather than the glass. I know "it will ruin the view" is a pretty NIMBY argument, I just think it would annoy me if a 7-storey illuminated rectangle was constructed next to my home. This sort of design is better suited to more urban or industrial areas.
And second, I know this might be controversial in this forum, but I empathize with the seniors who are living in the retirement community next door. Often, these people aren't too mobile and spend all of their time indoors. This development would block all of their evening light - not the end of the world, but it would certainly suck. If this were 3 or 4-storeys and spread across more of the site, I think this could mitigate the issue.
There are two external staircases, one at the front and one at the back. The front one faces Fergus Ave, and mostly the intersection with Falesy Ave. Given the setback, the staircase is about 60 m away from the nearest houses, and as long as the lights are not aimed at the windows, they should not bother anyone in those houses. And the back staircase faces the cemetery where no one is likely to be bothered by any lights.
As for the shadows, a portion of the retirement home -- roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of the west-facing units, or 1/6 to 1/8 of the total -- would be in the shade in the late afternoon. They would not be in the darkness but they would not have direct sunlight, either. I think this is not unreasonable, many (many!) people live in apartments and condos that never get any direct sunlight.