Now did I miss it; or were a whole bunch of folks talking about Shadows while no one posted the Shadow studies or the proponent's analysis thereof?
Apologies if I missed it.
If I didn't, it would be my suggestion that people read those and then consider offering an informed view.
So, I'm looking at the Sept images (Sept and March are normally the standard by which these are evaluated, shadows are less of a concern when the sun is at peak height and the weather at its warmest in June)
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For much of the day, the primary shadows here will fall on the roads and on the commercial developments nearby.
Generally this would be viewed as low-harm; though its important to note here, that this application and one other have now opened the floodgate to residential on the existing commercial sites, and so the future of those sites needs to be considered when looking at the shadowing.
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While much of the shadowing is low harm, this bit is a little more questionable.
You can see almost the entirety of Havelock Park will be in shadow in the early evening hours in September.
The full effect lasts less than 2 hours, but this a time of day with less sun, which is cooler at Spring/Fall equinox, and where shading the entire park may be more impactful to enjoyment.
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In respect of the above, the height is less of an issue, I would argue, than the massing, which leaves virtually no sun at all. You could cut 10s and the park would still be entirely in shadow. The issue is more the built-form proposed which just doesn't leave space for the sun to cut through.
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Looking at the impact on the currently commercial sites nearby:
The impact is early in the day, and less likely to be a material issue for enjoyment of patios or parks; still its very comprehensive between the two proposals. I do think some refinement here is due, both for this proposal (orange) and the other proposal(s) in blue.
There needs to some coordination between them to let sun through.
Overall, I don't think height is at issue here, but the proposals would benefit from refinement/massing change so as to reduce the giant wall of shadow impact.
From the Report: