Architect Michael Spaziani left a great comment on yesterday's post about density transition zones and the Enhancement Zone concept that was first proposed as part of the St. Clair West Avenue Study. You can read it by clicking here. Michael was part of the consultant team that worked on this study and so they are the ones that came up with the idea. As we talked about yesterday, Enhancement Zones were ultimately struck from the study. The idea of applying a 60 degree angular plane to certain avenue mid-rise sites also didn't make it through. This guideline was intended to be used on sites where the impacts to adjacent neighborhoods weren't as great. For example, a site on the south side of St. Clair Avenue that wouldn't be producing any shadow impacts on people's backyards. These concepts and discussions are all over a decade old at this point. But it feels like it's time to revisit them in a serious way. If you take a look at the Mid-Rise Buildings Performance Standards (available over here), you'll find some "considerations for enhancement zones." They're all crossed out though.
Image: Mid-Rise Building Performance Standards
