Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith P.
Maybe the way to do it is to not try to write hyper-detailed regulations specifying the type and color or finishes, etc, as HRM planners are wont to do. Requirements that specify more of a "spirit and intent" approach, either site-specific or more broadly, that call for things to be a certain standard will soon be understood by developers and designers and hopefully result in better proposals. It would take some creativity, rare in bureaucrats, but it can be sone.
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So that's basically what Design Manuals are. You may be surprised to learn that there is one for Downtown Halifax. It can be found here (for now, until what remains of HRMxDesign is repealed):
https://www.halifax.ca/media/75719
But the problem with "spirit and intent" is, how do you enforce that? Developers LOVE to argue and to push boundaries as far as possible (seriously, I think it's half the fun of the job for a lot of them). And with so much open to interpretation, they do push. HRM's answer to that was to have a Design Review Committee whose job it was to debate and interpret the Design Manual. It didn't work out though because members were in the industry and had no incentive to piss off their colleagues. They also intimately understood the costs that it takes to get a project to a stage where it can be critiqued, and were understandably hesitant to force people to go back to the drawing board.
But maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps you're right that it can be argued that the Design Manual is somewhat responsible for the shift in the quality of downtown proposals by slowly educating the development community on what's expected?
I think egb put it quite well though. Yes, you CAN regulate design, but at what cost? There are certainly places that do very detailed and "successful" design regulation, especially when it comes to a heritage context. But it takes a very long time, adds cost and complexity, and also very much limits the range of architectural expression in a community. Sometimes those costs are worth it (like around world heritage sites), but often they're not.
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