Buildings in Banff’s downtown core may be permitted to go to three storeys in height – as long the top floor is set aside for residential housing.
The Town of Banff is drafting proposed legislation to increase the building height to three storeys and provide incentives to exclude floor area ratio dedicated to public amenities.
But council unanimously wanted to see a different approach taken on Bear Street than the wider street of Banff Avenue.
Administrators say going to three storeys in the downtown area would promote reinvestment and redevelopment opportunities above the second storey.
“The driver here is to provide more opportunities for housing downtown,” said Darren Enns, senior planner for the Town of Banff and project leader for the land use bylaw review.
Councillor Leslie Taylor said she agrees increased apartment-style residential housing in the downtown area is a good idea.
“I even think that three stories on Banff Avenue is okay, because the street is so wide that you do not get that ‘canyon’ effect,” she said.
But Taylor said she was concerned about extending that to the 200 block of Bear Street.
“I know that substantial parts of it are already three storeys, but I think a real canyon would be created if the whole street went that way,” she said.
Under the previous Banff National Park Management Plan, Parks Canada directed the Town of Banff to reduce the building height in the commercial district from three storeys to two-and-a-half storeys.
“The previous management plan was more restrictive with respect to building heights, but the current management plan loosened up the language around building heights,” said Enns.
“Our impression is that federal approval will be linked to the third storey being residential.”
Council will consider the proposed regulatory language on this issue later this year. Parks Canada is the ultimate decision-making authority on all land use issues in the Town of Banff.
Existing non-confirming businesses, such as the Mount Royal Hotel, will be protected.
