The City Engineer Reports.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1133, 22 May 1911, Page 6

The City Engineer Reports.

"Mr. Morton reported on March 18, 1910.. In his report he remarks, inter alia, that, one : speaker on the deputation applied for a reduction in tho case of shops and business-premises, whilst , rinothei :snpported ,this request but 'wished, 'further, that the reduction should apply generally. Mr. Morton adds that tliero are strong arguments in favour of reduc-ing-tho amount,of air-space,in-th6 caso of combined shops (or business premises) and dwellings, but, 'I-strongly recommend,, he continues, 'that.no alteration be.made..in the by-laws regarding buildings erected as dwelling-Houses only. The amount of air-space required for dwellinghouses, as at present computed, is quite reasonable, and should not be complained of. As a matter of fact, tho only com■plaints come from speculative builders, who are effecting further sub-divisions of sections of which they have become owners.' ■ :

"The engineer recommended tho council to agree to a reduction in tho case of combined shops (or business premises), under tho following conditions:— "(1) That the building be erected principally as a shop or placo of business, ami that the plans accompanying applications for permits to build ishall show quite clearly that the building is intended to be used for tho combined-'purpose. "(2) That the rear of the premises, or rooms on floors above the main floor, intended as .living rooms, shalLnot be occupied separately: from .the shop. "(3) That a suitable and approved access siven to rear portion of premises. "(■1) That the reduction in all such cases shall be made so that tho total' amount of the air-space shall be not less than 1000 superficial feet. '- '(5) That no shop, and dwelling, after the permit to build' has been given, by the corporation, shall be converted into a dwellinghousa only. "I sec no difficulty, continues the engineer, in framing a by-law satisfactorily to meet the above requirements. Before earning to ; any conclusion on,tho matter, the city solicitor should ba consulted. It will be difficult, at times, to'ascertain if a building is really intended to servo the combined purpose, as any dwellinghouso could be aU-o used, as a shop'.or place of business.

"The following requirements might be insisted upon:— "(1) That at least three-quarters- of the front of tho building should be glazed in the manner usually adopted for shopfronts. "(2) That all such combined buildings shall be jut on the street alignment. An Increased Fire Risk. "It would be well also, Mr. Morton stated, in concluding his report, to consider whether, if such reductions in the amount of air-space be permitted, tho building should not be of brick, stone, or concrete, as all such shops would be close together, and would therefore constitute a greater fire- risk. The proposed amendment to the by-law should'apply equally in x all.tho outlying .districts. It would ■not be right if same wero made to apply to ' Kilbirnie only. .-■''' "At the request of ttie committee," Mr. M'Laren states, "tho city solicitor submitted a draft by-law, '.which was ultimately circulated amongst members of tho committee on June 21. It provided that, with Tespect to dwellinghouses in districts other than tho ' late ' Wellington Ward, there should bo a provision of not less than 2000 superficial feet of open space. . Clause 2 of the draft by-law provided that in/respect of certain streets (not named) it should bo a sufficient codjplianco with the air-space provision if there should bo provided in tho rear of any new dwellinghouse nn. open space of not less than 1000 superficial feet. "from notes on the draft by-law, it would appear that the committee altered the 2000 superficial feet of air-space, proposed in the original draft, to 1000 feet, and also altered from 3 feet to 6 feet the minimum width of any strip of land to be considered iu computing tho total airspace pertaining to a building. "Meeting on September 15, the committee postponed consideration of tho bylaw, in order that tho. City Engineer might supply a list of streets to bo granted preferential treatment. 'Mr. Morton's Second Roport. "On November 10, 1910, the engineer reported in the following terms:— "I havo to roport having been in consultation with tho City Solicitor regarding tho proposed alteration in tho bylaw referring to air-spaco in the outlying districts. After very careful consideration, I havo come to tho conclusion that to framo a by-law for a reduction of the. (air-space) area in certain streets, or to make some applicable only to combined shops and dwellings, will bo confusing and that the most satisfactory method will bo to leduco the amount of air-spaco required. This will make tho by-law easier of administration and will get rid of the difficulties regarding ehops in outlying districts. At tho samo time the total amount of air-space will be approximately equal to that required for dwellings. "Tho report bears an annotation dated November 19, 1910, and installed by the Town Clerk (Mr. J. It.' Palmer): Do you want to reconsider your recommendation before nest meeting of tho committee?'

"A second note, initialed. by the City Engineer and dated November 30, 1910, reads: 'No. Tho City Solicitor may have something to say on tho matter, I

would like to soo the draft of tho proposed by-law and discuss snmo with the City Solicitor.'

Into the Daylight,

"A further step in the progress of [his much-altered by-law/' ■ stated Mr. M'Laren, "was taken us I have said when the council (on April (i last) approved of. tho clause in the committee's report, re-' commending approval "of. tho-by-law, without having ~ discussed 'it' or ''having 'had any explanation from, .the committee which had charge of tho matter."' Mr. Al'Larcn further added .'that ho regarded this as an extremely serious matter and lie proposed to make the facts in his ■ possession as public as possible. It was .in (the. last .degree ridiculous .that both citizens and councillors, the press, and public men in " general,' should bo' talking about town-planning on the." one linnd and on the other pliiuge for a reactionary regulation- which,,: in , some places, can havo no* other, elfcct'.than au aggregation of slum conditions. In the Hataitai' district there is a movement on foot to squeezo houses—always the workmen's bouses—into places which will not allow for decency, let. alono . comfort, and he appreciated the action of the Hataitai Electors' Association in seeking to protect their district against tho "jerry" builder, and tho land-shark who havo no regard for civic patriotism nor in the least for tho well-being of the population. With regard to tho whole policy in respect of the building requirements 'and the sub-division of land, he considered that it was time that the City Council took a firm stand by insisting that any deputation—of persons who may be interested or otherwiseshall not be received by a committee of the council in private. All such matters should be brought forward by deputations at open meetings of the council so that the press and tho public may know what was being done. The By-Law. The proposed air-space by-law, finally approved by the committee, and submitted to the City Council, runs as follows: "That'in that portion of the city other than the late Wellington Ward the following provisions shall apply:—(l) Every •perso.n who erc-cts in such districts a new dwelling within the meaning of Section 29-t of tho Municipal Corporations Act, 1908, shall:— . . (a) Provlue, at the sido or in the rear thereof, an open ■ space exclusively belonging to such dwelling, aridof an extent of not less than 300 . superficial feet. (b) Provide open space exclusively belonging to such dwelling, and of an extent of not less than 1000 superficial feet, but no strip of land of a less width tlifin 5 feet shall bo deemed to form part of such open space. (2) Where any alteration or addition is made to any dwelling (whether erected before the commencement of this by-law or snot), the open space shall; not be diminished, so as to leave a lesser area than would bo necessary in connection with the new dwelling under either of tho above sub-paragraphs (a) and (b). (3) The erection of a dwelling upon vacant land, or upon a site previously occupied by any building, or the erection of any dwelling pulled, down within one foot of the ground floor, or the conversion into a dwelling of any building not originally constructed for human habitation, or the. conversion, into more than one dwelling of a building originally constructed as one dwelling only, or an addition to or 'raising of an existing dwelling (so far as such addition or raising is concerned) shall be deemed ■ to- bo the erection, of a new /Iwelling-houso within tho meaning of this clause.

A PROTEST FROM HATAITAI. (

. A recent meeting of the Hataitai Electors' Association considered' tho proposed city by-law governing tho. provision of open spaces adjacent to buildings in portions of tho city other than the late Wellington Ward. In its main features the proposed by-law provides that every person who erects a dwelling within the area defined shall provide at tho side or in rear of tho building an open space of not less than 300 superficial feet. It is further provided that the total opeu space belonging to the dwelling in question must be not less than. 1/100 superficial feet.

The by-law now in forco provides, in its application to city areas other than thelate Wellington Ward, that the open space adjacent to buildings shall be not less than 2000 superficial feet in all.

Following on its consideration of the proposed by-law, tiie Hataitai Electors' Association instructed its chairman and secretary to draft a letter, which has been forwarded to the City Council. The letter states:

"Our. association wishes to hereby enter its. protest against any such reduction in, the air-space provisions of the present city building by-laws. We consider this would be altogether a retrograde step, quite unjustifiable, and fraught with the gravest dangers to the best interests of the city. We are of the opinion that not only should the present air space restriction be retained, but that a minimum frontage should also bo prescribed. 'At the last meeting of our association, held on May 1, the following resolution was passed:—'That the Wellington City Council be urged to at once create a bylaw under Section 31, of the Municipal Corporations Amendment Act, 1910, proscribing the minimum frontage and area of an allotment of land on which a dwollinghouse may bo erected?' Our association is firmly convinced that the time has arrived for the insistence on a minimum frontage as well as adequate air space provisions. It is the frontage limit that decides whether a slum area is to exist or not, and unless a reasonable width is enforced, no by-law governing the depth of, or air space ( on, an allotment can prevent tho undue crowding together of dwellings. The present restriction of twenty feet is, in the opinion of our association, totally inadequate, and wo think that this should be increased to forty feet in all localities whero the topography of the land oilers no peculiar'difficulties.

. . . . We would, however, give warning that slum areas are being created, where none should exist, and would not exist, if tho city's building by-laws were such as wo respectfully maintain they should be. The Legislature has given ample powers to enable municipalities to guard against such deplorable conditions taking root, and wo sincerely trust, and believe, that you will so frame the proposed amendments to the by-laws so as to meet tho case we havp set forth above. In conclusion, we would suggest, that in the alternative, tho council will delay tho passing of any such enactment and refer the question to a committee which could hear tho evidence wo are prepared to lay before it. Wβ do not wish it thought that our advocacy is of a parochial nature, and may state that steps havo. already been taken to obtain the collective opinion of all similar associations throughout the city, which, at as early a date as possible, it is hoped to lay before you." The communication is signed, on behalf of the association, by Messrs. A. Leigh Hunt (president), and J. L. Arcus (secretary).