Maybe. But rules & panels can change. If the DRP consists mostly of high regarded architects, urban designers & landscape arch. in the city then I’ll go with their critique 90% of the time~ over some cost cutting developer & city councillor. You know, It’s just the city’s architectural reputation & presence at stake. Lol. The big projects downtown that are universally called out (designs of) as being “an eyesore” ~T.O. has a few~ should absolutely be on hold if they don’t measure up. That’s how cities & places change. My last visit to Montreal & Boston, I can’t recall one ugly, generic or cheap looking buildings In the core.
I'm a bit more to your side than
@DSC 's when it comes to the idea that a City can be, in some instances, prescriptive.
Though, I'd be careful about that, which I think, is what DSC was getting at.
A city can get it just as wrong as developers, and then impose that wrong-ness everywhere.
It can also end up imposing arguably 'good design', but everywhere, such that everything looks the same.
There is merit to curtailing some of the worst impulses of architects and developers......but one should be cautious in the manner and extremeness by which that is achieved.
i might argue, than most of the worst architectural sins in this city of any size have been condos.
Something that is driven by pre-construction sales; and in which developers are not help to account if they change the appearance of a building post approval or even post sales.
As opposed to having the City impose design standards one could:
1) Prohibit pre-construction sales entirely. (ie. you can only sell/rent a finished, occupancy-ready, product); I would argue this would stifle a lot of bad design.
2) You could make re-zoning approval specific to whatever design is proposed, and/or subject to City veto; by which I mean, if you want to change the design after it's approved, you need the City's permission.
3) You could make developers civilly and criminally liable for fraud, if they sell one design and deliver another.
Any/andor/ all of these would likely do more to ensure quality design that a binding DRP.
The DRP, depending on composition, is often thoughtful, but this is not universally true, and one should be careful in handing off absolute power on such things.......
