Title: Mellin letter
Author: SUSAN WRIGHT

The Editor, the Telegram
cc. City Clerks Department , City of St. Johns 

RE: Proposed Text Amendment St. Johns Development Regulations Battery Hotel Site, Signal Hill Road 

I am writing in response to St. Johns City Councils expedient decision to exempt the Battery Hotel redevelopment proposal from the required planning approval process and its decision to exempt this development from existing regulations limiting building area and from view plane guidelines. 

I am appalled by what I fear will be the horrific visual and functional impact of this project, not only because of the scale of the project but also because of the form and materials proposed in the artists sketch you published in The Telegram (possible influence of Santa Monica, California resort architecture?). >From the information I have received to date, the massive physical scale of this project on such a prominent, historic part of the city will forever alter the citys historic character. In recent years, City Council has approved several projects that favour the short-term interests of developers rather than the long-term interests of the general public, such as the Queens Road townhouses that block the view of the harbour from the Basilica steps. The proposed redevelopment of the Battery Hotel will make projects like the Queens Road townhouses seem like quaint and congenial interventions by comparison. 

There is probably a very good reason the developer has been unwilling to provide more information on the visual impact of the Battery Hotel project on its immediate surroundings and on the skyline of Signal Hill. A physical model or three-dimensional computer model, accurately prepared to scale and showing the adjacent buildings and topography of the site, would quickly and convincingly demonstrate the potential impact. As a strategy to eliminate debate and public participation in the planning process, the developers strategy to provide the bare minimum of information on the project is brilliant (I guarantee you would not get away with this in California). 

As a practicing architect with an interest in heritage conservation, community development, and urban design, I think it is utterly absurd that city homeowners proposing modest small-scale changes and exemptions for their properties are scrutinized to the nth degree and have to follow all guidelines and regulations to the letter (no exceptions permitted), but developers who propose large-scale projects that obstruct views, demolish buildings in heritage conservation areas, and overwhelm significant features of the cultural landscape can do what they like. 

Signal Hill is a national historic site that for many residents and visitors symbolizes The City of St. Johns. The park with its surroundings is the touchstone of our collective memory, with small-scale wooden houses and outbuildings that cling to the base of a rock with no less character than Gibraltars. It can be seen from all areas around the harbour and the old city, and even from unexpected distant vantage points like the Waterford Valley. I am sure the lucky new residents of the Battery Hotel redevelopment project will enjoy a superb view from their private terraces, but I for one will not return an affectionate gaze. 

Robert Mellin, Chair, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador