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The usual case for taller residential buildings is easy.

They provide more homes, goes the standard argument.

A couple of letters received by the City of Vancouver make quite a novel reasoning for taller buildings.

According to the writers, higher structures protect residents and neighbours behind them from air and noise pollution.

As one of the letter writers noted, these buildings can serve as “barriers”, shielding courtyards and children play areas at the back.

They can create a “quieter, better air quality side separated from the noisy, poorer air quality side”, David Garner wrote.

The letters were submitted in connection with rezoning applications under the city’s Cambie Corridor Plan for townhouses, a ground-oriented type of housing.

The Cambie corridor is the area around Cambie Street from the Fraser River in the south, 16th Avenue in the north, Oak Street in the west, and Ontario Street in the east.

It is projected that the Cambie plan will produce 8,200 units of townhouses by 2041.

On Thursday (July 11), council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on five proposed townhouse rezonings.

One of these, which is an assembly of three lots at 6335 - 6363 Oak Street and 1008 West 47th Avenue, was of particular interest to Garner.

In his letter, Garner noted that it is “difficult to understand” why the city “thinks that grounded oriented family housing” along Oak Street is “ideal” for raising children.

Garner explained that Oak Street is a “major transportation corridor” with an average annual daily traffic of more than 50,000.

According to Garner, this is “1/3 more than on Clark Drive at the air quality monitoring station at E11th Ave, albeit with a smaller proportion of heavy vehicles”.

Since eliminating vehicular traffic is not going to happen any time soon, Garner suggested “optimizing the development built form” may help.

One option is going beyond the current heights allowed for townhouses in the Cambie plan, which are three storeys on streets, and 2.5 storeys on lanes.

According to Garner, “barrier buildings” of up to 4.5 storeys can protect what he calls “outdoor living areas, such as children’s play areas, townhouse courtyards, patios” and the like.

“The optimal shape for the barrier building is often U or L shaped” with a height of “typically 1-2 stories higher”.

A separate letter was submitted by Douglas Vance and Ada Ho. They were sharing their thoughts about the five rezoning applications.

According to Vance and Ho, townhouses are not an answer to Vancouver’s housing needs.

Vance and Ho wrote that taller buildings and more density are needed to house the city’s growing population.

Regarding the specific rezoning proposal on Oak Street and West 47th Avenue, the two made the same argument as Garner.

“Oak St. in particular could accommodate buildings up to eight stories without harming the neighbourhood to any great degree,” according to Vance and Ho. “Such buildings would help to shield the single residence housing behind them from the traffic noise and air pollution generated on Oak St.”