The Bank of Bermuda's application to construct an office building on the site of the former Trimingham's department store should be rejected by the Development Applications Board.

The first and most important reason is because it contravenes the zoning allowed for the site under the City of Hamilton plan by one storey.

There is no good reason for the Bank to receive a variance on the zoning when other developers are not.

It is not as if the Bank has a pressing need for space; it will be giving up space it owns elsewhere in Hamilton once construction at this site is completed.

Nor is the fact that the Bank plans to provide a pedestrian walkway between Front Street and Reid Street sufficient. If the Bank wants to provide open space, then it should do so. But it should not be allowed to raise Hamilton's skyline as a result. Giving up space at ground level (and the air space above) should not automatically result in the balance of the site being allowed to go higher.

Until the plans adhere to the City of Hamilton Plan, they should not be approved.

The second reason for rejection, if more than one is necessary, is on the use of the building. The plans barely fit the planning requirements for retail use, with the old Trimingham's facade and a rump of its retail space being retained on Front Street. The former Watlington & Conyers facade disappears completely. On the Reid Street, the retail space will become a banking floor at a time when retail shopping space in Hamilton is in short supply.

Indeed, there is some irony in the fact that just when the Corporation of Hamilton was ready to proceed with a pedestrian shopping area on Reid Street (not least because Trimingham's and Smith's, which opposed the idea are now closed), some of the key retail shopping space in the area will be gone.

Nonetheless, the loss of shopping space is real, and it should be within the DAB's purview to take this into consideration.

The third reason for rejection lies in the admittedly subjective area of aesthetics. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, few would disagree with the oft-quoted notion that Bermuda office buildings tend to be either stunted skyscrapers or Bermuda cottages on steroids. the Bank building mostly falls into the former category.

Bank chief executive Philip Butterfield has argued that Bermuda and Front Street need to move with the times. With international business driving the economy, Hamilton needs multi-storey office buildings in its downtown, just like other cities and large towns.

This seems it be entirely wrong. What makes Front Street ? and Bermuda unique ? is its Bermuda vernacular architecture and comfortable scale. Apparently, Hamilton, in the name of "change is good", should now become "Anytown, North Atlantic", with the same canyons of towers and windswept, empty plazas that characterise so many downtown districts.

Finally and separately, the DAB should reject the Bank's request to fast-track the application by having in principle and final approval considered at the same time. This request is not in and of itself a reason to reject the plans themselves.

Rather, this should allow sufficient time for the plans to be considered given the importance of the site. There may be no more valuable piece of real estate in Bermuda than this location. The community has one chance to ensure that whatever is built on this site is something of which Bermuda can be proud. This requires a careful and thoughtful approach to the plans and not the rushed procedure which is being sought.