Halifax regional council should reject an application to build a 48-storey highrise on Granville Street, city staff say.

In a report going before council on Tuesday, staff advise rejecting United Gulf Development Ltd.’s request to amend height restrictions to accommodate the project, now known as “Skye Halifax,” formerly the “Twisted Sisters.”

The report gives three main reasons: The move would significantly affect the height policies of the Downtown Halifax Plan, it would impede the view from the Citadel Hill ramparts and it would be inconsistent with council policy for substantially altering planning documents.

“Entertaining the application has the potential to create an atmosphere of general uncertainty about council’s commitment to its planning documents,” the report reads.

United Gulf has had a development deal for 1591 Granville St. since 2006. The original agreement was for two 27-storey mixed-use buildings, and required that construction begin by March 2010.

A year later, council considered discharging the agreement. The developer responded with a new vision for the site ‘ two 44-storey towers rising from a four-storey “shared podium.”

“The height of the revised United Gulf’s project would require significant amendments to HRM’s planning documents,” the report reads. Specifically, the planning documents allow for a maximum height of 66 metres. United Gulf’s proposal is for buildings roughly 150 metres tall.

The report says allowing an exception for the developer would call “ the entire approach to building heights in the downtown into question.”