Land Fast Tracked For Residential Builds In Hrm Could Add More Than 22 000 Units

John Lor said the designation of nine boroughs across the county would create up to 22,600 new housing units. The projects were submitted by a committee consisting of municipal and provincial officials in charge of accelerating housing development in the capital’s district. “These nine specially designed areas could offer a significant number of new homes for people in the area and save months, even years, in approval time,” Lohr said in a press release. “I want to thank the municipality for its support and cooperation as we work for solutions.” The designation allows Lohr to assume power for development approvals in the nine districts, as described in Housing in the Halifax Regional Municipal Act. The bill, passed last fall, was initially criticized by Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, who said he was worried the county would overturn the municipality’s years of planning work.

The mayor says public participation remains a concern

Savage, who attended Friday’s announcement, said he was generally satisfied with the panel’s work. “This was not a process we welcomed and we are still concerned about public participation, but what we have seen is good faith from the provincial government, good faith from the committee to recognize and support these plans we have implemented.” Savage told reporters. “The work of this panel, headed by him [former Liberal housing minister] “Geoff MacLellan was really collective, focused and I think productive.” A conceptual rendering of the proposed development on the grounds of the former Penhorn Mall. (Clayton Developments / Halifax Regional Municipality)
Lor acknowledged in the statement that while housing is a challenge across the county, the shortage in the Halifax area is particularly acute. “We have to act now to deal with it,” he said. According to the provincial government, the housing deficit in the Halifax area is estimated at 17,000 units and is increasing. The nine design areas include: Savage said all the projects were at some stage in the approval process or were about to be submitted to the council.

1 project was rejected by a community council

In fact, the Northwest Community Council recently rejected the plan of Armco Capital Inc. for the Indigo Shores project. Lisa Blackburn, a Middle Sackville consultant, said the decision was based on the fact that local schools in the area were already overcrowded. “The decision made by the community council was largely based on the overcrowding of the Milwood family’s schools, especially the Sackville Heights Elementary elementary school,” Blackburn said. He said the school has six portable units and has lost common areas, including the cafeteria and music room, to make room in the classroom. Bedford-Wentworth’s advisor Tim Outhit also expressed concern about the approval process for these projects by the county. “What we do not want to do is just build for the sake of building,” Outhit said. “We want good development, we want integrated communities. “Complete communities come with leisure, transit, transportation improvements, school plans, green spaces and come with well-designed neighborhoods.”

$ 2.3 million to study key development queries

The Government of Nova Scotia is offering the municipality $ 2.3 million to fund research for this purpose. Savage said the money would be used to answer key development questions about transport, leisure, the need for schools and the protection of biodiversity, lakes and wildlife. “We want to have full communities for people to live in, so they don’t have to jump in the car and drive around town to get what they need,” Savage said.

Affordability concerns

NDP leader Gary Beryl said he was disappointed with the announcement due to a lack of commitment to affordable housing. “When you have a project in the midst of a housing crisis of more than 20,000 units, and the total that is guaranteed to be affordable is not at all and something that can happen, that is not good enough,” Burrill said. “This does not address the real situation, the real composition of the crisis we are in.” The coordinator of the Ecology Action Center for Sustainable Cities reiterated these concerns. “As far as I understand, there is nothing in the legislation or in the panel … that says they need to meet the range of housing needs across the range of homes,” Kortney Dunsby said in an interview Friday. “It is very clear in Halifax that we need all types of housing.” Dunsby said she believes the county is operating on the assumption that more units will reduce overall housing costs. But he said “it’s important that all future developments have this accessibility … so that we build exactly for the needs of our community.” Like Savage, it has expressed concerns about public participation. Dunsby said it was concerned about the developments being approved without further public input. In particular, he expressed concerns about the development around Sandy Lake, one of the last remaining wildlife areas in the municipality. “It’s an incredibly valuable ecosystem, not just for humans, but also the wilderness as a wilderness corridor,” Dunsby said.

title: “Land Fast Tracked For Residential Builds In Hrm Could Add More Than 22 000 Units " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-15” author: “Paul Schooler”

John Lor said the designation of nine boroughs across the county would create up to 22,600 new housing units. The projects were submitted by a committee consisting of municipal and provincial officials in charge of accelerating housing development in the capital’s district. “These nine specially designed areas could offer a significant number of new homes for people in the area and save months, even years, in approval time,” Lohr said in a press release. “I want to thank the municipality for its support and cooperation as we work for solutions.” The designation allows Lohr to assume power for development approvals in the nine districts, as described in Housing in the Halifax Regional Municipal Act. The bill, passed last fall, was initially criticized by Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, who said he was worried the county would overturn the municipality’s years of planning work.

The mayor says public participation remains a concern

Savage, who attended Friday’s announcement, said he was generally satisfied with the panel’s work. “This was not a process we welcomed and we are still concerned about public participation, but what we have seen is good faith from the provincial government, good faith from the committee to recognize and support these plans we have implemented.” Savage told reporters. “The work of this panel, headed by him [former Liberal housing minister] “Geoff MacLellan was really collective, focused and I think productive.” A conceptual rendering of the proposed development on the grounds of the former Penhorn Mall. (Clayton Developments / Halifax Regional Municipality)
Lor acknowledged in the statement that while housing is a challenge across the county, the shortage in the Halifax area is particularly acute. “We have to act now to deal with it,” he said. According to the provincial government, the housing deficit in the Halifax area is estimated at 17,000 units and is increasing. The nine design areas include: Savage said all the projects were at some stage in the approval process or were about to be submitted to the council.

1 project was rejected by a community council

In fact, the Northwest Community Council recently rejected the plan of Armco Capital Inc. for the Indigo Shores project. Lisa Blackburn, a Middle Sackville consultant, said the decision was based on the fact that local schools in the area were already overcrowded. “The decision made by the community council was largely based on the overcrowding of the Milwood family’s schools, especially the Sackville Heights Elementary elementary school,” Blackburn said. He said the school has six portable units and has lost common areas, including the cafeteria and music room, to make room in the classroom. Bedford-Wentworth’s advisor Tim Outhit also expressed concern about the approval process for these projects by the county. “What we do not want to do is just build for the sake of building,” Outhit said. “We want good development, we want integrated communities. “Complete communities come with leisure, transit, transportation improvements, school plans, green spaces and come with well-designed neighborhoods.”

$ 2.3 million to study key development queries

The Government of Nova Scotia is offering the municipality $ 2.3 million to fund research for this purpose. Savage said the money would be used to answer key development questions about transport, leisure, the need for schools and the protection of biodiversity, lakes and wildlife. “We want to have full communities for people to live in, so they don’t have to jump in the car and drive around town to get what they need,” Savage said.

Affordability concerns

NDP leader Gary Beryl said he was disappointed with the announcement due to a lack of commitment to affordable housing. “When you have a project in the midst of a housing crisis of more than 20,000 units, and the total that is guaranteed to be affordable is not at all and something that can happen, that is not good enough,” Burrill said. “This does not address the real situation, the real composition of the crisis we are in.” The coordinator of the Ecology Action Center for Sustainable Cities reiterated these concerns. “As far as I understand, there is nothing in the legislation or in the panel … that says they need to meet the range of housing needs across the range of homes,” Kortney Dunsby said in an interview Friday. “It is very clear in Halifax that we need all types of housing.” Dunsby said she believes the county is operating on the assumption that more units will reduce overall housing costs. But he said “it’s important that all future developments have this accessibility … so that we build exactly for the needs of our community.” Like Savage, it has expressed concerns about public participation. Dunsby said it was concerned about the developments being approved without further public input. In particular, he expressed concerns about the development around Sandy Lake, one of the last remaining wildlife areas in the municipality. “It’s an incredibly valuable ecosystem, not just for humans, but also the wilderness as a wilderness corridor,” Dunsby said.