The Halifax Common and the Parker-Welsford Street neighbourhood continue to be threatened by the proposed 30-storey Armoyen and 25-storey Chedrawe developments. It is disappointing to have city staff pushing through the development agreement process for projects that are non-conforming to the MPS, the LUB, the Quinpool Road and Area Plan and 1994 Halifax Common Plan (see: PAC Minutes-Jan 25, 2016 ). The Willow Tree Group‘s serious and credible
Staff & Developers’ push for private profits, neighbourhood be damned.
work to draw attention to contraventions including height, scale, density, the negative effects on the Halifax Common, existing houses and from traffic, wind and shadow seems ignored. All for the private interests & profit of exceptionalist developers. The
2013 Stantec Report, the city’s
recent Density Bonusing Study and Turner Drake’s quarterly reports offer lots of evidence on why building outside of plan is a bad idea.
Whose interest is the city serving?
“Amendments to an MPS are generally not considered unless it can be shown that circumstances have changed since the document was adopted to the extent that the original land use policy is no longer appropriate. Site-specific MPS amendment requests, in particular, require significant justification to be considered.”
When FHC heard Premier Houston’s provincial government wanted Mayor Savage and HRM’s permission to cut 37 trees on Robie, Bell Road & Summer for the QEII hospital expansion, we knew there was a better option — take the building back from the edge so the tree roots were safe. Together our collective effort reduced the number […]
An idea planted by FHC led Jayme Melrose and her volunteers to transform QEHS lands into a place of productive beauty. Now the farm is evicted and still homeless. So let’s imagine the St Pat’s site with that same vision & ask HRM to transplant Common Roots to Quinpool. 95.7’s Listen to Sheldon MacLeod’s interview […]
Published July 1, 2018 June 23 marked the 255th anniversary of the Halifax Common, the 1763 Crown Grant by King George III for 235 acres of land and five acres of roads given “to and for the use of the inhabitants of the Town of Halifax as Common forever.” Clamoured for by the poor and […]
In June HRM Council ignored public opinion and staff advice to vote 10 to 6 in favour of George Armoyen’s 25-storey tower at Robie and Quinpool. The building will degrade the neighbourhood and the Halifax Common. And the decision assures an elite class of developers that democratically derived rules don’t matter to Council. Hear a […]
FHC supports the principles of the Centre Plan but believe it needs a better balance of proper densification and environmental care. Below are recent suggestions and concerns that we submitted. There are four distinct themes that build on previous asks such as growth scenarios that include commuter rail and 3-D models of what the Centre […]
May 22, 2018 Dear Mayor and Council, Re case 18966- 25-storey Armco Project As members of the Friends of Halifax Common we write to ask that you not proceed with further steps towards approving a 25-storey ARMCO building at the corner of Quinpool and Robie. We remind you that at the January 16th public hearing […]