So Evil Birch will be pretty much totally gone at some point. I didn’t realize development was planned for that area. I’m guessing nothing is going to happen there for some time though. Hopefully.
I don’t think there’s anything more that will affect Whopper than we already knew about.
Yeah nothing really new about Whopper the Evil Birch section is news to me… That is what this consultation is about, “negotiation of the proposed boundaries for a regional park”.
I just did a quick read through of the report and it seems like the facilitator is suggesting that some part of the park would have to be “economic” in nature to account for the $30 million that developers say is needed to “open the park to public access”
Real crappy.
Trail up to Blue Mountain from power lines anyone?
Wow! That sucks big time!
Luckily this proposal relies on the venture being economically feasible, not going to happen anytime soon IF council decides that this is the way to proceed. Originally they did not think it was achieving the goals of the park.
CBC article here:
I guess it’s a positive sign the developers are willing to sell some land as apposed to cutting every tree off it to get a jump on things. It’s a pretty damn scary map. They talk as if easy access to a wilderness area is a good thing. I fear the circus that is Long Lake will be upon us at Suzie Lake in no time.
Nature of the beast so long as people want to live close to town in a new house but still have an illusion of space. All of these new suburbs and exurbs are blights on the landscape, as anyone can tell when looking at aerial photos. Another way we shape the world by cars I suppose, so ugly.
Nothing is set in stone on this yet. The facilitator obviously sided with the developers on this one. They appear confused about the difference between the protected wilderness area, regional park, and a forest. Comments on this proposed plan can be sent to clerks@halifax.ca.
The city promised to buy this land in 2007 or 2009. I forget which. This facilitators plan is almost exactly what the developers wanted years ago. The adjacent provincially protected Wilderness Area is there to stay for future generations. I know not everybody agrees with a limited use piece of land like this, but I feel it’s important for some parcels to be left with minimal disturbance for our future generations. This one happens to be near a major city. So much of our Acadian forests have been forever changed by clear-cutting or development. This issue with this proposed regional wilderness park is that if it turns into houses and condos then Suzies and Quarry Lakes (and Fox and Ash) would be compromised and not protected at all. The park is needed to keep the shorelines of these lakes free of docks, grass, and dirty diapers.
See this information in an email I received recently:
The long-awaited draft Facilitator’s Report re. the long-secret negotiations with the developers for the Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes Regional Park was quietly release online sometime this week. No notice to the public or even key stakeholders has been given yet. One of our sharp-eyed friends just stumbled across the link yesterday:
http://www.halifax.ca/property/bluemountainbirchcovelakes.php
After waiting a decade, it does not look good for the long-promised Regional Park. The facilitator basically just accepted everything the developers said/want. The map she is proposing for the park boundary (page 27) is directly from the developers and looks basically the same as what they wanted 9 years ago when they tried to get approval for Secondary Planning the first time (see attached map from 2007). The whole report is terribly one sided and there is no indication that any “negotiations”, facilitated or otherwise, ever took place. The facilitator also doesn’t seem to get the difference between the Wilderness Area and the Regional Park. She keeps describing the WA as the “Wilderness Park” mirroring the developers sneaky language (a Wilderness Area is NOT a Park and, under legislation, cannot have significant built infrastructure or development). A public meeting with the facilitator and/or staff (not sure at this point) will be held Monday, June 20, 2016, at 7:00 pm at the Future Inns Aspin/Birch Room, 30 Fairfax Drive, Halifax. The notice states that no public comments will be accepted at that meeting and that feedback will be accepted until July 4 but ONLY by written submissions –. Feels to me like council is trying to fly this one under the radar and limit public awareness and input.
But have faith! I’m sure the streets and buildings are to be named from the trees and birds which once existed.
Anyone go to this meeting? Updates?
I did. It was standing room only. Many people could not get in at all. The presentation was bs. Short. Focusing on the little green space the architect designed. Some bs priorities they had. Lucky this is very early in the process. Council has the opportunity to prevent this. There’ll be lots of opportunities for proper public consultation on the future where people are allowed to speak.
The Ecology Action Center is hosting a meeting to organize against the proposed development:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1791212927790269/
of course none of this guarantees that mountain biking will be allowed if it does become a park instead of a subdivision.
But still, a park with no mountain bikes beats a subdivision any day.
Hard to believe that it takes this much effort to promote recreation and/or nature areas in HRM.
