“We don’t build buildings because of public opinion. We build them for good planning… And so I think this is a good thing for us… In terms of the design, I think we’ve mitigated most of the concerns…” —Councillor Shawn Cleary June 19, 2018 Shawn Cleary’s suitcase of sophistry requires a little unpacking. Councillor Cleary […]
Densely calculated density
In return for "public benefits" — affordable housing units, public art, and the like — the city trades "density bonuses" that allow developers to build higher and bigger than planning rules would otherwise allow. But a study shows that on just six big developments downtown, the city lost a potential $8 million in public benefits because it low-balled calculations.
If public meetings to discuss the municipality’s Centre Plan were episodes of Sesame Street, they would be “brought to you by the number 15.” The Centre Plan would chart development for the next 15 years. But that same number keeps getting raised in pointed questions from citizens who want to know why there’s a 15-year...
The Centre Plan, affordable housing, and the Willow Tree
Affordable housing, anyone? After nearly two years of promising to do something about it, the City’s draft Centre Plan being discussed at a series of public meetings and online could actually deliver some of the 5,000 units promised by 2021. That is, if — and it’s a big IF — HRM regional council approves and...
City council, the developer, and the deal that isn’t quite
APL promises 10 affordable housing units in exchange for being allowed to add five storeys to its Willow Tree project. Who benefits? Hint: not the city...
Halifax City Council can be — even at its best of times — confusing, contradictory, confounding. Last week, council was not, even by its own modest standards, at its best. Councillors were considering again/still/always a proposal from APL, an Armoyan development company, to erect a commercial-residential tower at the corner of Robie Street and Quinpool...
Majority come out against a Willow Tree high-rise
The public was heard last night on the proposed 20-storey (and still, somehow, possible 25-storey) tower at the northwest corner of the Willow Tree intersection in Halifax. Councillors spent about four hours hearing from the project developer and just over 40 people, with many more people filling up the gallery and an overflow viewing room...
Why did Bob Bjerke get fired and what does it mean for Halifax?
It's been three months and Halifax still has no Chief Planner, and the CAO is asking council to end run the Centre Plan.
Jacques Dubé worked as HRM’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for just 11 months when he decided to can the city’s Chief Planner, Bob Bjerke. Bjerke had been heading up the city’s planning and development department for about three and a half years. His dismissal came abruptly, with no explanation to either him, or to the […]
A hole in the wall just waiting for a tunnel to show up: Examineradio, episode #105
Former Halifax journalist Hilary Beaumont has grown into one of the few dedicated environmental reporters in Canada. Now based in Toronto and writing for Vice News, Beaumont has recently covered stories such as the Standing Rock protests in South Dakota, the Arctic’s rapidly-melting permafrost, and the ridiculous number of permanent boil-water advisories across the […]
David Hendsbee, Shadow Chaser: Morning File, Wednesday, March 22, 2017
News 1. Liberals double-down on IBM deal they criticized four years ago as a “huge clusterfuck” Back in 2012, I reported on the then-NDP government’s decision to outsource the province’s SAP operations to IBM: By handing 73 union jobs to the notoriously anti-union IBM, Nova Scotia’s NDP has turned its back on its core support in […]
Gimme shelter
It's time to experiment with Halifax bus stops
The criminal and heartbreaking destruction of dozens of bus shelters in Halifax this month has got me thinking about bus stops, and not just in terms of their potential (or lack thereof) to withstand future attacks. Along with Halifax Transit’s route network redesign, a new Integrated Mobility Plan setting its sights on bus rapid transit,...
Stephen McNeil’s pricey PR people suck at their jobs: Morning File, Monday, November 28, 2016
November Subscription Drive Click here to purchase a subscription. News 1. McNeil’s pricey PR people suck at their jobs Yesterday on Facebook, Graham Steele posted an analysis of the McNeil government’s reaction to the collapse of negotiations with the teachers union. Steele’s entire post is worth reading, but I was most struck by this: The government’s communication strategy […]