‘We need the housing:’ Halifax council approves final phase of Centre Plan – Halifax

Halifax Regional Council has given the inexperienced gentle to the final section of an city planning technique for Halifax and Dartmouth after three hours of debate on Tuesday evening.

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of adopting the plan with some amendments, together with a report on pre-approved improvement functions that will probably be affected by the passing of the ultimate section.

The Centre Plan is a planning course of for the Regional Centre, together with Peninsula Halifax and Dartmouth contained in the Circumferential Freeway. The plan is being developed in two phases, Bundle A — accredited by council in September of 2019 — and Bundle B.

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Extra response to provincial housing plan

Bundle B is the second and final section of the centre plan that was formally launched in 2016. It focuses on developments that metropolis employees deemed acceptable for high-growth areas, like Halifax’s downtown core.

This section focuses on defending the character of low-density neighbourhoods whereas encouraging new development via hidden density alternatives — issues just like the approval of yard suites and inner conversions of present bigger properties.

Tuesday’s session was the primary in-person public listening to because the pandemic hit and the final alternative for folks to share their ideas on the ultimate stage of the planning technique.

“Many residents, equivalent to myself, a younger skilled simply beginning my profession in Halifax, depend on decrease density, inexpensive housing and will be unable to afford the high-rise residing that will probably be changing it,” mentioned Caden Hebb, a Halifax resident, who attended the listening to.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage mentioned throughout the session that between packages A and B, there are 49,000 potential developments as of now.

“We’ve already bought 20-something thousand accredited developments. We’d like the housing this may present,” he added.

—with information from Alexa MacLean