Halifax Herald
Friday, May 14, 2004
Residents urged to participate in open houses
By AMY PUGSLEY / City Hall Reporter
Halifax needs to reach out and grab hold of its future, says a local business leader.
"We're looking to create our future, not simply predict it," Nancy Conrad, vice-president of the Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.
"We want to see a healthy, co-ordinated, planned community . . . one that still maintains its uniqueness - the things that are special to us all."
Ms. Conrad will be one of six guest panellists Saturday during a kickoff launch of the municipality's regional planning process at Mount Saint Vincent University's Seton Academic Centre.
It's the next phase of a process that led to a 90-day development moratorium being put in place in January.
Getting input at that stage was easy, says the project director of the municipality's regional plan.
"People got quite involved because it affected them personally," Carol Macomber said Thursday.
She's hoping the public will stay interested through the next phase, which includes 12 open houses all over the municipality between May 19 and June 21.
"It is a challenge when it's regional and not in a person's backyard," she said. "People tend to think it won't affect their lives or affect them directly, and it will."
Regional council, through recommendations from planning staff, will be making decisions that affect every aspect of life in Halifax based specifically on public input at these events, she said.
"It is going to affect everyone, and their kids, in a big way and for generations to come.
"This is the biggest and best opportunity to tell us what you want your world to be like."
At the open houses, the regional planning project team will present three possible directions in which Halifax Regional Municipality could go in the future.
The proposed alternatives offer conceptual strategies for how the municipality could accommodate up to a projected 100,000 additional residents by the year 2025.
Some of the input topics are services, taxation, locations of open and park space, the direction and location of future developments, and the availability of commercial, industrial and open space in the harbour plan.
"We'll have all that information there," Ms. Macomber said. "So we want to hear back from people on whether we have it right or not."
She said she can't stress enough how important it is for people to get involved.
"This is a major, major piece of planning that's going to set our course for the next 25 years - done with their tax dollars - so they'd better come out and tell us what they want done."
Ms. Conrad's group has already been doing that.
The Metropolitan Halifax Chamber of Commerce is one of the almost 100 groups that has been heavily involved in the planning stages.
"We've been extremely active supporters of the regional planning process," the vice-president said.
The chamber has made submissions, struck committees and created groups to come together and discuss the process.
It feels a strong economy with effective transportation for residential and commercial needs is key to a successful future for the municipality.
"It's important that we consider the cost implications of any new plans that we have but we certainly know that our current status quo is just not going to be acceptable."
The other five on the panel, including representatives from Trax and the Preston Board of Trade, will also present their views and advice for Halifax's future.
The first open house is Saturday at the Seton Academic Centre of Mount Saint Vincent University.
HRM'S FUTURE
KICKOFF AND LAUNCH
9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Seton Academic Centre, Mount Saint Vincent University.
OPEN HOUSES
(All sessions will be 5:30-8:30 p.m.)
May 19: Cole Harbour Place
May 20: Michael Wallace Elementary School, 24 Andover St., Dartmouth
May 26: St. Margarets Centre, Upper Tantallon
May 31: Brookside Junior High School, Prospect Road, Hatchet Lake
June 2: Four Harbours Legion, East Ship Harbour
June 3: Lake Echo Community Centre
June 7: Sackville High School, Kingfisher Way, Lower Sackville
June 9: Basinview Drive Community School, Bedford
June 10: Eastern Shore District High School, West Petpeswick Road
June 16: Bicentennial Theatre, Middle Musquodoboit
June 21: St. Agnes Church (Msgr. Leo Day Auditorium), Mumford Road
Capital District
Open House
4-7 p.m. June 17, Halifax city hall, Argyle Street.
This meeting will focus on ideas and plans for the Capital district.
E-mail your ideas and comments to: regplan@halifax.ca
Visit the website:
www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning