Time for the Temporary Pop Up Stadium to Go – FHC to HRM

FHC’s June 9 letter to HRM Mayor, Council and Community Economic Development and Planning Committee recommends that they do not approve a permanent stadium on the Wanderers Ground. (see letter: 2025 FHC HRM Wanderers Stadium.pages) A June 11 CEDP meeting will consider a motion from a recent HRM staff report on the Wanderers Block Functional Plan

The Wanderers Grounds was excluded from public consultation during the Halifax Common Master Plan Consultation in 2018, just as HRM signed a contract with Derek Martin for a temporary pop-up stadium for his private professional for profit team. The Field was fully used by amateur players.

The Wanderers Grounds was used to full capacity by amateur players until HRM Mayor & Council gave it over to a private developer for his profit for $2400/game.

HRM’s contract with Martin stated that the temporary stadium was to be removed at the end of each season but the Mayor and Council later agreed to remove that clause. Despite claims to the contrary the Field has been exclusively used by the for-profit team although HRM pays for field upgrades & maintenance. HRM recently bought Derek Martin’s used bleachers at in-camera council meeting. They won’t disclose the price.

130 studies show there is no economic benefit from investing public money in stadiums. How does Halifax imagine it will be different?

Widening Mayor Fillmore’s Robie Street Info

Howard Epstein and Peggy Cameron’s May 21 meeting with Mayor Fillmore was a very important opportunity to raise the multitude of reasons as to why HRM must stop further expenditures on the Robie St widening; repopulate the buildings that have been or will be purchased and emptied; employ any of the various better, cheaper options for prioritizing transit that do not involve demolitions or cutting trees and road widening.

Overall the project has an extreme lack of rigour or analyses that one would expect for such an extraordinary expenditure with regard to its impact, objectives, alternatives, outcome. There is simply not a case to justify pursuing it.

* There is no need to widen the street from three lanes to four for a second bus lane;
* HRM has no legal obligation to pursue the previous Council’s decision for any number of reasons;
*The road widening plan was adopted without the cost being known and it is rapidly inflating;
*The costs, now likely $200m is not equated with any known or projected time savings for either buses or private vehicles;
*Transit may be accommodated and prioritized through alternatives such as overhead bi-directional signals for lane changes like on the MacDonald Bridge with money savings going to buses, salaries, terminals, shelters, public safety, lowered fares, micro-transit;
*The proposed demolition of affordable housing involves dozens of good quality units in a time of economic precarity, a housing crisis, climate crisis and a labour and materials shortage;
*The plan to cut 80 historic street trees, many dating back to the 1860s or 70s ignores their significant environmental importance and that they can never be replaced;
*The plan puts undue pressure on the neighbourhood a unique community of small scale, multi-unit buildings with some single family homes with a uniquely high concentration of co-ops, First Nations, youth shelters with in the designated Woodill heritage conservation district;
*The proposed widening is strongly unpopular with residents;

Maintaining the neighbourhood status quo is both necessary and relatively easy. The Mayor and Council must not demolish the existing housing; refrain from cutting down existing trees; rent the housing to tenants; and direct HRM staff to work within the constraints of the existing road allowance.
For other details please see the May 27, 2025 followup letter to Mayor Fillmore.

Telling It Like It Is — HRM’s Transportation Committee

On May 21 Howard Epstein and Peggy Cameron presented to HRM’s Transportation Standing Committee to update them on the Public Panel on the Robie St widening. If you missed the meeting watch the 5 minute presentations to find out more here, (Begins at 55:30.)

(May 7, 2025) Over 100 residents attend a public panel with Howard Epstein, Peggy Cameron, Frank Polermo & emcee Jeff Karabanow to learn about HRM’s intention to Robie St widening.

Todd Veinotte & Peggy Cameron: What’s Up With Robie St?

FHC’s recent public panel with Howard Epstein, Frank Palermo, Peggy Cameron & emcee Jeff Karabanow had over 100 residents who learned learn about HRM’s $200m project to widen Robie St for a 2nd bus lane. Bottom line? It’s outdated, expensive, destructive, ineffective, ignores cheaper options, is not a plan & will not fly. Listen to Todd Veinotte’s interview with Peggy Cameron then write clerks@halifax.ca — “Stop spending public money to wreck Robie! Get people moved back into homes you’ve bought & emptied, don’t cut the trees, stop spending money on the widening and use cheaper options like lane changes like the MacDonald Bridge.“

Mayor Fillmore-We Worry About Our Meeting, Neighbourhood & Misinformation

Writing on behalf of FHC and Robie St residents, Peggy Cameron and Howard once again ask Mayor Fillmore for a meeting. The first request was on November 4th 2024 with multiple follow up inquiries.

We worry that details on HRM’s plan to spend at least $75m to acquire property and demolish buildings to widen Robie Street for a bus lane are not fully vetted with residents or Council. The plan from 2018 or 2019 needs to be re-examined for its merit and to reassess using scarce public money to wreck our Robie Street neighbourhood from North to Cunard Streets. (Map details: https://shorturl.at/tCDHU )

Recent email communication from Councillor Cleary to residents continues to confuse or mislead. We worry other Councillors may also be unaware of misinformed. We again clarify why the Mayor & Council must optimize spending public money on reallocating existing road space, more buses, more drivers with better salaries, lower fares, better public safety and services such as bus shelters with seats and sidewalks and trees for shade and comfort. And stop the plan to wreck our Robie St neighbourhood.
Details below
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❤️ Halifax? Write to Stop Robie Street Widening!

Help stop HRM’s $200m plan to demolish Robie Street’s last historic neighbourhood (North to Cunard). HRM intends to destroy dozens of affordable units & cut ~80 trees to add a bus lane. But Data shows that even for public transit, road widening won’t reduce traffic. Instead of wrecking a uniquely diverse, affordable community, a cheap proven solution is signalized lane changes (i.e. MacDonald Bridge or Chebucto Road) to reallocate existing road space. In a housing and a climate crisis, destroying affordable homes & cutting street trees is a bad idea. Write HRM Mayor & Council -see info below or write from your ❤️! *Wider Roads Make Worse Cities

Write to Stop Robie Street Widening. Help spread the word by circulating, printing, posting this poster.*Even for public transportation, wider roads don’t reduce traffic.*Citizens don’t support demolitions or widening Robie St.

*Public money should not be used to destroy a unique neighbourhood of First Nations, youth shelters, co-ops, heritage, affordable housing, business.
*The 80 historic trees slow traffic, calm drivers, clean air, reduce noise, give shade & beauty. They need protection.
*The budget cost at $200m (1) for road construction alone is too much & skyrocketing.
*Cheap, proven options? Time of day lane changes Chebucto Rd/MacDonald Bridge!
*Savings can be used for buses, ferries, drivers, lower fares, shelters, the Mumford Terminal, public safety.
*Our new Council can legally reverse the last council’s plan.
Please let friends & neighbours know. Ask them to write council c/o clerks@halifax.ca, post on social media, print & distribute our flyer below or our poster. The pictures tells it all.

2025 feb. flyer HandsOffRobie

(1) HRM April 24^th TSC Report estimates road construction for 2029 (ish) to be $170m but as costs have inflated at an extraordinary fate from $53m in 2022 to $73m in 2023 for land acquisition alone, FHC believes the construction cost will be closer to $200M. THIS DOES NOT seem to INCLUDE COSTS FOR BRT – ONLY ROAD WIDENING.

HRM -Cancel Robie St Widening & Save $73m

FHC has written to HRM to cancel its Robie St widening plan and save $73m. That’s HRM’s budget to buy property, demolish buildings and cut 80 trees for a bus lane. But data shows, even for public transportation, widening roads does not reduce traffic congestion. Instead demolishing dozens of

Widening roads for public transportation does not reduce traffic. Photo:Tim Krochak/Herald

small-scale affordable units and cutting 80 trees for a plan that won’t work, HRM should use signalized lane changes i.e. MacDonald Bridge or Chebucto Road.  The historic Robie St neighbourhood has a concentration of First Nations, housing co-ops, youth shelters, new Canadians, small businesses. As HRM has no obligation to proceed with the previous Council’s plan, stopping the plan to wreck this community should be an easy decision.  See details in FHC’s letter here: FHC 2025 HRM Council, Robie St FOIPOP.pages

Dear Premier Houston-Do You Know Your Government is Buying & Demolishing Affordable Housing?

Premier Houston takes steps to address. (photo credit: 989 XFM)

Dear Premier Houston,
(Feb 23, 2025) We’re writing to ask if you know that the NS Department of Public Works is spending an estimated $18 million in public money to buy at least 10 multi-unit buildings on Robie Street to tear down? This is at the behest of HRM which intends to widen Robie Street for a bus lane.

Data shows that even for public transportation, widening roads will not relieve traffic congestion; traffic levels will remain (status quo) or more traffic will be induced.

HRM also intends to cut 80 mature street trees (known to calm drivers and traffic). Many are over 100 years old and will never be replaced. In total, the Robie Street widening affects 90 properties. The acquisition budget for the properties is extraordinary: $55million (2024), $75million (2024), unknown in 2025.

Residents have long advocated for the reallocation of existing road space with signalized lanes changes like the MacDonald Bridge or Chebucto Road. These are a faster, cheaper, effective, more equitable ways to prioritize transit and reduce traffic in many cities (London, Zurich, Paris, Montreal) and countries (Brazil, Italy, Japan).

The small scale rental buildings to be demolished contain dozens of affordable units. Impacted residents have no place to go. The community is unusually diverse- housing co-ops, First Nations, Youth Shelters, new Canadians, low income earners. Right now HRM has 1130 unhoused (AHANS, Feb 12) and12,000 vacant lots (HRM 2024)

As a former accountant you can agree that in this time of economic, social, environmental precarity provincial and municipal governments should not spend public money to destroy the very things we need to protect. As budget deliberations proceed this is the time to stop this wasteful expenditure. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,  

Peggy Cameron and Howard Epstein,  Friends of Halifax Common
Cc: Leaders of Opposition, Minister Municipal Affairs, Minister of Treasury Board

Reject N.S. Minimal Planning Requirements,

(Feb 24, 2025) FHC’s submission to HRM on the Nova Scotia Government’s proposed changes to Minimal Planning Requirements* asks that they be rejected. The changes are without adequate public information, understanding or engagement. Where, what form and how development occurs should be integrated with plans for infrastructure, societal needs (including all ages and abilities) and commercial services, not haphazard. Planning is about more than buildings. If the Centre Plan is inadequate, when is the formal review period? There are areas that need to be strengthened. Details below the image…

Whats the best urban form? Decoupling density from tallness in analysing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of cities https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00034-w

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The Mayflower Factory Building Project Needs Work!

Maybe you know of the Mayflower Tobacco Factory building? Its a small brick building near the Halifax Common and Armories on Nora Bernard. Built in the 1800s, it survived the Halifax Explosion. Now it’s home to ~23 small locally owned businesses and services. But, as with a lot of older buildings, a developer has another idea for its future.

The plan includes demolitions, a 17-storey tower and facade fronts. Quite a salute to its past. FHC wrote to HRM to caution against demolitions, their role in the climate and affordability crises, to offer better options for density and as always ask HRM to protect & expand green space on Halifax’s Common. See the letter below:

Feb 21, 2025
Dear Heritage Planners and Advisory Committee Members:
Re: Mayflower Factory Heritage Development Application

To contextualize this submission I draw your attention to the recent World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Risks Report (Feb 5, 2025). It identifies the majority of critical long-term risks facing the world as environmental. Based on a survey of 900 experts, the coming 10 years will be reshaped by: #1 extreme weather events; #2 biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; #3 critical change to Earth systems; #4 natural resource shortages; #10 pollution.

This is relevant as a planning decision such as the Mayflower Factory Heritage Development Application as it is an actual decision point where HRM can and must negotiate to minimize impact of these risks and harms. Because GHG emissions have to stop, we must stop the emissions. Climate impact must be a key factor in the decisions relating to this application. Demolitions, construction and building is adversely harming our Climate Crisis: Upfront or embodied carbon or energy used to produce materials and products for buildings accounts for about 11% of global green house emissions. Operational Energy is energy used for lighting, heating, cooling buildings and accounts for about 28% of global GHGs.

My report “Buildings for the Climate Crisis – A Halifax Case Study” looks at preliminary assessments of GHGs associated with the demolition of existing low rise buildings and compares these to mid-rise (9-storeys) and to high-rises (16, 30, 22, 24 storeys) on Halifax’s Carlton Block. It is based on researched evidence. It explains why demolition and new construction of a tower such as for the proposed Mayflower Factory building are a bad choice for the climate. Demolitions unnecessarily replace existing floor area and unnecessarily uses materials and the energy to produce, transport and install these. There are better options for density and the climate. I invite you to take a look. Built Form and Density: My report also uses scientific research to explain that the taller the building, the disproportionately greater the GHGs because of disproportionately greater use of energy intensive products and materials (glass, steel, concrete, aluminum). Towers usually have a larger footprint or land area than smaller in-fill or modification of existing buildings and generally cause more demolition. Here’s a good slide summary of the report from a presentation to HRM

Note the slide from Decoupling density from tallness in analysing the life cycle
greenhouse gas emissions of cities, from a team led by Frances Pomponi. It examines four basic urban typologies.https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-021-00034-w with a Life Cycle Emissions and Population Summary. It finds, High Density Low Rise (HDLR) has less than half the Life Cycle GHG Emissions (LCGE) per capita of High Density High Rise (HDHR) buildings.

High-Rise Buildings: Energy and Density by Professor Philip Steadman of UCL sets out existing evidence on density and energy use on built form and density. It describes mathematically how Courtyards are the best, Crosses next, and Towers are only the THIRD best form for density.

Operational Energy: A study by UCL Energy Institute finds office and residential
buildings use more energy per square metre, the taller they are; twice as much for 20 or more storeys when compared to low-rise buildings of 6 storeys or less. Energy
efficiency may be very slowing changing but this will not prevent GHGs now nor does not address an overall problem of towers are less flexible for adaptive reuse.
Natural Resources Shortages: As much as 30% of materials in Nova Scotia landfills
come from demolitions and construction waste. Each year HRM issues hundreds of
demolition permits. As the shortage of natural and material resources increases can we really continue the habit of sending buildings off to the landfill?

Very real but ignored is the wastefulness of demolitions and the penalty to communities such as Nova Scotia’s Arlington Heights or other marginalized rural areas where the landfills for the materials are hidden. A 2024 HRM staff report found there are 12,000 vacant lots within HRM. These should be prioritized for building and infilling gentle density and missing middle ahead of any demolitions. These can all be built beginning demolition and disruption of a a Heritage Conservation District. My report has many examples of smaller scale infill, add-on to existing buildings. Many cities are successful adding density in 4-6 storeys that compliments existing architectural style. Ad include affordability.

The Halifax Common: The adjoining neighbourhood of Creighton’s Field developed
along the Halifax Common. The mixed low rise buildings respectfully frame and outline the Common. The if the proposed development at 5563 Nora Bernard Street is approved as presented a 150 years relationship will be broken by gentrification
façadism, maximized profit. It will impact traffic and shadow on the Halifax Common, the Citadel as well as the neighbourhood. The development will also intensify reliance on this premier public green space without offering any of its own. Like a parasite, taking but not giving or committed to the good health of the host.
Without looking at the macro scale of inter-relationships of how our established historic neighbours relate to Halifax’s green spaces their sense of openness continues to be lost, clogged one building at a time and further detracting from quality of life. This is true also of the cumulative impact of the numerous redevelopments that will follow this precedent setting one.

In your decision please consider the following:
Social Harm: eviction, displacement, inflation, loss of affordability, gentrification.
Cultural Harm: façadism that destroys a significant historical & cultural site within a Heritage Conservation District.
Environmental Harm to climate: demolition, materials waste, landfill, double impact on upfront carbon, tower as the worst built form choice for embodied / operational carbon /density.
Halifax Common Harm: intensified use of Halifax Common without any new public
green space, increased noise, shadow, wind, traffic, loss of open sky & morning
sunlight. FHC supports more housing, specifically more affordable housing. We support change, specifically by building on not destroying what we have. We support density, specifically at 4-6 storeys to minimize upfront & operational carbon. Climate impact must be a key factor in the decisions relating to this application.
Finally HRM’s planning freely gives away increased zoning height without requirement for protection of, replacement of or any new affordability. The level of rezoning such as we are experiencing in Halifax inflates land values. Towers, the worst form for density and climate, as well HRM’s penchant for towers is driving ever higher towers because of the inflated value of the land. If Paris can do otherwise, why can’t Halifax?

The application needs work. Please get it right.

AGM 2024 FHC Activities Report and Grades

FHC AGM Activities Report, 2024:

This is a brief summary of FHC Activities over the past year presented at the October AGM.

Halifax Common Master Plan: FHC Directors spent hundreds of hours trying to have input into the Common Master Plan. Despite that, little was achieved. The Plan is piecemeal, keeps none of the 1994 Halifax Common Master Plan’s major commitments: to recapture, not give up and keep Halifax Common land. It offers no legal protection. Weakest and worse is it did not plan for the entire Common and it left out the Wanderers Block.

Summary? An intensive time thief.

Major failures resulting from this are evidenced on the Carlton Block developments (four >30-storey towers with both developers coming back for more height), QEII (no public consultation/ trees cut/parkades/Garrison Ground paving). University Ave. bike lanes (paving / 23 trees cut).

FHC Direction: work for better government during municipal election; legislation to protect greenspace and trees (Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F)

Wanderers Block Plan: Includes Halifax Lancers, Lawnbowlers, Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Power House, Public Garden Greenhouses, Wanderers Grounds. So far HRM is attempting to plan in private, without public consultation with only stadium advocates and other Wanderer Block denizens according to Councilor Waye Mason.

FHC Direction: work for transparent public process