Category Archives: ACTIVITIES

Fun things to do – Jane’s Walks etc.

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
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Wanderers Field Temporary Pop-up Stadium: Keeping the public informed and writing the city about building a publicly paid for stadium on the Wanderers (at least $40 million) is not a good idea. All of many HRM consultant studies find there is no public economic benefit. This is confirmed by multiple economic studies and reviews (There are at least 130 examples).
 
FHC Direction: work for return of the Field to amateur players and support another location and funder for Derek Martin’s stadium
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Central Common Swimming Pool: Its marvelous. Unfortunately HRM did not have public consultation on the building plan. Consequences: its not suitable for swim matches (length). The design illustrated a single building along Cogswell but what was built was in a different location and is two buildings-a much larger footprint which blocks the western view down Quinpool Road. The Central Common pathway has not been repaired and the excavated earth mounds remain unlandscaped. FHC advocated against user fees and on-going that the HRM not brand the pool by selling naming rights.  
 
FHC Direction: Work to  honour the First Nations by using the historic name Black Duck Pond
as translated from the Mi’kmaw; have public consultation for the new playground and name it after Ritchie and the Women’s Council, Halifax’s earliest advocates and establishers of children’s playgrounds.
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Hospital build: Almost 3400 citizens kept up the pressure against cutting 37 trees (it likely ended up around 20). Many also worked to stop the paving of the Garrison Ground. In neither case did HRM make a public statement or local HRM councillors support our efforts.
 
FHC Direction: Work to have public consultation or presentation on the hospital building and advocate for the return of VG Lands to the Common’s public green space. 
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Carlton Block, last historic neighbourhood on the Halifax Common: Tremendous effort by many to balance the public interest of citizens with developer demands, including a full report -Buildings for the Climate Crisis- A Halifax Case Study by Peggy Cameron. This proposes better development solutions to protect affordable housing, climate, community and character. Thousands participated for almost a decade but now we’ll have FOUR 30+ storey towers on the Carlton Block and 700 to 900 cars next to a designated heritage streetscape. 12-14 historic buildings with 110-112 residential and commercial units will be demolished. The developers on-going return to council to ask for and receive more height.
Grade: Commoners: A+ / HRM: -F
 
 
Heritage Designation of Dr Ligoure’s North St former Home/Clinic: FHC’s successful application motivated Halifax historian and author Joel Zemel to write a book to be launched Dec 8, at Central Library. But HRM’s plans to widen Robie St has an acquisition budget of at east $73million. This will be used to buy and demolish dozens of its neighbouring historic buildings, cut up to 80 street trees, destroy a multi-racial, affordable community. Signalized lane changes as used on the MacDonald Bridge/Chebucto Lane are a quick, cheap, workable solution.
(Grade: Commoners: A+ / Joel Zemel A+ / HRM: -F) 
 
Upcoming- FHC’s strategy session will continue a lot of our on-going efforts. We hope to improve our capacity with an upcoming new website, successful charitable status application and membership and donor drive. We greatly appreciate your help in our collective efforts. We will rely on you to keep our new mayor and council better informed about the importance of keeping, recapturing and protecting our Common good.
 
Please see more details of our work here: www.halifaxcommon.ca
And remember to follow, like, share. our posts on facebook.com/halifaxcommon/posts/

Jamie Simpson – How Cities Protect Trees By Law

“trees aren’t just ‘pretty things to look at” a nice short film by Uytae Lee about our urban forest https://shorturl.at/choDH

Halifax – Ki’jupuk is known as the ‘City of Trees’ but FHC worries for how long. Hundreds of Halifax Common trees (Bell Rd, Robie St, University Ave) and throughout the city are being cut. Governments, both municipal and provincial, plan these tree cuts as if trees can just be replaced.
 
Jamie Simpson’s Law of the Urban Forest presentation at the Oct 2024 AGM tells us what other cities do to preserve and manage urban trees. Jamie’s experience is as a lawyer, forester, and writer (three books), most recently writing forest stewardship plans for the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia – all with a passion for exploring our natural world (and sometimes eating it). He’s the ideal person to help bring many threads together. Please view the slides to see what we can do to make comments to HRM Staff and Council about our keeping our Common trees?
 
FHC believes the best way to keep the beauty, environmental and health benefits of our urban trees is to protect and care for the ones that we have, by law. It takes at least 269 saplings to do the environmental work of an existing tree that is 1m in diameter. That’s about the size of a small adult. In 2023, HRM planted ~2600 new trees in 2023. That would replace the work of 10 1m trees. Each new tree HRM plants costs almost $1000. Each one faces many obstacles to thriving- pollution, extreme heat and cold, drought, disease, insects, and accidents.

 

Walk Around the Common – June 23/21 4-6pm

Join us for a Walk around the Common – June 23rd @4pm – to mark the 258th anniversary of the Halifax Common, a gift ‘to and for the use of the inhabitants of the town of Halifax as Commons, forever.”  We’re following the German tradition of a Grenzgang –when people walk around a property to check the borders and to protect it against intruders. We all need to become familiar with our collective Common and help protect it for future generations. Details below…

The North Common is about 20% or 1/5 of the 240 acre Halifax Common grant.(David Garrett)

Continue reading →

Happy 105th Birthday Jane Jacobs! – Six Ways to Celebrate…

 
Jane Jacobs (May 4, 1916-2006) was a Canadian-American urbanist who changed the way many people understand city planning and economics, and gave ordinary citizens the right to trust their own experiences and insights. In these COVID times FHC offers you 6 ways to vicariously experience or physically stroll about Halifax with or without a Jane’s Walk.
 
READ – Jane’s 1964 speech “A Great Unbalance” could be written for Halifax. As you read it consider the degraded Central Common Pool, the closed Centennial Pool, the languishing Halifax Memorial Library, the sold and privatized Bloomfield, St Pat’s Alexandra, St Pat’s & Halifax West schools lands, the +occupied+ Common lands at QEHS, CBC-TV and NS Museum. “We see the paradox of cities actually impoverishing themselves by capital improvements.” 
 
WATCH – Explore the Halifax Citadel and Our Colonizing History—From 2012 Alan Wilson historian, author and educator gives a bit of historical context to the Citadel Fortress, in a two-part video edited by Michael Lei. (~1 hour)
 
STROLL – Let’s go south, on the Common—Use notes provided by Blair Beed, well-known historian, author and tour guide, for a walk on the South Common starting at Sackville and Summer to University to South Park and back to Sackville at South Park. Along with history there’s also an expose of development on the South Common.  (~1 hour)
 
LISTEN –  The Camp Hill Cemetery – a 50 minute audio tour created by the Friends of the Public Gardens. It begins at the Summer Street entrance of Camp Hill Cemetery and explores the stories of some key historical figures that helped shape the history of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Download the tour before arriving or simply use your mobile data. 
 
WANDER – The Halifax Common Link has two nice loops in the interior of the Halifax Common linking the major green spaces in the heart of the city-especially the beauty of spring in the Public Gardens. Maps and info here: 
 
GRENZGANG – Walk the 4k boundary of the Halifax Common (1h) The 240 acres was granted to the inhabitants of the town of Halifax as Commons forever. We aren’t sure but clockwise seems to have more hills- The perimeter streets are Robie, South, South Park, Bell, Ahern, Cunard. Become familiar with this gift and help protect it for future generations. 

HRM Planning Information Meeting – Wednesday Dec 7th 19 proposals at 1 meeting

Please attend this important meeting and make comments on the 19 proposed developments…

The classic 3-storey Coburg Apartments, is an Edwardian-era building on the South Common that is under threat from the Two developers hope to erect 16 & 30 storey and 20 & 26 storey high-rises in the single block between Carlton, College, Robie and Spring Garden Road under debelopment agreement applications. targeted growth area- Spring Garden Road bounded by Robie, College, Summer Streets and Camp Hill Cemetery.

The classic 3-storey Coburg Apartments, an Edwardian-era building at Spring Garden and Robie, on the South Common,  is one of a dozen+ buildings that will be demolished by two developers if their plans for 16 & 30 storey and 20 & 26 storey high-rises in the single block between Carlton, College, Robie and Spring Garden Road are approved.

Most of the 19 proposals are for highrises that break existing height restrictions and are out-of -scale with neighbourhoods. They’ll cause dozens of affordable small-scale, mixed-use residential units, commercial spaces & historic houses to be demolished. This will harm Halifax’s Common in various ways. Examples are:

  • 13 storey on Robie, Cunard – Compton
  • 14 storey on Robie St, Pepperell – Shirley
  • 16 & 30 storey on Spring Garden Rd & Robie west of Carlton
  • 20 & 26 storey on College & Robie St west of Carlton

Continue reading →

Working with Nature, a Common Cause

Map of Halifax by Captain Charles Blaskowitz in 1784

Halifax Map by Captain Charles Blaskowitz in 1784

How can understanding former uses and natural features of the Halifax Common help us deal with contemporary concerns and future challenges?

To learn more come & hear guest speaker Kevin Hooper Tuesday April 12, 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Room 301, Halifax Central Library, Spring Garden Road
A refreshments break at 8:45 pm will be followed by FHC AGM at ~ 8 pm.

Details: Kevin Hooper investigates the Halifax Common’s social and environmental history and makes the case for reintroducing functioning wetland ecosystems to deal with the challenges facing conventional stormwater management.
Among other topics this presentation will detail; the near complete loss of historical watercourses on the Halifax Peninsula; the evolution of the Halifax Common from 1749-2016; the critical role of wetlands in nature; and, the innovative ways that engineered wetlands are being applied for the purposes of sustainable stormwater management.

Bio: Kevin Hooper, B.A., M.U.R.P., originally from Moncton, N.B.,  has lived and worked in Halifax since 2006.  Following an undergraduate degree in the social sciences Kevin did a Masters in Urban and Rural Planning at Dalhousie University with a focus on environmental conservation, social equity, and community design.  He has contributed as a research assistant on several projects relating to climate change adaptation for small communities and currently works as a planning consultant.
He is the father of three young children and the very lucky partner of the most wonderful woman in the world.

 

 

Be Neighbourly, CBC-YMCA Is Already Twice the Allowed Height (7 vs. 14+ storeys)

CBC YMCA site got broke HRMbyDesign rules

The CBC YMCA development broke HRMbyDesign rules when the height was doubled from 7 to +14-storeys. The Design Review Committee chair, Alan Parish resigned because the Mayor and council ignored the DRC recommendations to not approve the building.

Is development polarizing Halifax because developers always want and get more? A Jan 10  CBC response article correctly points out the FHC position that city staff should be applauded, not bashed for turning down the requset for 14 more amendments from the CBC-Y site developer, Mr Spatz. His development is already double what’s permitted under HRMbyDesign regulations. Its +14-storeys (49m) not the allowed 7-storeys (23m).  That permission was despite the 2011 Design Review Committee Report that recommended against the development because it broke the new 2009 HRMbyDesign regulations. The DRC chair Mr. Alan Parish resigned as a result of their recommendation being ignored. A 2012 FHC Letter details rules that are broken.

The Design Review Committee seems like their agenda is too full to understand the implications of their decisions. The Thursday, January 14th meeting will cover three big items including the CBC-YMCA, Brenton Street and Doyle Block the View from the library proposals. One meeting is hardly enough time to really think about what kind of city we’re going to end up with.

Concerned?
Write to:
The Design Review Committee
c/o Sherryll Murphy – murphysh@halifax.ca and
Mayor Savage – mayor@halifax.ca.

Come for a Walk on the Common Link – October 24, 2015

You are invited by the recently formed Common Link Association to join us for a walk along a newly proposed ‘Common Link.’  This route is designed to connect the green spaces and blue vistas through the heart of Halifax.  Please come and support our efforts to create and promote a continuous, easy-access loop through the existing trails within the Halifax Common (including Victoria Park, the Public Gardens and North Common) as well as the Citadel.  This walk is free and open to all.  Bring friends.

A greenway in the heart of the city.

A greenway in the heart of the city.

When? 10 am Saturday, Oct 24th, 2015
Rain date: 10 am Sunday, Oct 25th, 2015
Where? Victoria Park at Spring Garden Road/South Park St. by Robbie Burns Statue Statue.
Why? To enjoy and promote the creation of The Common Link, a continuous loop trail.
Who? Walking enthusiasts and all others who are interested.
How long? Approximately 1.5h.

Membership:   Should you wish to be a part of the initiative to develop The Common Link you are invited to start the process by becoming a Common Link Association member.
Please RSVP if you plan to join us, by sending an email to info@halifaxcommon.ca and writing ‘CONFIRMED’ in the subject line so we know numbers in advance.

Residents say Armoyen’s 29-storeys is too tall for neighbourhood

shadows_feb-1_4pm_west_smallIt’s Deja view!
A 29-storey tower one of  two developments proposed at the corner of Robie & Quinpool, next to  the Halifax Common and residential neighbourhoods west of Robie Street is too high according to 80+ attending a Sept 17th public meeting.  At just 20′ shorter than Fenwick Tower the building is potentially the second tallest building in Halifax but proposed for a site presently restricted to 145′.  Of 20+ citizens speaking only one person, representing the Quinpool Business Commission supported the proposal.  See CBC’s Coverage of the Public Meeting

View the developer’s drawings

Visit the Willow Tree Group website for a critical evaluation of these two projects.
Follow the Willow Tree Group on Twitter

St Pat’s High School Property – Public Meeting- Wed. Jul. 22

There’s a public  open house to review and comment on three preliminary design options for St Pat’s High School on Wed., July 22, 6:30 – 9 p.m., Halifax Forum, Multi-Purpose Room

Why is the public meeting on such short notice and in the middle of vacation season?

Why is the public meeting on such short notice and in the middle of vacation season?

Can’t make it? 
Ask questions or make comments at: https://shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/quinpool6067.

Our questions? …..
1. Why is this very important public consultation meeting being scheduled on such short notice and in the middle of prime vacation time?

2. What is the urgency to sell and re-develop the St Pat’s high school site with such haste that a final design will be selected by September?

3. This area has many highrise developments being proposed -isn’t their approval and the approval for a St Pat’s project in advance of the Centre Plan precluding what the Centre Plan will be able to do?

4. Halifax has taken 21 years to begin the process of developing an integrated master plan for the Halifax Common.  St Pat’s highschool is common land in that it belongs to the public.  According to the 2013 Stantec Report commissioned by the city there is adequate land to meet all of our projected population growth for the next twenty years.  Why doesn’t the city land bank the St Pat’s site as common land to compensate for the loss of over 200 acres of the Halifax Common’s public open space ?

 

Jane’s Walk – Freshwater Brook, Halifax Common – Sunday May 3, 11am

Freshwater Brook as commemorated by Friends of Halifax Common for Earth Day 2011

The path of Freshwater Brook as commemorated by Friends of Halifax Common for Earth Day 2011

Did you know that Halifax has its own lost river system? Join Jane’s Walk guide, Ben Wedge on the North Common to explore Halifax’s river system and its influence on development patterns in a growing garrison town. After centuries of development burying our beautiful urban streams, cities are rediscovering them and starting to bring them back.  Inspired in part by the documentary “Lost Rivers” Halifax Council is debating daylighting Dartmouth’s Sawmill River.  
Here is a nice facebook page and previous posts on Freshwater Brook can be found here…This post about HRM’s 2006 daylighting policy for both Sawmill River and Freshwater Brook.  This post includes links to excellent essays by Matt Neviille and Sam Austin. Continue reading →

100in1Day – Fun Ideas For Better Public Space

On Saturday, June 7th, 2014, Halifax joined 15 other cities around the world for 100in1Day, a festival of citizen-driven action that showcases people-ideas for a better city.

100in1Day FHC Action

100in1Day FHC Action

FHC’s “urban intervention” was a fun, low-cost way to showcase a simple idea for a better city – we cleaned a bus shelter and provided it with seating, a route map (we couldn’t find an on-line schedule), a bouquet of flowers, a 100in1Day poster, weekend newspapers and magazines and of course some Celebrate the Common 250 books.  Its the second year we’ve done it and we hope it catches on.