Candidates for Councillor, District 10

Of Candidates for District 10 only Kathryn Morse responded. Candidates Andrew Curran, Mohammad Ehsan, Renee Field, Sherry Hassanali, Christopher Hurry, Debbie MacKinnon and Kyle Morton did not respond. See Kathyrn’s response below-other than not having solutions to the parking garage she seems like she is open, positive and thoughtful!
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Candidates for Council, District 11

Of Candidates running in District 11 Hannah Munday was the only respondent. Stephen Chafe, Matthew Conrad, Bruce Cooke, Patty Cuttell, Bruce Holland, Kristen Hollery, Jim Hoskins, Ambroise Matwawana, Lisa Mullin, Dawn Edith Penney and Pete Rose did not reply to the survey. See Hannah’s response below:
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Candidates for Councillor, District 13

Of Candidates for District 13 Derek Bellemore and Pam Lovelace responded. Tom Arnold, Tim Elms, Robert Holden, Nick Horne, Darrell Jessome, Iain Taylor and Harry Ward did not submit responses. Derek Bellemore gives exceptionally Common favourable replies!  For details see below:

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Candidates for Councillor, District 14, 15 & 16

No responses were received from candidates in District 14, 15 or16. These include:

District 14: Candidates Incumbent Lisa Blackburn and Fred Frampton.

District 15: Candidates Mary Lou Leroy, Anthony Mrkonjic, Jay Aaron Roxy, David Schofield and Incumbent Paul Russell.

District 16: Incumbent Tim Outhit.

Round and Round We Go…Parking is us.

A fourth version of the 500-stall, 8-storey parking garage planned for the north side of the NS Museum of Natural History is now flipped in orientation requiring a larger easement from HRM and chewing up more of the Halifax Common.


Time to Stop Government Spin on the Hospital Parking Garage
 

Friends of Halifax Common (FHC) are calling on the Halifax Regional Municipal and Nova Scotia governments to scrap the $30 million dollar, 500-stall, 8-storey parking garage planned for the Nova Scotia Museum property as part of the proposed $2 billion dollar QEII hospital expansion. 

The province has recently come to the city with yet a fourth version of the parking garage and pedway over Summer Street, flipping the orientation, increasing easement requirements and chewing up more of Halifax Common’s green space. Continue reading →

Chronicle Herald: Community groups call for public consultation audit on HRM developments

An artist’s rendition of the 29-storey Willow Tree tower at the corner of Quinpool Road & Robie Street.

Francis Campbell

The voice of the public is not being heard or heeded in “pre-ordained” Halifax Regional Municipality development plans, several community groups say.

“The consultative process is a right of the public under the (municipal) charter so that the public is able to participate in the finalization of planning strategies,” said Peggy Cameron of the group Friends of the Common Halifax Common, one of 10 Continue reading →

Rick Howe-FHC Request to AG for Review of Public Consultation Process

HRM's Charter establishes the right of the public to be consultated and to participate in the formulation of planning strategies.

HRM’s Charter establishes the right of the public to be consultated and to participate in the formulation of planning strategies.

Rick Howe interviews FHC’s Peggy Cameron- Why have ten community groups asked HRM’s auditor general to do a review of HRM’s public engagement process and outcomes?

News 95.7 Sheldon MacLeod Interview on FHC Request to Auditor General

HRM spends considerable amounts of money and staff resources in public consultation for urban planning and other projects but to what purpose? Listen to Sheldon MacLeod’s interview with Peggy Cameron about FHC’s letter to HRM’s Auditor General asking for a review of HRM Planning’s public consultative process as a Charter matter. The letter contains 10 case studies written by prominent HRM citizens who have engaged in public consultation but feel their voices have been ignored by the City (August 20, 2020)

FHC Requests HRM Auditor General Review Public Consultative Process as a Charter Matter

August, 2020-Letter to HRM Auditor General
Re- Review of HRM Planning’s public consultative process as a Charter matter
This letter (accompanied by 10 brief case studies) is to request that HRM Auditor General conduct a review of HRM Planning Department’s public engagement process and outcomes with respect to HRM planning and council votes. In writing to you we wish to note that we are aware of your July 2018 report to HRM Council on the operation of the Planning Department with respect to development agreements. We are prompted to write regarding a crucial aspect of the operations of that Department not addressed in the report, namely public participation.
The HRM Charter, Part VIII, s.208 states: “The purpose of this Part is to …(c) establish a consultative process to ensure the right of the public…to participate in the formulation of planning strategies…”
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HRM Public Consultation Experience Submissions to HRM AG

FHC has requested in a letter to the HRM Auditor General that a Review of HRM Planning’s public consultative process as a Charter matter be conducted. Ten case studies written by individual citizens representing community groups who have engaged in HRM public consultation accompany the request. They are as follows:
1. Young Avenue District Heritage Conservation

Peggy Cunningham PhD
Chair, Young Avenue District Heritage Conservation
 Professor, (Former Dean of Management) Dalhousie University

2. Halifax Home Owners Association/Peninsular South Residents Assn 

Owen Carrigan PhD
 Former President Saint Mary’s University

3. Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society

Chris Marriott
 Chair, Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society

4. Development Options Halifax

Larry Haiven, PhD
 Professor Emeritus, Department of Management, SMU

5. Peninsula Advisory Committee, Former Volunteer Member 

Michael Bradfield, PhD
 Professor (Retired), Department of Economics, Dalhousie
6. Centre Plan: Corridor Creep: Charles St

Howard Epstein, LLB
Former Halifax City Councillor, Former Nova Scotia MLA

7. Oak-Allan Street Bike Corridor–anonymous

8. WillowTreeGroup—from https://willowtreehalifax.wordpress.com

9. St Pat’s High School — Quinpool Common Group
10. Friends of Halifax Common – see www.halifaxcommon.ca, https://www.halifaxcommon.ca/wp-content/uploads/Attachment-new- APL-staff-report-required.pdf?189db0&189db0 etc.
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In the News—parking garages, developments, Centre Plan

Maura Marche uses a hula hoop on the North Common part of the  245 acre Halifax Common given in perpetuity to “the inhabitants of the town of Halifax as Commons forever” in 1763 by King George III. (TIM KROCHAK-photo)


FHC Update: During COVID bubbling its been wonderful to see how many people are enjoying the Common for sitting, playing, eating, socializing or relaxing. A round up of recent media stories shows what Friends of Halifax Common has been busy doing to work with citizens to protect the Halifax Common. Legislative protection of the Halifax Common is critical, as is the need to re-commit to the goals of the 1994 Common Plan to keep, not give up, and re-capture its public open space.