Halifax council to debate Dartmouth Cove infilling again

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Large turnout at Dartmouth Cove meeting

Halifax council to debate future of Dartmouth Cove

For the past two years or more, there has been much debate and concern over the proposal to infill sections of the Dartmouth Cove, N.S., waterfront.

The previous Halifax council looked at ways to prevent infilling projects from going ahead without council approval, but a new staff report stops short of recommending council put any restrictions on any infilling right now.

Instead, the report recommends council wait for the Downtown Dartmouth Waterfront Revitalization Project to come back to council next year sometime.

But Dartmouth-area Councillor Sam Austin doesn’t want to wait before putting certain protections in place.

“My concern right now with the status quo is that while we wait for that waterfront plan, any number of property owners who own water lots here could infill,” said Austin.

Last year the federal government approved a plan for a numbered company to dump 100,000 cubic metres of pyritic slate in the cove as part of an infill project, but the government later began to process to rescind the approval.

In June 2024, Halifax council requested that staff reach out to the federal government to inquire about implementing restrictions that would require a City Hall permit to infill on the Dartmouth waterway, which is a similar setup at the Northwest Arm in Halifax.

Save Dartmouth, an advocacy group, want those same protections for the area.

“The company in question here that wants to infill this lot wanted to do so three years ago and it’s only through a couple lucky twists and turns that they haven’t been able to,” said Katie McIntyre Mills, a nearby resident and member of Save Dartmouth Cove.

According to the staff report, there are nine water lots along the Dartmouth Cove, covering more than four hectares of land.

In the staff report, the numbered company says the proposed infill project would create new land for development like housing.

But residents argue there’s no clear plan beyond the infill and that uncertainty is troubling.

“If they don’t really have a vision for what can go there or they are just spit balling a vision, do we really want to the city fostering an environment that enables a shoot first, ask questions later approach?” said McIntyre Mills.

Austin doesn’t want to wait for another report to come back and plans to make a motion Tuesday to implement a similar bylaw like the one for the Northwest Arm.

“To look at imposing restrictions on infilling so we can have that conversation about what we want out of this place that we all love,” said Austin.

Save Dartmouth Cove held a public meeting Monday night to discuss the latest Dartmouth Cove report, with a couple hundred people in attendance.

“This gathering tonight is to show council, for all of us to stand up to HRM and to council, and to say, ‘please do not follow that staff recommendation. Please bring in the helpful bylaws, the bylaws that Dartmouth Cove really needs, just like you did for the Northwest Arm,’” said founding member Jill Brogan.

Council will debate the issue Tuesday at City Hall.

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