Angry property owner taking public land hostage? Dartmouth Cove isn’t the first time
It began with ARCP installing a safety fence. Later on Wednesday, concrete barriers were placed to block entry to the trail, which stretches three kilometres along the harbour, allowing pedestrians to get to and from the Alderney and Woodside ferry terminals. Signs attached to the barriers state the trail is closed while construction is ongoing. The company did not receive any permission from the province, which owns the land, to erect these barriers, and the municipality was quick to question why the trail was being blocked. Those who use the trails quickly began protesting the company’s flagrant actions, which also undermine Halifax council’s plan to stop or limit the infilling project.
The company plans to dump pyritic slate, a form of construction debris, into Dartmouth Cove. While it’s standard procedure to dump pyrite in salt water to prevent environmental harm from the acid it creates when oxidized, opponents to the project say the construction would create noise disturbances, ruin the aesthetic of the harbourfront, and negatively impact nearby businesses.
Although Transportation Canada originally approved the infilling project in April, they started the process to rescind its approval—which only applies to navigation, not the project itself—in June, noting issues of public concern, increased traffic and environmental impacts in their report. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has not yet ruled on the project, telling the company they need more time for public consultation and review.
Earlier this month, Halifax council voted 12-to-two to have staff consider bylaw amendments to restrict water lot developments on the cove—not dissimilar to what they did in 2007 to protect water lots on the Northwest Arm. A water lot is a parcel of land that is at least partially submerged underwater.
The water lot itself is privately owned by ARCP, but the land surrounding—including the trail, where the barriers were placed—belongs to the province. CBC reports that, according to Build Nova Scotia, the province has ordered ARCP to remove the barriers blocking the trail, noting they did not have permission to place them. They have until noon on Friday, otherwise, the province will remove the barriers at the company’s expense.
Community groups, Halifax councillors and even MP Darren Fisher have previously called for the project to be halted. CBC reports that ARCP’s chief financial officer Bruce Wood claimed political interference in their project, targetting Fisher for trying to reel in votes before the next election. Furthermore, according to a post made by Dartmouth Centre councillor Sam Austin, ARCP’s lawyer threatened to block the trail if council voted affirmatively to look into water lot restrictions.
The Silver Sands Beach Situation
This is not the first time a private entity in Nova Scotia has bullied local governments and the public in an attempt to get what they want.
A path leading to Silver Sands Beach in Cow Bay was blocked by private landowner Ross Rhyno for two years. Rhyno installed fencing and a locked gate along the public path that runs over part of his private land—most of which he sold to HRM in 2003. Part of that deal was that there would be an easement of land going across his backyard to the beach so the public would have access from the nearby municipal parking lot. Cliffs surrounding the beach make it otherwise inaccessible.
Scotia Sites
Access to Silver Sands Beach in Cow Bay was restricted by a private property owner in 2020. Passageway to the beach was reopened two years later after a judge ruled the owner wasn’t permitted to block entry, having included the right to public use of the trail on his property when he sold the land to HRM in 2003.
Rhyno cited several concerns with public access through his property—vandalism, theft, damage and trespassing. His lawyer, Eugene Tan, told CBC that Rhyno had even found people in his backyard and sitting on his deck. Rhyno erected fencing around the entrance to the path, banned dogs from entering and locked the gate in 2020 so no one could pass through.
HRM attempted to negotiate with Rhyno, but when talks fell through, the city brought the issue before a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge. Justice Denise Boudreau heard complaints from Rhyno—including that the coastal erosion made it so his property no longer connects to the beach—but refuted them and ruled the path must reopen. It took two years in total for this process to be carried out, with the gates being unlocked in 2022. Rhyno was brought back to court by HRM in 2023 for once again attempting to block pedestrian access to the beach.
Comparisons
While the Silver Sands Beach situation contrasts with the current Dartmouth Cove debacle in purpose, they share a similar theme—a private entity blocking access to public land despite having no permission from the local government.
Build Nova Scotia may have issued an order to ARCP to remove their barriers by Friday at noon, but nothing is stopping ARCP from coming back on Monday morning and doing the same. While the land doesn’t belong to ARCP, it would likely take a lengthy battle in court to properly settle the matter, as it did with Silver Sands. ARCP does own the water lot they wish to use to dump, giving their lawyers something to argue in court, but the land around the water—and where the company has placed barriers preventing access to the trail—is still owned by the province. An argument regarding ARCP’s ownership of the water lot wouldn’t likely sway a judge, but it would certainly continue to hold up the process.
The question is: Why would they bother holding this up any longer, given they are likely looking to get started as soon as possible? It may be a power play by the company to put pressure on HRM, the province and the feds, resulting from an already lengthy process to get approval on the project. Now that such approval is in jeopardy, with the Department of Transportation rescission, the Department of Fisheries’ extended review and HRM looking to introduce bylaws that would hinder the project, it could perhaps be a strong-arm tactic to show they aren’t done fighting—even if it means ticking off the public in the process.
Rhyno seemed to have done something similar with his blockade. It wasn’t likely his arguments would hold up in court—Rhyno’s lawyer said he wouldn’t go for an appeal after the ruling—but it did prevent people from using the beach for an extended period as the municipality tried to figure out what they could do to re-establish access. Court proceedings only dragged this out longer.
However, Rhyno’s situation is at least somewhat sympathetic to private landowners—it is his private land that people are using, and it had allegedly led to disruptions on his property that he had to deal with.
The same cannot be said for ARCP. With little to no public consultation on their part, it seems the company never concerned itself with public support. Instead of waiting for the proper channels to make their decisions so they could potentially begin their work in earnest—as unlikely as that was to happen—they are throwing caution to the wind, further alienating their public perception for the chance to show the governments involved that they mean business.
In the end, it likely won’t help their cause, but it will surely make it a pain for everyone else to deal with.
