Halifax council jumps into infilling restrictions on Northwest Arm

HALIFAX, N.S. — The municipality is looking to get its hands dirty — or rather, wet — with restricting the infilling in the Northwest Arm.

At Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday, councillors voted to initiate the process to make amendments to the planning strategy and land-use bylaws to restrict infilling on the Northwest Arm.

For years private landowners have applied to Transport Canada, which has jurisdiction, to infill on their properties to add land for a variety of construction projects. Transport Canada is primarily concerned with boat navigation and fish habitats.

But the Protect the Northwest Arm community group says infilling is devastating to the area.

“These projects are detrimental to the environment, navigation and fish and lobster habitats,” the group states on their website. “The new land created increases the value of some of Nova Scotia’s most valuable real estate at the expense of the public use of the water. The underwater environment will never be recovered.”

But recently, the federal government has indicated a “willingness to recognize or otherwise permit a limited jurisdiction for the municipality over infilling on the Northwest Arm,” according to the HRM staff report. 

There is positive momentum toward Transport Canada issuing conditional approvals of infilling projects under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act (CNWA) and that applicants would have to be compliant with HRM’s land-use regulations.

And given that change, HRM staff are recommending council initiate the process to change related bylaws to cover infilling.

Current restrictions vs. proposed

When amendments were last made to add restrictions in 2007, the rationale was that since HRM doesn’t have any control over infilling, it could disincentivize infilling by placing restrictions around what property owners could do with their new piece of land, such as setbacks and size limits on boathouses and gazebos. But staff said that obviously didn’t work as infilling continues to be a problem.

But new proposed amendments would only allow infilling on water lots if the projects meet these criteria:

• public infrastructure
• utility use
• publicly owned or operated ferry terminals
• parks on public land
• municipal, provincial, and national historic sites and monuments
• retaining walls

Also, staff are proposing that any infilling projects on the Northwest Arm would need an HRM development permit, notwithstanding federal permitting. 

What about Dartmouth Cove?

The Save Dartmouth Cove community group is pushing to have Dartmouth Cove included in any restrictions of infilling.

On a post on their website, the group says “The priority of the Northwest Arm’s proposed infill in this bylaw, while Dartmouth Cove remains unmentioned, raises a compelling question: Why should one proposal for infill be addressed within the bylaw, while another equally concerning proposal affecting Dartmouth Cove is left unaddressed?”

Deputy Mayor Sam Austin (Dartmouth Centre) wanted to tack on Dartmouth Cove to the motion on Tuesday but learned it would be at the expense of the Northwest Arm.

HRM planner Luc Ouellet said the discussions with the feds were about the Northwest Arm specifically and if they paused and added Dartmouth Cove, it would add four or five months before they could move forward. With just the Northwest Arm, staff could conduct public consultations and book a public hearing about the bylaw amendments in early January.

“Right now we’re moving fast on the Northwest Arm because we have an opportunity to move and there could be a change of government and thinking so we certainly want to move forward on this,” Ouellet said.

Austin, who said he and his constituents are frustrated at being left out, instead requested staff talk to feds about similar infilling restrictions to Dartmouth Cove and prepare a supplementary staff report on the issue, as well as direct the mayor to write the minister of transport to issue an immediate cessation on all infill applications on Dartmouth Cove until “appropriate governance” could be put in place” to prohibit all future infilling in DC. 

Coun. Patty Cuttel (Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road) said this has taken a long time to get here (about 19 years) and she didn’t want to add Dartmouth Cove now. She said council should “get across that finish line” with the Northwest Arm first before looking at other areas.

Other councillors said they were worried about jeopardizing the progress on the Northwest Arm in any way and wanted to wait until repeating the process for Dartmouth Cove. Mayor Savage said asking for a cessation would be pre-judging the staff report.

Austin agreed to remove the request for the cessation letter and council voted in favour of the supplemental report on Dartmouth Cove.

Infilling would help construction boom

Infilling has its place, said Coun. David Hendsbee (Preston – Chezzetcook – Eastern Shore).

They need a place to put the pyritic slate as housing construction continues to boom in the city, he said, adding HRM should take advantage of those opportunities.

“We need these to help build the local economy … what would Kings Wharf be if we didn’t have infilling?,” Hendsbee said. “That’s one example.”

Industrial use only

Coun. Waye Mason (Halifax South Downtown) said the proposed restrictions don’t go far enough and that infilling should only be for industrial use.

And it’s important to note, that with infilling, the province and the feds could override HRM, Mason said.

“Right now there’s a whole lot to be gained by making it clear we don’t approve it. If they do, it’s on them,” Mason said. “I think we should just go for it. What’s the worst thing that would happen? We would just get overridden.”