[Sust-mar] (2) 27 STORY TOWERS IN HFX?

[Paul Falvo]

(2) 27 STORY TOWERS IN HFX?

HRM Council will decide February 28 whether to allow 27-storey towers
in downtown Halifax. United Gulf Developments Limited have applied to
build two 27-storey towers on the block bounded by Granville,
Sackville and Hollis Streets and by the Metropark garage (the former
Texpark site and abutting land and building). The Urban Issues
Committee of the Ecology Action Centre is opposed to the construction
of these towers because they would contravene many policies in the
Municipal Planning Strategy, including policies on scale and design,
policies protecting the view from Citadel Hill, and policies
preventing adverse wind and shadow effects. Mayor Peter Kelly says
that Council has an "intense desire" to find out what the public
thinks of the project. The committee asks you to let Council know your
views by sending a brief message to the Mayor and Council at the
following address: macdonac at halifax.ca.

The scale and density of the towers would be much greater than any
building approved since the Municipal Planning Strategy was adopted.
They would rise 285 feet above Hollis Street and about 320 feet above
the harbour. The towers could not be considered to reflect the
historic and traditional scale. The towers would be five times as high
as the adjacent Keith Building and eight times as high as the Seivert
Building, both registered heritage buildings. Although the project
lies between specific view planes, its silhouette would dominate the
view from the Citadel. It would block ten degrees of view of the
central harbour from Citadel Hill. This is three times as much view as
is blocked by the Aliant building. The towers would be 70 feet higher
than the ramparts of the Citadel and 100 feet higher than viewing
positions on the roadway around the Citadel. Tall towers of this
nature inevitably create dramatic wind and shadow effects. The towers
would cast long shadows on the popular pedestrian Sackville Landing
and other locations on the waterfront. The towers would create winds
that would make it uncomfortable to walk across the street from the
towers 25% of the time in the winter. The Municipal Government Act
states that "A municipality shall not act in a manner that is
inconsistent with a municipal planning strategy." Peninsula Community
Council in 2004 approved a smaller, 17-storey Midtown Tower. The EAC
and others appealed this to the Utility and Review Board. The Board
allowed the appeal and rejected the tower because it was inconsistent
with the municipal planning strategy.

Please help to stop this development by writing the Mayor and
Councillors at this address, macdonac at halifax.ca.

Here are some policies in the Municipal Planning Strategy:

8.3 "The City shall develop the means to assure the greatest possible
degree of compatibility between new development and desirable aspects
or characteristics of the surrounding man-made and natural
environment..."
6.2 "The City shall continue to make every effort to preserve or
restore those conditions resulting from the physical and economic
development pattern of Halifax which impart to Halifax a sense of its
history, such as views from Citadel Hill..."
6.3 "The City shall maintain or recreate a sensitive and complimentary
setting for Citadel Hill by controlling the height of new development
in its vicinity to reflect the historic and traditional scale of
development."
7.2.1 "The exterior architectural design of new buildings should be
complementary to any adjacent ones which are designated as being of
historic significance or important to the character of the CBD..."
7.5 "The design of new developments in the CBD should be such that
normal wind levels on outdoor pedestrian routes and in public open
spaces will be acceptable."
7.6 "The design of new developments in the CBD should be such that
there will be a minimal amount of shadow cast on public open spaces."

For more information contact our Urban Issues Committee at
urban at ecologyaction.ca

(3) IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP EXPIRED?
Contact Heather at 429-4404 or outreach at ecologyaction.ca to renew or
call to find out if your membership with the EAC has expired. New
members welcome!
--
Heather McKibbon
Outreach Coordinator

Ecology Action Centre
1568 Argyle Street (3rd floor)
Halifax NS  B3J 2B3
Tel. (902) 429-2202
E-mail: membermail at ecologyaction.ca
Web: http://www.ecologyaction.ca

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you a member of the EAC? We need your
support to continue our work! Please join,
renew or donate today. Call (902) 429-2202
http://ecologyaction.ca/membership.shtm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


_______________________________________________
EAC-Announce mailing list
http://lists.ecologyaction.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/eac-announce

--
P Falvo				PO Box 933
(867) 873-LOON (5666)		Yellowknife NT  X1A 2N7

Save Kyoto! http://www.mackenziewild.ca
Exxpose Exxon! http://www.exxposeexxon.com
Support Sierra Legal http://www.sierralegal.org
Sustainable Maritimes http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/sust-mar