Question called, and Motion passes!! The Halifax Green Network Plan has been passed at Council!!!

So reads a final Tweet from this morning from Our HRM Alliance.

View Council eagerly approves Halifax Green Network Plan by Yvette D’Entremont in the StarMetro Halifax (Aug 14, 2018) for more details and comments by Walter Regan of the Sackville Rivers Association.

The sequence of Tweets from @OurHRMAlliance:

@OurHRMAlliance
56m56 minutes ago
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HRM Planner Ben Sivak is here to present the final draft of the Plan and to introduce the background. “There has been 3 rounds of public engagement, the State of the Landscape Report, and this is the first time we’ve been able to look at HRM as an entire landscape.”

@OurHRMAlliance
54m54 minutes ago
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Sivak – “The Halifax Region has incredible assets in wilderness and recreation. The intent of this Plan is to build on these assets and protect what we have here.”

@OurHRMAlliance
54m54 minutes ago
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Ecological highlight – “Map 5” is the ecology map, it maps the different areas that are key connects or key green areas and will help to prevent us from inadvertently putting development on an important landscape.

@OurHRMAlliance
51m51 minutes ago
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Community shaping – one of the key actions of the Halifax Green Network Plan is to help us to decide where we should grow. “We can imagine a scenario where we would choose to grow in a different area to avoid negatively affecting the Green Network.”

@OurHRMAlliance
51m51 minutes ago
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Outdoor Recreation – This aspect recognizes the multi-functional role that our parks network plays. Some of the key actions include the use of a “land assessment tool” to evaluate land for acquisition and request for Charter amendment for HRM to acquire parkland based on density.

@OurHRMAlliance
48m48 minutes ago
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Implementation has been given a lot of attention. 79 actions worth! (YAY!) Some of these guide land use planning decisions, some help with park network management, others determine current and future project work, and finally they guide partnerships for managing land.

@OurHRMAlliance
48m48 minutes ago
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There are immediate actions, and others that will be completed in short (1-2 years), medium, or long time frames. Mr. Sivak reads the recommended motion from staff. You can see that here:

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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A key part of the motion that CPED amended is to bring HGNP back to Council annually for updates on implementation!!!

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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Now onto debate: @SamAustinD5 says it’s not very often that you have a big crowd standing out front of Council saying they’re in support of something. It reminds him of the IMP. We’re on the right path with this and it’s important to bake it into the Regional Plan. Yes!

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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Councillor Hendsbee: hopefully we’ll get provincial consent on the changes to parkland acquisition for density, since the Regional Centre is very dense and needs parks. Will certain things from the Green Network Plan affect how we decide where we should acquire parkland?

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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Councillor Hendsbee raises the question of North Preston where the community needs much better access to green space. Hopefully this will help to determine the areas that are very much in need. This Plan seems less to put a moratorium on rural development and more to identify…

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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And protect assests. Councillor Hendsbee in support! Now Councillor Mancini is up.

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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Councillor Mancini: glad to see in the presentation we talked about Community Shaping. Question – what about existing projects that are in front of us now? Speicifcally the Port Wallace development – how would the HGNP impact this?

@OurHRMAlliance
40m40 minutes ago
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Mr. Sivak: Port Wallace is a good example of some of our existing practices already being aligned with the Green Network Plan. For instance, Barry’s Run is the key green corridor that must be preserved thru this area. What the HGNP proposes consistent land suitability assessments

@OurHRMAlliance
28m28 minutes ago
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Councillor Zurawski: very pleased to see such wonderful reports coming from staff. It’s wonderful to walk outside and see a “positive protest” and see so many people cheering for this. Excited that #BlueMountainBirchCove is an “Essential corridor” in this Plan.

@OurHRMAlliance
28m28 minutes ago
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Worried about the title “Network”. “When I was talking with John Symmonds, he suggested that there’s a lot of good things here, but perhaps what we need here is a “Green Blanket”. I would like to see corridors, like tunnels under our major highways, for wildlife…”

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Zurawski: Climate change brings with it more thunderstorms and rainfall but also dryness and forest fires. As you put this Green Network Plan together, my question is whether or not the threat of fire has been taken into consideration?

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Richard Harvey: it doesn’t come out inherently in the Green Network Plan, but we’re well aware from staff that as we acquire land, this becomes something that we have to manage and a consequence that we need to be considerate of.

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Zurawski: I hope in the future we might have a section that might address some of these concerns. I do worry about fire in Blue Mountain-Birch Cove.

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Councillor Streatch: This seems like the kind of thing that can really benefit the rural economy, not just prevent development in it (Yes, yes! In fact, Ontario’s Greenbelt contributes millions into the rural economy every year)

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Councillor Streatch: Concerned about the distinction for some rural farmland – there are areas in this Plan where it is suggested to limit or prohibit residential development in these areas. What’s the reasoning behind that?

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Mr. Sivak: There’s really a lot of area left for residential development, and we wanted to be very clear that we don’t want residential development on our very precious agricultural landscapes. This will allow us to protect these areas but also to make informed decisions.

@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Councillor Streatch: I like “limit” this development, not “prohibit”, because it allows for small development. I can’t imagine 100 homes built on farmland but sometimes smaller things should still be up to Council.

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@OurHRMAlliance
27m27 minutes ago
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Council Nicoll: VERY excited to second this motion! “However, any motion that comes forward that brings this many proposed amendments to the Charter. I want to be optimistic, but this won’t happen quickly.” Question – in our relationship with province, how optimistic are we?

@OurHRMAlliance
23m23 minutes ago
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Mr. Sivak: there are two actions specifically asking for Charter Amendments (small error in the document, these are action items 18 AND 61, not items 18 to 61). There are also many other things we can do with our present legislative tools that the Plan directs.

@OurHRMAlliance
23m23 minutes ago
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Councillor Mason: props to staff for taking a very scientific document and paring it down into a Plan that Council and the public can understand. Waye is VERY excited that Councillor Streatch is onside today because we know it’s improving the rural economy & isn’t just a big park

@OurHRMAlliance
Following Following @OurHRMAlliance
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Question called, and Motion passes!! The Halifax Green Network Plan has been passed at Council!!!