Halifax council rejects plan for Porters Lake construction waste facility

Haley Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 1:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 4

Residents adjacent a projected operation and demolition installation successful Porters Lake are applauding Halifax council's determination to cull a program for the site, but they accidental the combat is not over.

Kiann Management Ltd. has been aiming to physique a operation and demolition (C&D) processing installation connected six hectares of its ample undeveloped spot on Highway 7 betwixt Porters Lake and Lake Echo for a decade. 

Halifax municipal unit approved Kiann's program for the tract successful April 2023, but neighbours appealed and spoke against the task astatine a nationalist proceeding earlier astir members of determination assembly past Tuesday.

Residents said they were acrophobic astir the other motortruck traffic, particulate and sound that would travel with the project. They besides said determination wasn't capable screening planned for the sides and rear of the site.

A 2008 wood occurrence done the country near the spot with small vegetation and fewer trees.

But Halifax unit said the shrubs that remained, successful combination with the projected determination of the installation astir 200 to 340 metres from broadside spot lines and 30 metres from the rear, was capable to trim the impact on surrounding landowners.

Coun. Nancy Hartling said she couldn't judge that was capable to conscionable municipal criteria.

"I don't recognize however that wasn't called retired truly aboriginal on," Hartling said. "I consciousness similar this is significant. Like however could it not be?"

Coun. Patty Cuttell agreed.

"You're an adjacent spot and you're looking across, you're gonna spot a 20-foot pile, you're gonna spot that," Cuttell said.

The program did see caller landscaping similar berms and coniferous trees on the beforehand of the site to fell it from the road.

Residents besides brought up concerns astir the facility's imaginable interaction on wetlands and wildlife connected the site, arsenic good as run-off from the installation impacting wells successful the area. But a municipal lawyer reminded councillors that the state is liable for wetlands and biology impact, and they could lone basal their determination connected circumstantial tract program criteria similar landscaping and separation distances.

Regional assembly narrowly voted to cull the tract program by a ballot of 7-6. The 2 country councillors for the site's location, Trish Purdy and David Hendsbee, had been ordered by the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to not instrumentality portion successful the ballot due to the fact that they appeared biased against the projected installation erstwhile assemblage assembly rejected the tract program successful October 2023.

Resident Mike Thomas, who lives astir 600 metres westbound of the projected site, said Thursday that council's rejection felt "wonderful astatine the time." But he said his alleviation was short-lived due to the fact that Kiann Management tin present re-submit a tract program addressing the screening issues.

Thomas has been warring the installation alongside different residents since Kiann archetypal applied to rezone the onshore backmost successful 2015.

Although the section assemblage assembly rejected that request, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board overruled that determination successful 2020. It said Halifax's readying rules allowed the onshore to beryllium rezoned from its mixed-use designation to let for a C&D facility. 

"We've had triumph aft victory, but you know, we inactive look the imaginable of this perchance inactive being enactment successful our community," Thomas said.

"We're inactive … acceptable to, you know, support the combat going arsenic agelong arsenic it takes."

The projected installation would recycle operation materials similar concrete, asphalt, brick, drywall, asphalt shingles and metals — classified arsenic CD-2 — but would not beryllium a dump. Halifax classifies those disposal sites arsenic CD-3, and they travel with antithetic rules and regulations.

There are presently 2 C&D processing facilities successful the Halifax region, owned by the aforesaid operator. The Kiann tract would beryllium the archetypal C&D recycling installation approved successful decades successful Halifax.

If Halifax yet approves the tract plan, Kiann would past person to use for a licence from HRM, an biology licence from the province, and different municipal permits that all travel with their ain regulations and oversight from unit astatine some levels of government.

The Nova Scotia provincial authorities brought successful stricter biology regulations for C&D facilities successful 2023, and Halifax is successful the midst of updating its ain C&D bylaw to absorption connected limiting impacts to surrounding communities.

Those changes see requiring facilities to person a litter absorption program and diversion strategy for recycling materials, expanding security requirements to a liability sum of $5 million, and upping the penalties for facilities that don't conscionable recycling targets.

A unit study connected whether Halifax readying rules tin beryllium updated to designate locations for aboriginal C&D facilities, keeping them retired of residential areas, is expected this fall.