N.S. designates new special planning area near Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes

Taryn Grant · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 11:41 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The Nova Scotia authorities is trying to spur much caller lodging successful the Halifax country by adding different portion of onshore to the database of areas fast-tracked for development, and calling connected the metropolis to commencement enactment connected improvement plans for 2 areas.

Colton LeBlanc, the curate for maturation and development, announced Friday greeting that he's designated 255 hectares of onshore westbound of Highway 102 betwixt Kearney Lake Road and Lacewood Drive arsenic a peculiar readying area. The corridor of onshore abuts the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes area.

LeBlanc besides asked Halifax Regional Municipality to commencement secondary readying enactment for the Highway 102 country and the Sandy Lake peculiar readying area. Secondary readying looks astatine infrastructure needs that see water, sewer and transportation.

"What we'll spot present is, over five, 10, 15 years, a controlled maturation of lodging successful these 2 areas to assistance capable the gaps successful our lodging needs," LeBlanc told reporters.

LeBlanc said some areas were identified for imaginable maturation arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2006. In the lawsuit of the Highway 102 corridor, developers person shown involvement successful the past, but the metropolis refused to springiness support to one, prompting a lawsuit.

Vicki Elliott-Lopez, subordinate lawman curate of maturation and improvement and seat of HRM's enforcement sheet connected housing, spoke alongside LeBlanc astatine a caller league Friday.

"Good land, rather frankly, is truly hard to find for improvement these days," she said of the caller designation. "It's getting much scarce, peculiarly astir HRM and this volition escaped up that opportunity."

Development astatine Sandy Lake has been protested by respective groups and individuals, including the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Members of the radical person referred to the Sandy Lake country arsenic Halifax's lungs and said it should beryllium protected.

LeBlanc said biology concerns were looked astatine successful studies that were precocious completed for the peculiar readying areas and mitigation efforts "will beryllium looked at."

"Nova Scotians instrumentality large pridefulness successful our situation and our authorities … would not bash thing to jeopardize our environment," LeBlanc said.