Protesters rally outside Colonial Honda – little to be done to halt north end expansion

Neighbours held a family-friendly protest outside Colonial Honda in north end Halifax on Friday to show the auto dealership and the public that the area is a residential community.

The Robie Street dealership’s new owner, Steele Auto Group, has purchased a number of surrounding homes to create parking spaces for its inventory and customers.

Nineteen properties, including some which were on the market for several years, have been given permits for demolition.

Community members have created a group called Homes not Hondas to object to the expansion.

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“It is a neighbourhood, it is a community and I don’t think Honda thought about that or realized that before they spent $6 million without talking with anybody first about what this might mean for the neighbourhood,” said Mark Butler, policy director for the Ecology Action Centre, located right across the street from the expansion on Fern Lane.

Andrea Ritchie, who lives four doors down from a handful of homes slated for demolition on McCully Street, says the entire north end community will suffer if the development takes place.

“I think it will feel like standing on Kempt Road,” she said.

“There’s nothing wrong with going to Kempt Road if you want a fast food burger or a new car. But if you don’t, it’s not somewhere you go to hang out. It’s not somewhere you want to walk and it’s definitely not somewhere you want to live.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's nothing wrong with going to Kempt Road if you want a fast food burger or a new car. But if you don't, it's not somewhere you go to hang out. It's not somewhere you want to walk and it's definitely not somewhere you want to live."

Protesters are hopeful Steele Auto Group will change their plans and opt not to tear down the houses, but the company’s president, Dave MacRitchie, says that won’t be the case.

“We’ve invested considerably in the area. We’re trying to do this in a thoughtful manner and work with the community to do this,” MacRitchie told Global News.

“Just to reiterate — the properties that were purchased were zoned for this type of development, so we’ve worked with HRM and continue to plan to move forward.”

MacRitchie says the dealership has 100 staff members and up to 100 vehicles that come in each day for servicing, so they’ve reached a point where they need more parking.

He also points to the fact Robie Street is a commercial street, although they are aware of the challenges of being in a mixed use area with homes.

“I respect their opinions on it,” MacRitchie said.

“There’s going to be some people not happy with what we’re doing but, again, we’ve heard from other people that see that what we’re doing is an improvement in a lot of ways.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's going to be some people not happy with what we're doing but, again, we've heard from other people that see that what we're doing is an improvement in a lot of ways."

Peninsula North Councillor Jennifer Watts plans to present a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to council again next week, after some procedural confusion at Tuesday’s meeting. She also wants to request a staff report to look at the city’s options, although she admits there is little they can do at this point.

“The zoning allows for it. The permits are being applied for and being granted. So, it’s really a decision right now on the part of the property owner to decide if they want to make any modifications to their plans,” Watts said.

Watts says she is also opposed to the expansion and thinks changing by-laws could prevent similar issues down the road.