A Halifax municipal government staff report recommends against following a controversial facilitator’s report to develop land in the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes area.
The report was posted online (PDF) Wednesday evening and includes a map that was previously kept private.
“The recommendations from the staff report are very good,” said Raymond Plourde, wilderness coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre.
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He said that the municipality should stick to the original plan to turn the area into a park.
Developers want to build on a significant part of the land; in the facilitator’s report, a version with less land that could be developed was proposed.
Reg Rankin, councillor for Timberlea – Beechville – Clayton Park – Wedgewood, brought up the idea to use that map’s boundaries in July.
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“It’s a very bad compromise, and it’s totally unacceptable to the public. It’s a nonstarter. There’s no way that that should even be seriously considered,” said Plourde.
The report also recommends exploring ways to acquire the land to eventually create the park, and “refuse the request to initiate secondary planning for all Hwy 102 West Corridor lands at this time.”
The proposed development is on Halifax Regional Council’s September 6 agenda.