A group is advocating against proposals for two buildings that each include two towers in Halifax.
The buildings would take up a significant portion of the block that is bordered by Spring Garden Road, Carlton Street, College Street, and Robie Street.
The towers are between 16 and 30 storeys in height, and plan amendments would be required to allow them.
“In this whole area, there will be 13 high-rises looming over a small remainder of heritage buildings,” Peggy Cameron, co-chair of the Friends of Halifax Common, said on Thursday.
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Cameron believes there are 11 buildings in the area that should have heritage designation but don’t, and she’s worried that some will be torn down to erect the buildings and their towers, which she said are too tall.
The two proposals are known as case 20218 and case 20761.
There have been attempts made over the years by advocates to designate the area as a heritage conservation district, Cameron said.
Another concern is the impact to open space.
“You have loss of view planes, you no longer have the sky in the western sky,” Cameron said. “There’s huge effects on the remaining open space from wind, shade, noise, and traffic.”
The greater, general problem is that it seems as if height restrictions are irrelevant because councillors can allow developers to construct buildings that exceed the normal limits.
“That’s a legit concern, and I’ve heard it, and I understand why residents feel that way,” Coun. Lindell Smith, who is on the Halifax Peninsula Planning Advisory Committee, said on Friday.
Times have changed since certain building rules were first implemented and, pre-Centre Plan, sometimes there is merit in allowing certain exceptions on a case-by-case basis, he said.
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According to Smith, reaction to the proposals has been “relatively mixed.” Residents are concerned about the towers’ heights and the amount of density, but they understand “that it is a place where change would be good.”
It’s important for people to provide feedback on the proposals because it is heard by decision-makers, he added.
The committee recommended the proposals move forward with certain changes, including smaller tower heights, Smith said. The proposals have to go through a committee and a community council, a public hearing must be held, among other steps, before they’re presented to Halifax Regional Council.
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