The Halifax Regional Municipality can huff and puff, but according to a recent report, there’s no way it can blow down a 16-storey hotel development underway in Dartmouth.
The document was requested by councillors seeking a way around the developer’s decision to build a hotel at the corner of Prince Albert Road and Glenwood Avenue, instead of the eight-storey residential building that they initially approved.
It found, however, that the HRM can’t reasonably purchase the property, trade other land to acquire it, or force the developer to return to its residential proposal.
“The report very clearly identifies they have the legal right to build this development,” said Dartmouth Coun. Sam Austin in a Wednesday interview.
“But just because you have the legal right to do something, doesn’t make it the right thing to do, and it’s certainly not the right thing to do from the community perspective.”
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Neighbours in Graham’s Grove have complained that a towering hotel in their backyards could increase traffic, disrupt their views and lower property values. Global News spoke with six residents, all in opposition to the proposal, but none agreed to an on-the-record interview.
The lot in question is zoned as commercial, and according to Dartmouth land-use bylaws, a commercial property can be used for residential developments, subject to HRM approval if it exceeds three storeys.
Developer Monaco Investments Partnership has the legal right to pursue either commercial or residential options, and it initially negotiated an eight-storey residential building with the HRM.
It was a “real bitter pill to take” when the developer then exercised its right to swap back to commercial use, Austin said.
Land zoned first as residential can’t be used as commercial, he added, which makes this particular bylaw, allowing commercial land to be used for residential purposes, “outdated” and “nonsensical.”
“If it sounds nonsensical, that’s because it is,” he told Global News.
The developer did not respond to requests for comment.
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It’s too late to do anything about the hotel at Prince Albert and Glenwood, but the councillor said it won’t happen again in Graham’s Grove. Under the upcoming Centre Plan — the HRM’s blueprint for growth — developments over six storeys high will not be permitted in that neighbourhood.
“You can only hold people to the rules that are in place when they submit their application,” Austin said.
“The Centre Plan will throw all this dysfunctional zoning aside and actually say, where do we want growth to happen and what form do we want it to take?”
Public hearings for the current Centre Plan draft will be held in September, and residents are encouraged to weigh in on how the new rules are written.
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