From the Councillor's Office
Coast Guard Lands Offer Tremendous Potential
(Thursday, March 23/2000)-- The Canadian Coast Guard lands offer tremendous potential for future residential, commercial and recreational development in downtown Dartmouth and Woodside, including docking facilities for visiting cruise ships, Councillor Bruce Hetherington said today.
The Councillor welcomed an announcement today that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has agreed to sell the former Canadian Coast Guard lands in south Dartmouth to enable the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) to proceed with its planned Halifax Harbour Solutions environmental project.
The property consists of approximately 7.4 hectares (approx. 18.4 acres) of land; water lot and docking facilities; and four major buildings and minor structures.
HRM is acquiring the land as a potential site for a sewage treatment plant on the Dartmouth side of the Halifax Harbour. Under the $315 million Harbour Solutions Project, it is proposed that four sewage treatment plants be built; one in Halifax's north end; one on the Dartmouth side; one in Halifax's south end; and a fourth at the mouth of the harbour at Herring Cove.
Councillor Hetherington said "There is enough land there to accommodate everyone's needs. Once the treatment plant is sited, there will be remaining land to develop. It would be ideal for a residential/commercial mix, as well as parkland and walking trails.
"Of course, the big draw would be the excellent wharfing facilities that could accommodate large cruise ships. The potential economic opportunities for downtown Dartmouth would be unlimited," he said.
The Councillor has been closely involved in the Harbour Solutions project and has pledged local residents will have lots of opportunity for public input regarding future land use.
He said the Harbour Solutions Project Office will be distributing a newsletter in North Woodside over the weekend to inform area residents about the proposed treatment plant and to invite discussions on options for use of the remaining lands.
In addition, there will be an "Open House" public information session held at the North Woodside Community Centre during the week of April 3rd. Details later.
HRM has committed to funding two-thirds or $210 million of the total Harbour Solutions It is negotiating with the Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia for cost-sharing on the remaining $105 million.
When fully operational, the collection system and treatment plants will eliminate the discharge of more than 100 million litres of raw sewage and untreated waste water into Halifax Harbour each day.
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Councillor Bruce Hetherington
District 8-Woodside
(902) 488-4808
