NEWS RELEASE
Councillors Establish Local Area Advisory Committee
(Friday, August 27/2004)-- Local District Councillors are establishing a citizen's advisory committee to liaise with municipal staff and the developer for the Mount St. Vincent Mother house and surrounding 75 acres of land.
Councillor Debbie Hum, who represents District 16 in which the property is located, and Councillor Russell Walker, who represents District 15 which lies south of the development, want to form the local area advisory committee to ensure area residents are aware of the development details and have an opportunity to provide input, when appropriate.
The Sisters of Charity and United Gulf Developments Limited announced August 8 they have an agreement to redevelop the Mount Saint Vincent Mother house and 75 acre Rockingham property. The project, to be named Village Park, will have as its first priority the renovation of a portion of the Mother house building for the new Sisters of Charity residence and the administrative offices for their World Headquarters. This phase will take a few years to complete and the work will be primarily inside the building. It is anticipated that this work will be permitted by the existing institutional zoning.
At the time the agreement was announced, citizens in the area expressed concern about a lack of opportunity to participate in the process related to the planning, design and decision-making for the project. A meeting was subsequently convened by Councillors Hum and Walker, with representatives of the Village Park project and municipal planning staff.
"The significance of this project in the community demands that concerned citizens have input into its overall planning, well in advance of any plans being approved," says Councillor Hum. "Therefore, an area advisory committee will be established for this project to work closely with the developer and municipal planning staff in the preparation of a detailed master plan for the site."
Councillor Walker says "It is important for the planning of this project to carefully consider traffic conditions on Bayview Road and Lacewood Drives and the Bedford Highway in order to be part of the solution-- as opposed to adding to current problems. Once established, the area advisory committee will work with the developer and planning staff to address any issues related to local traffic concerns, land-use compatibility and environmental protection, prior to Council approving any requested changes to current land use regulations."
The advisory committee will meet regularly with the developer and municipal staff to review details of the project. Also, it will hold public meetings to keep area residents informed of the progress of the project.
Development on the surrounding lands, as well as any changes to the Mother house building which are not permitted by the existing zoning, requires Halifax Regional and Chebucto Community Council approvals through a plan amendment process before it can proceed.
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Councillor Debbie Hum
District 16 (Prince's Lodge/ Clayton Park West)
(902) 476-7212
Councillor Russell Walker
District 15 (Fairview/Clayton Park)
(902) 497-7215
