FOIPOP Request - 2 - HRM Halifax Commons Legal Guidelines

Link to FOIPOP Request - HRM Halifax Common Legal Guidelines

Emailed for status update on 22JUN11. Waiting for a reply.

Response from HRM re: FIOPOP Request

Link to HRM FOIPOP Response on Legal Requirements for Care of Common Lands

This is disappointing, I shall have to reapply with a more carefully constructed request.

Is it legal to build a facility on the Common?

It appears that the Halifax Common was designated a Historic Site under Section 425 of the City Charter (Ordinance 10). If this is the context for developing the Halifax Common Plan, then it is important to understand the duty and care components that inform the management principals for these lands.

I believe it is premature to move this forward, and I believe that the recommendation to make the Skating Oval a permanent fixture on the Common needs further study and a more level, and formal public consultation before any steps are taken in this direction.

We need to examine Ordinance 10, Section 425 of the City Charter to determine the next steps, which would constitute proper due diligence in a project of this scope. The costs, tax implications, historical implications and future ramifications are large, and if it is not in fact, legal, then it is a whole other scenario.

As stated in an earlier blog. I have made a FOIPOP request to get the legal documents governing these lands and will post them as I recieve them.

More later.

Skating Oval - Privacy Request and Google Earth Images - March 2011

As there seems to be a strong forward momentum from within HRM City Council to proceed with efforts to make the Skating Oval a permanent infrastructure on the North Common, I have decided to examine, as an interested Citizen in HRM, the legal status and requirements regarding care and management of the Common Lands in HRM.

You can attend City Hall on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 10 a.m. - public is welcome but cannot participate. However, if you feel some passion, you can print out this poster and bring it with you to hold up and shake vigorously when you get excited or vexed.

Please find my Access to Information Request to Office of the Mayor - HRM - requesting documentation on the legal status regarding the management and care of the Common Lands in HRM. I will post the results of this request for reference when I receive it.

I also present to you a Satellite Image (from Google Earth) of the Skating Oval on the Halifax North Common - March 2011.  As you will note, the land use for this infrastructure is significant, with the probability that a permanent structure would require yet more land to meet building code standards. A close up of the Skating Oval follows.

A Permanent Skating Oval - Another Perspective

I would like to make my position clear regarding the possibility of making the Skating Oval a permanent fixture on the Halifax North Common.

I think the Oval has been a fabulous venue this winter, and I have enjoyed skating on it also. It has been an outstanding venue for the Canada Winter Games. No doubt about it. I understand and appreciate the excitement and the interest that many have voiced for having access to a facility of this sort, the benefits of exercise, the joy of skating, the pride in having something like this in Halifax. I see that it has caught the imagination of many people, and that there is a lot of support from a variety of business and business related interests (GoodLife Fitness, Home Builders Association), sports groups (Sports Hall of Fame, 1990 Figure Skating Championships Legacy, Speed Skating Association), petitioners from Save the Oval groups, with great support from Ms. Sloane, the regional councilor for the district.

What I do not appreciate is the concerted effort to change the nature of the original understanding that was in place in establishing the Skating Oval on the Common for the Winter Games; and that agreement was that the Skating Oval would be a temporary installation, and that after the Winter Games it would be removed from the site. It is essentially a bait-and-switch operation, and I feel it is ethically wrong to use the influence of special interest groups to try to move this forward at a time of high excitement, and to represent this as a potentially free access facility, or even one that could support a nominal charge to access the ice surface; or to insinuate that the permanent facility would resemble the current presentation we see now on the Common.

Additionally, I feel it is inappropriate to insist that the Skating Oval can only reside successfully on the North Common. This is patently untrue, and to my knowledge, the offers of funding are not contingent on the Skating Oval remaining on the North Common. There are other options that can be explored to situate the facility in a more appropriate location. One that is more conducive to the advertising sponsorships, vendor support, parking, and infrastructure that comes with a permanent facility. I believe the unwillingness of the interested parties to even discuss other site options is short sighted and will harm the success of their project in the end.

The North Common is the last remaining open, unstructured space left of the original land grant. There are hospitals, schools, roads, a museum, a cemetery, Public Gardens, a small sports venue at the Wander's Grounds, and no end in sight for the using up of this land.

I feel that there is a lack of vision with regard to the understanding of the value of these lands and their potential, and an ongoing abuse in the interpretation of the original purpose for these lands. There is, at this time, an abysmal lack of management planning for this space for future generations of this city. In other noteworthy cities, there is a carefully articulated plan and legal structure laid out for the protection of these types of land, and it is an outstanding feature of these cities. As example I suggest Central Park in New York City, Hyde park in London, The Boston Common and High Park in Toronto. These parks are landmarks, tourist attractions, historic sites and community space that generate interest, tourist traffic, and respect for the cities in which they reside. They also generate revenue in the context of carefully constructed policy and planning guidelines for the land use and protection.

I have come to the conclusion that HRM is now at the place and time where it needs to establish a Conservancy Trust, or some such vehicle, to assume the management and preservation role for the Common Lands for the city. It is possible to explore management of the remaining lands, and to examine reclamation of lands as opportunities present themselves. I say this because there is an unprecedented pressure at this time for City Council to develop these lands for commercial use and that without the protection of a Conservancy Trust in place, we will see a continuation of development of these lands with no end in sight.

In terms of some context from a financial perspective, it is not clear that the general taxpayer community would support tax payer dollars to run a permanent Skating Oval, on the Common or elsewhere. That being said, it would mean that the facility would have to be run as a going concern to raise the money for construction, maintenance and upkeep. This means it would operate as a business - could be for profit,or as a non-profit, but it will not be free. This is not a bad thing, and it is appropriate to entertain offers of corporate sponsorship and special interest contributions, but most certainly not on the North Common site.

I would suggest an open and honest dialogue with the broader Halifax communities to discover the interest in using tax dollars to fund the development of a Skating Oval, to discover if there is widespread citizen support for this on the Common, and to explore the options for alternative sites in the HRM.

I highly recommend that residents of HRM take a minute to drive, walk, bus, by the North Common to take a look at how much space the Skating Oval actually takes and to ask yourself if this is really an appropriate use for these lands.

It's All Oval For Now Video

It's All Oval For Now Video

The Halifax Common - Future Planning for Preservation - and - Say No Making the Skating Oval Permanent Winter 2011

Petition - No To Permanent Skating Oval on North Common

I think it is very important to preserve what is left of the Halifax North Common. The Common is a treasure of open space right in the downtown area of Halifax. It is part of the last vestiges of a land grant given to the city in 1763 by King George III and it originally encompassed all the lands from  Cunard Street in the north, South Street in the south, Robie Street to the west and North Park/Ahern/Bell Road/South Park Streets to the east. See image 1. 
image 1
Today the Common is largely comprised of public buildings, public streets and public parks. In 1942, the restrictive lines were erased, resulting in the construction of Queen Elizabeth High School, which has been rebuilt at the cost of additional Common lands, the Vocational School , CBC Studios, hospitals, city streets, etc. The remaining open lands in the north (43 acres) are what is left of the Common as open undeveloped space. The area has been used for a variety of activities, mostly as passive areas and as well used recreation area for organized and spontaneous events. All temporary in nature. Interestingly, the Armouries was built just off the Common in 1899, and while not part of the Common, could have some future potential as a site for use in relation to Common evolution if developed as a wonderful heritage site with modern application/usage.

The Common space at this time is very well developed, and barely half of the Common remains as public open space and that is found mostly in the north and central Common. The other spaces are developed for specific activities as found at the old Wanderers Grounds, the Public Gardens, and Victoria Park, Camp Hill Cemetery site and public streets. See image 2.
image 2
With amalgamation in 1996, the Halifax City Charter was abolished and regional council of the Halifax Regional Municipality became the steward for the Halifax Common, along with all other municipal lands.

As things stand, there is not a lot of the original open space left of the original land grant. I don't think most people understand that the current proposal to make the skating oval a permanent fixture on the Common would eat up so much of the remaining Common lands. The map below shows the placement of the oval on the common. This in addition to the development of concert area, constitutes a serious erosion of the remaining North Common space. See image 3. 

image 3

For more information on the proposed development plan for the North Common, please read the HRM Proposed Conceptual Plan for the North Common.

I suggest that it would appropriate at this time to designate the land as heritage site and form a conservancy to manage the area appropriately as both a resource and as a valuable heritage and gift of open space to residents and visitors alike.  The current Proposed Conceptual Plan for the North Common is not a visionary document but rather appears to be a document that is driven by the desire to generate income while placating interested parties, so that it appears to me in reading the document, an inherent conflict of interest regarding the vision and care of the North Common lands.

We need to see the following elements with respect to care and development of the North Common:

1. Legal Status of the Lands
2. Land Use Agreement
3. Land Use Decision Support Models
4. Land Use Policy
5. Land Use Consumption Study
6. Agreement on Community Involvement
7. Regional and Economic Analysis
8. Business Case for Conservancy vs Municipal Management
9. Inventory of buildings on all Common lands

Links:

Globe and Mail story - January 10, 2011

CBC Coverage

Global News Video - January 13,2010

CBC - January 20, 2011

Sign the Petition against the Oval on Halifax Common - No to permanent oval

Click icon to Sign the Petition - No To Permanent Skating Oval on North Common

This petition is for those who oppose further development on the Halifax North Common. It is to show support for a re thinking of the idea to make the skating oval permanent on the Common. 

A timeline of news stories related to the skating oval

Oval Poll

Oval Poll: Do you agree?