Dartmouth residents hold rally to protect Southdale wetlands from development
Global News
The wetlands have been designated as one of nine special planning areas in HRM. The province is looking to build over 22,000 new residential units in the nine areas.
A group of Dartmouth residents gathered together just off Mount Hope Avenue in front of a wooded area to hold a rally to protect the Southdale Wetlands. Their concern is that newly announced housing developments could have permanent impacts on the environment.
“Wetlands are great storers of carbon,” said Bill Zebedee, president of the Protect Our Southdale Wetland Society.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia designates 9 areas in Halifax for accelerated housing development
The wetlands are in the Southdale-Mount Hope area, which has been designated as one of nine special planning areas in HRM. The province is looking to build over 22,000 new residential units in the nine areas, with about 1,200 new units slated for where the wetlands are found.
The province says the special planning area designations were created to speed up the development process. Construction in Mount Hope is already planned to start this fall for an 875 unit development that includes 373 affordable units.
“There are deer, there are fox … and other animals back there that are going to be displaced,” said Zebedee.
On Friday, Housing Minister John Lohr said that all projects, including the Mount Hope development, will still follow all environmental assessment and permitting processes, but the environmental considerations aren’t the only concerns being raised.
The special planning area designation means the housing minister will assume authority for developmental approvals — taking away all roles from the municipality.
