Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes is a a paradise: a piece of wilderness the size of the Halifax peninsula, just 10 km from the downtown core. A mere bus ride away, it contains a series of lakes that form a complete canoe loop, and local non-profits are working to develop a trail system in the area. You can literally step into the forest behind the Kent in Bayers Lake, and lose yourself in wilderness. It's like a small piece of Kejimkujik in our backyard, and one of the many things that make Halifax a great place to live.
Most cities would give their right arm for a jewel like this: a near-urban wilderness tract that offers amazing outdoor recreational opportunities. As Tim Bousquet said in his 2009 article about the area, "It's hard to believe this place exists."
Unfortunately, this place may not exist as is much longer. Private landowners/developers are pushing to open up a significant portion of the Birch Cove Lakes to development, and the HRM is currently consulting on a facilitator's report that would allow them to do just that.
Blue Mountain and a portion of the Birch Cove Lakes are already protected as a provincial wilderness area, designated in 2009 and expanded in 2015. However, much of the remaining land is in private hands, some of it in prime lakefront or wilderness areas.
In the 2006 Regional Plan (updated in 2014), the HRM made clear its desire to create a Regional Park in Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes, identified park boundaries, with the intention that private land would be acquired for inclusion in the park. Private lands within the proposed park boundaries were designated "urban reserve", meaning they were not to be developed until at least 2031.
The facilitator's report is the result of a multi-year negotiation process between the HRM and developers in an attempt to determine the boundaries of the proposed regional park, and in particular, how much private land will be purchased and added to the park. Unfortunately and unusually, the facilitator seems to have come down pretty much entirely on the side of the developers. Her conclusions would use the park boundaries as proposed by the developers, which would open up most of the remaining lakes to development, defeating one of the main purposes in creating the park in the first place. It also seems to contemplate major infrastructure to make the park more "accessible" to the public, which seems inconsistent with much of the park's status as a wilderness area. Most alarmingly, it seems to propose opening up those private lands for immediate development, which is contrary to the Regional Plan.
While the report talks a great deal about "cost" and "economic feasibility" of the park, it makes little or no reference to ecological integrity, or to water quality, biodiversity or wilderness protection, which are the primary reasons for establishing the park in the first place. It ignores the huge public benefit that a park like this provides. It also glosses over the cost to the HRM of opening up these lands for development, and the benefit to the developer of the creation of a regional park on their doorstep. It ignores the fact that HRM already has enough land available for development to meet demand for the next 28 to 35 years. There is no need to open these particular lands up for development.
Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes is already under development pressure, and HRM already lost recreational opportunities when a popular mountain biking and hiking area was cleared to allow for further expansion of Bayers Lake.
However, the long fight to protect Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes is not over. There is a public presentation on the facilitator's report on Monday, June 20, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. at the Future Inns Aspin/Birch Room, 30 Fairfax Drive, Halifax, Nova Scotia. And we have until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, July 4, 2016 to submit your comments to the Municipal Clerk's office by fax, 902-490-4208; or by e-mail, clerks@halifax.ca.
I also urge people to contact the Mayor, and their regional councillor, to let them know that both the process and the proposal are deeply flawed, and that they need to stand up for Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes, and a regional park that protects the entire area for now and for future generations. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect a jewel that most cities only dream of. Let's not let it slip through our grasp.
Showing posts with label Water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Water. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Sunday, August 25, 2013
HRM's Sewage Debacle: Who Pays for the Pipes?
If you've been following the HRM's recent decision to spend $25 million to pipe sewage from Timberlea to Halifax, you could be forgiven for having a difficult time figuring out who, exactly, is going to be paying for all these new sewage pipes. As has been pointed out elsewhere, regional council has been provided with a series of confusing, and often conflicting explanations as to who, exactly, is paying for these new sewer pipes. The decision to tear up the Chain of Lakes trail to run sewage from a handful of new subdivisions to be treated in Halifax has been criticized by some as "bad planning". It's an example of bad accounting as well.
One of the major costs of urban sprawl in the HRM is the extension of sewer and water pipes to service new development. Not only does it cost money to build new sewer and infrastructure, it also increases the future costs to service and maintain this growing infrastructure. Water rates are often not enough to cover these ongoing costs.
Residents of the HRM are justifiably angry about recent and substantial increases to their water rates. Yet much of the debate has ignored the significant geographic growth of the water and sewer system, and the spiralling cost of maintaining ever-growing infrastructure. While HRM has a sewer and water service boundary, that boundary covers a substantial area. In addition, regional council has frequently made decisions to extend that boundary, often to provide sewer and water to specific new subdivisions.
While developers pay the cost of installing all sewer and water pipes within the subdivisions they build, these pipes then need to be connected to the larger water and wastewater systems. As a result, developers pay a complex series of sewer development charges, trunk sewer charges and capital cost contributions levied by HRM and meant to cover the costs of all new infrastructure. Unfortunately, these charges haven't proven adequate to cover the costs of new pipes, which has also contributed to rising water rates. Halifax Water is now proposing a simplified and higher regional development charge meant to replace existing charges and cover the costs of new development.
There is no question the current system is confusing, as evidenced by council's recent decision regarding the Chain of Lakes pipe. It would seem that when council originally voted to approve the extension of municipal sewer and water services to Brunello Estates and nearby subdivisions in 2007, they were told that the developers of these subdivisions themselves would pay for the pipes directly through capital cost charges in their area.
Halifax Water is now stating that while 10% of the cost of the new Chain of Lakes pipe will be paid by existing ratepayers, 90% of the cost will be paid by developers. But not by the developers whose subdivisions actually require the pipes. By charges levied on ALL developers in HRM. And therein lies the shoddy accounting. A developer who chooses to build in an area where infrastructure already exists, or requires minimal upgrades, will pay the same amount into the fund as the developers in Timberlea who require $25 million in new pipes. This is effectively a subsidy for bad planning.
Unfortunately, Halifax Water's proposed new regional development charge won't change that. Developers will pay a single standard charge, regardless of where a development is located relative to existing infrastructure. While the higher charges will take some of the burden of paying for growth off of ratepayers, it will put that burden onto developers in general, not those that are driving up costs by demanding more infrastructure. These costs will eventually be passed on to homebuyers, driving up the cost of ALL housing in HRM.
There are lots of valuable planning lessons we should learn from the Chain of Lakes sewage pipe debacle. One of the most important is that if we are going to make growth pay for itself, we need to find a better way of accounting for it. One way would be to ensure that development charges reflect the actual cost of servicing new developments.
One of the major costs of urban sprawl in the HRM is the extension of sewer and water pipes to service new development. Not only does it cost money to build new sewer and infrastructure, it also increases the future costs to service and maintain this growing infrastructure. Water rates are often not enough to cover these ongoing costs.
Residents of the HRM are justifiably angry about recent and substantial increases to their water rates. Yet much of the debate has ignored the significant geographic growth of the water and sewer system, and the spiralling cost of maintaining ever-growing infrastructure. While HRM has a sewer and water service boundary, that boundary covers a substantial area. In addition, regional council has frequently made decisions to extend that boundary, often to provide sewer and water to specific new subdivisions.
While developers pay the cost of installing all sewer and water pipes within the subdivisions they build, these pipes then need to be connected to the larger water and wastewater systems. As a result, developers pay a complex series of sewer development charges, trunk sewer charges and capital cost contributions levied by HRM and meant to cover the costs of all new infrastructure. Unfortunately, these charges haven't proven adequate to cover the costs of new pipes, which has also contributed to rising water rates. Halifax Water is now proposing a simplified and higher regional development charge meant to replace existing charges and cover the costs of new development.
There is no question the current system is confusing, as evidenced by council's recent decision regarding the Chain of Lakes pipe. It would seem that when council originally voted to approve the extension of municipal sewer and water services to Brunello Estates and nearby subdivisions in 2007, they were told that the developers of these subdivisions themselves would pay for the pipes directly through capital cost charges in their area.
Halifax Water is now stating that while 10% of the cost of the new Chain of Lakes pipe will be paid by existing ratepayers, 90% of the cost will be paid by developers. But not by the developers whose subdivisions actually require the pipes. By charges levied on ALL developers in HRM. And therein lies the shoddy accounting. A developer who chooses to build in an area where infrastructure already exists, or requires minimal upgrades, will pay the same amount into the fund as the developers in Timberlea who require $25 million in new pipes. This is effectively a subsidy for bad planning.
Unfortunately, Halifax Water's proposed new regional development charge won't change that. Developers will pay a single standard charge, regardless of where a development is located relative to existing infrastructure. While the higher charges will take some of the burden of paying for growth off of ratepayers, it will put that burden onto developers in general, not those that are driving up costs by demanding more infrastructure. These costs will eventually be passed on to homebuyers, driving up the cost of ALL housing in HRM.
There are lots of valuable planning lessons we should learn from the Chain of Lakes sewage pipe debacle. One of the most important is that if we are going to make growth pay for itself, we need to find a better way of accounting for it. One way would be to ensure that development charges reflect the actual cost of servicing new developments.
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