[Dartmouth] The Parks of Lake Charles | U/C

[Dmajackson]

I'm surprised that we don't have a thread for this;

"The Regional Plan identifies Port Wallace as a potential future growth area. As proposed, the approximately 545-acre area will be developed with up to 4,900 new residential units and be serviced by municipal water and sewer"

The province listed it as a "Special Planning Area" and the development agreement was approved in January.

All of the public information can be found on Halifax Planning;

Regional & Community Planning - Port Wallace

The first phase is "Access C" which will be a collector street off of Waverley Road just south of Barry's Run. This phase is mostly low-density housing but there will be two mid-rise multi-units. There is 12 phases planned so just like Clayton's other communities in The Parks of West Bedford we will be discussing this for many years.

[Corker]

Clayton now has a website for this development area, which they seem to have re-branded as The Parks of Lake Charles

https://www.claytondev.com/the-parks-of-lake-charles

[Dmajackson]

No photo but I did drive by this yesterday and noticed that "Collector B" is having sidewalks and curbs installed. I imagine by the end of the summer the street will be open with some model homes underway.

[Dmajackson]

Building permits are starting to roll in for this development;

Mixed Use & Commercial Building Permit - New Building - Submitted - P.I.D. 00249672 - $24'280'000 - Mixed Use - Residential & Other Use(s) - 74 Units - 6 Floors - New Apartment Building with Underground Parking Garage.

[Dmajackson]

^This project has been given the address of 71 Terrastone Ridge and is pictured below. It's interesting to see the multi-unit building under construction before any houses are underway.


HalifaxDevelopments.ca (Photo by David Jackson)

[Musquodoboit County]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...ines-1.7148971

Will this hinder development here or will people just know to stay out of this lake?

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Musquodoboit County

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...ines-1.7148971

Will this hinder development here or will people just know to stay out of this lake?

There's no need to "stay out of this lake". Unless you're actually drinking the lake water - and large amounts of it, or over a long period - the risk is negligible. Arsenic poisoning occurs through ingestion of the element; immersion in the lake water is not hazardous in and of itself.

Swimming in Lake Charles is not a health risk - a good thing, since I've swum there countless times and my daughter was a lifeguard and swim instructor at the HRM beach there. Do you honestly think the city would operate public swimming facilities there if it were potentially lethal?

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Swimming in Lake Charles is not a health risk - a good thing, since I've swum there countless times and my daughter was a lifeguard and swim instructor at the HRM beach there. Do you honestly think the city would operate public swimming facilities there if it were potentially lethal?

Well these are new data, so what the city does or doesn't do in the future remains to be seen. In the broadcast version of this story, the scientist, Mr. Sivarajah, was asked if he would swim in Lake Charles. His response was "no."

In any event, Musquodoboit County's question is a valid one. The Parks of Lake Charles development is on the opposite side of Waverley Road and most homes will be far from the lake shore. However the stream known as Barry's Run (circled in red on the map below) cuts through the heart of the development and would be the primary source of runoff from the former gold mine lands.


Source: Halifax Examiner

Journalist Joan Baxter wrote about this issue in the Halifax Examiner five years ago. Since then, of course, the Houston government fast-tracked the development, despite the fact that "studies and monitoring work in the area are still ongoing," according to a statement from Municipal Affairs and Housing. The statement added that "Nova Scotia is facing a housing crisis and housing supply is particularly challenging in the Halifax area."

Apparently having your children grow up on a contaminated waterway is a small price to pay.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

In the broadcast version of this story, the scientist, Mr. Sivarajah, was asked if he would swim in Lake Charles. His response was "no."

...which doesn't change my point that arsenic poisoning occurs with ingestion, not immersion - and ingestion of significant amounts, as the effect is cumulative. Incidental ingestion of trivial amounts of lake water during swimming or other recreational activity is highly unlikely to cause any harm.

I'm not advocating use of the lake; I'm simply saying there's no need to be alarmist about it. I doubt there's ever been a documented case of arsenic poisoning from exposure to Lake Charles water. If I'm wrong about that, I'll be happy to be corrected.

[Dmajackson]

The second multi-unit building permit was submitted last week.

6 Floors | 74 Units | Residential | $25.0M | Terrastone Ridge, Dartmouth | Clayton Developments