Just watched the video from Global - it was interesting to hear Councillor McClusky's comments - she didn't seem to be fully awake although those morning shows are at ungodly hours.
That said - I think she's coming off as being more open to redevelopment in the area over time. I think she (like many people) don't necessarily understand what the redevelopment brings until it is being built and occupied - it's that future visioning. That's not uncommon, but now that King's Wharf is being occupied, it's there...it can be seen and understood and you get a better understanding of the building relationships and the benefits (and impacts) more development create on residents and businesses.
Certainly the business association is on board and I didn't get a sense from Councillor McClusky that she was opposed to anything. So I think we've seen a shift in her perception/opinion which is a good thing. I wonder if that change in her opinion is because of not just the change happening because of King's Wharf but the opinions of new people on council such as Waye and others who are really talking about the Regional Plan growth targets and how the whole regional centre needs to be a part of it?
I thought the spacing article was good in pointing out how far behind the Centre Plan is falling and that's mainly due to resources. In order to RP+5, the Centre Plan and a bunch of community visioning had to be shelved to focus on the RP. That really speaks volumes to the chronic under funding of the staffing levels for the Policy Planning side of HRM (which isn't uncommon in many cities). I suspect it speaks to a time when there wasn't much activity occurring and now that economic development is picking up (with the ships contract) needs to be dramatically revisited. Does that mean you need to hire 50 planners, no. But certainly 10 new positions and some money for outside consultants could help get the Regional Centre Plan on track, get a good public engagement program going and maybe even 'un-shelve' some of those other plans too.