Hi, I'm a resident of Birch Cove, and this is my first post, although I've been following this forum since I moved here from San Francisco 4 years ago.
I attended the public meeting tonight. St. Peter's church was packed with several hundred people, many more than at previous meetings. City staff presented the preferred design, which included the roundabout. They promised that the complete report will be posted here in the next few days.
http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanni...fordBasin.html
All in all, the project once complete will have 400-500 residential units, which adds quite a bit of density to the area. Lots of concern from residents about the potential impact of all of those people on (what else) traffic. Staff pointed out that the additional people means that there will be additional demand on transit, and therefore transit options will need to improve.
The Q&A was quite lively. Lots of residents concerned about traffic and the loss of their private views. Interestingly, at one point, the developer got up and presented an alternate plan, which involved a single highrise tower on the north end of the Chinatown site, instead of two mid-rises, and explained that this might be preferable to the community because it enhances ground level views for most, leaves the waterfront mostly out of the shadows, and provides more space for public 'amenities', by which I assume he means a park.
Personally, despite some of negativity tonight, I think that some version of this project will go through. Everyone recognizes that the status quo is not really an option because the site has too much potential, and city staff made it very clear that without a 'plan' the alternative is relatively unregulated development (using 1970's-era bylaws) that could result in a strip mall type development. (Ugh, there's enough of that already on the Bedford Hwy, thank you!)