[Halifax] Skye Halifax (1565 Granville) | 66 m | 2 x 21 fl | U/C

[Halifax Hillbilly]

If we are going to talk about fairness, how would it be at all fair to enforce some rules and not others? If this gets approved, and I'm the developer of Fenwick, I'm probably not too happy that I had to spend $800,000 to redesign a plan for an existing building in order to get around view legislation by a handful of feet, but Skye Halifax blows through the rampart view guidelines.

[halifaxboyns]

The comments on the CBC story are an interesting mix of comments. lol

[someone123]

I don't think that council should arbitrarily approve something in violation of the ramparts bylaw and I don't think that's what will happen. Originally I had hoped that there would be a separate debate on the ramparts bylaw before the vote on Skye.

And I'm not sure why the Fenwick debacle should become the new gold standard for following the rules. That ordeal was fundamentally unnecessary.

Something else to keep in mind is that every developer has the same procedures at their disposal, even though some may choose to challenge rules and request variances while others may not.

[kwajo]

The rhetoric about this proposal on Twitter and Facebook is getting out of hand; people saying it will screw over downtown, or that it will destroy Halifax as we know it, etc.
It's ridiculous the overstatement people will gravitate toward using, just to defend their feelings about something.

[lmccabe55]

Skye was rejected 9-6 in the vote today (via News 95.7 reporter @BrynnELangille)

[Duff]

The 6 that voted in favor Skye were Whitman, Adams, Fisher, McCluskey, Hendsbee & Dalrymple.

[mcmcclassic]

Originally Posted by Duff

The 6 that voted in favor Skye were Whitman, Adams, Fisher, McCluskey, Hendsbee & Dalrymple.

Hendsbee voting for it doesn't surprise me, but McCluskey voting for it does. I thought Gloria hated anything new and especially things that don't benefit her riding.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Duff

The 6 that voted in favor Skye were Whitman, Adams, Fisher, McCluskey, Hendsbee & Dalrymple.

And in a big surprise, Mayor Savage actually stepped down to voice his opinions on the matter.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by mcmcclassic

Hendsbee voting for it doesn't surprise me, but McCluskey voting for it does. I thought Gloria hated anything new and especially things that don't benefit her riding.

She might be becoming a bit senile. She is openly pro-Dartmouth/anti-Halifax so maybe she thought if it was built it would kill downtown and send all the development to Dartmouth?

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh, wow...

Well, personally, I am disappointed. I genuinely liked this proposal, and not out of some sick desire to wish something I dislike on Halifax. I think it would have been a benefit to Halifax.

However, your concerns about the developer did concern me as well.

And, beyond that... congratulations to everyone who was opposed. I'm genuinely happy for you - and curious to see what the next proposal will be!

[kwajo]

It's not really that big a loss, as my expectations that [if approved] it would have ever been built were pretty low.

I really wish something would get built on that site though, it's been a black hole for far too long.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Duff

The 6 that voted in favor Skye were Whitman, Adams, Fisher, McCluskey, Hendsbee & Dalrymple.

The way I understand it, they weren't votes for Skye, they were votes to continue with the public hearing process.

[Duff]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

The way I understand it, they weren't votes for Skye, they were votes to continue with the public hearing process.

You are correct. I should have phrased it differently.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh, wow...

Well, personally, I am disappointed. I genuinely liked this proposal, and not out of some sick desire to wish something I dislike on Halifax. I think it would have been a benefit to Halifax.

However, your concerns about the developer did concern me as well.

And, beyond that... congratulations to everyone who was opposed. I'm genuinely happy for you - and curious to see what the next proposal will be!

Concerns about the developer aside: I'm thrilled that HRM_by_Design's relevance remains intact.

The downtown's building boom may now continue to grow!

[halifaxboyns]

If they voted no for it...is there a right of appeal?

[halifaxboyns]

I think the quote in the herald from Mayor Savage is quite correct. It's not fair to hold one developer to one standard and everyone else to another.

I made this comment in the CBC post: stay the course, the plan is working and build up using the existing height standards. Then review the plan every few years (say every 5). Once we have more buildings in the 20 storey range, it makes it easier to do a little update to the heights to then allow up to 30 stories. Once you have the context, you can point it out and it supports your argument.

Then you let them build more at 30 stories, update again and push to 40. It's all part of very smart strategy I would take...you get what you want, but over time and then you get to distribute the density over the whole area rather than 🞵🞵🞵🞵 it up in one spot.

[hoser111]

I expect UG to come back to the table with a 300 meter Burj Halifax!

[worldlyhaligonian]

Thank god this was rejected. Let's see a real proposal for this site.

Can they still build TS heights?

[Empire]

Maybe their backup plan is a Space Needle!

[someone123]

I don't know what they'll do now but like I said it would be reasonable to extend the original DA but let them update the building design. A design under HbD would also be fine.