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Shearwater Lands up for sale
Public input sought on Shearwater use
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Wed. Jan 30 - 5:38 AM
An old military base could win the battle for its community by providing the land for a new high school and community centre.
But the owners of 230 hectares of surplus lands — once part of the Shearwater airbase in Eastern Passage — need public input to learn how best to use it.
A meeting will be held Thursday night to discuss the portion of lands carved off from the base when a 1994 federal budget reduced funding to 12 Wing Shearwater.
Despite the significant amount of time that has passed, it’s the first time the public has been invited to speak up.
As a result, a school and recreation centre will likely be high on everyone’s wish list, says area MLA Becky Kent.
"I would be shocked if they didn’t have that in the back of their minds," the New Democrat said in an interview Tuesday.
"And to me, it makes perfect sense. It’s staring us right in the face. And the timing couldn’t be better."
During a meeting Monday night in Woodside about community schools, the public was shown maps of the area, Ms. Kent said.
"And their maps were generally showing circles (for suggested school sites) in and around that area," she said.
"That was in keeping with what they were suggesting to us — that (the area needs) a high school for Eastern Passage kids, maybe Woodside, maybe some of Cole Harbour."
One of the other things often mentioned in the community is the lack of community facilities, says the former municipal councillor who won the recent provincial byelection in Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage.
"The municipality has recognized that there are gaps out here and one of the big things that this community would like to see is some kind of health and wellness and fitness kind of facility," she said.
"Not a repeat of Cole Harbour Place, but that type of place," she said, referring to the Cole Harbour centre with a library, meeting rooms, offices, gym, aquatic centre and two ice surfaces.
A consultant working on the project has suggested combining all of the missing elements, she said, and it just "makes sense."
"When you have those gaps and a hubbub of land that’s coming forward, all these things are going to add up to a great scenario."
Thursday’s meeting will also feature information gleaned by the Shearwater Advisory Committee over the last year.
The group includes residents from Cole Harbour and Eastern Passage, as well as representatives from the Defence Department, Imperial Oil, Greater Halifax Partnership and Nova Scotia Economic Development Agency.
Clayton Developments, the developer of the new residential community at neighbouring Russell Lake West, has also confirmed its attendance.
Others could be queuing up.
Last week, Canada Lands Corp., which owns the surplus lands, gave a presentation to the Urban Development Institute during a well-attended breakfast meeting at the Halifax Club.
The development industry’s input is important, says Ms. Kent.
"Frankly, it’s going to take developers to buy up the pieces of land and develop it according to what we zone it," she said. "So I kind of hope people are out there, looking at this as an opportunity. Because otherwise, it’s just going to sit vacant and we’re not going to get the things that the community wants and needs. And clearly, this piece of land opens up all those opportunities."
However, some of the land can’t be developed for residential use, a senior planner with the city noted.
"It’s too close to the heliport," Paul Morgan said Tuesday, referring to a portion that’s near the $2-million project underway on the still-operating side of Shearwater.
As well, the west end of the property is right next to Imperial Oil, he said.
"Along the waterfront there, we have a number of industrial and military uses and certainly we don’t want to make them feel that they’re not going to be welcome if new development encroached too closely."
The piece of land also sits in the path of the proposed connecting road between Caldwell Road in Cole Harbour and the new Russell Lake West interchange. Achieving that roadway is "really important," said Ms. Kent.
"It would alleviate some of the congestion coming out of Eastern Passage, offer new routes for people in Cole Harbour and Dartmouth."
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