Master Plan Approved- June 15, 2010
On June 15, 2010 Halifax Regional Council unanimously approved the Western Common Wilderness Common Master Plan. Bill Matheson, the Chair of the Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committee presented an overview of the work of the committee. the development of the Plan, its final recommendations, implementation schedule and associated costs.
Presentation: Halifax Regional Council Western Common Wilderness Common June 15, 2010
The timeline that lead to the final approval started on May 10, 2010 with the unanimous endorsement of the Master Plan by the Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committee. The Plan was next discussed and approved by the Western Region Community Council on May 31, 2010 with a recommendation to Halifax Regional Council that, at its meeting of June 15, 2010, the Master Plan receive final approval.
Staff Report : Western Common Wilderness Common Master Plan
Master Plan - May, 2010
Public Consultation
The Master Plan for the Western Common Wilderness Common concerns an area of HRM-owned land situated between Highway 103 and Highway 333 (Prospect Road) extending west from the Ragged Lake Business Park to the area around Nine Mile River. The Wilderness Common is a proposed 1600 hectare portion of the Western Common that will become a Regional Park.
The final phase of public consultation on the Master Plan commenced on March 8, 2010. The original deadline for submissions was April 14. Subsequent deadline extensions (April 25 and May 9, 2010) were applied in order to ensure that all interested individuals and groups would have opportunities to comment on the Master Plan.
To view comments received please visit our Comments page
For further information please contact John Charles, Planner, Real Property Planning, HRM Infrastructure and Asset Management at: 490 5771.
Click here for a larger version of the map of the proposed park
Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committe Approval
On May 10, 2010 the Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committe endorsed the final draft of the Master Plan. On May 31st the Committee's report will be presented at the Western Region Community Council's meeting to be held at Brookside Junior High School, 2239 Prospect Road, Hatchet Lake.
Meeting With Ecology Action Centre (EAC) Wilderness Committee
On Monday April 26, 2010 the EAC Wilderness Committee met with HRM staff to review the Wilderness Common Master Plan. The session was informative and committee members came away from the meeting with a clearer understanding of the Plan and its phased approach to implementation. Feedback from the Committee and EAC staff was insightful, thorough and generally positive.
Open House Meeting Results
A public open house was held on Wednesday, April 14 from 6:30-9:00 pm at Brookside Jr. High School, 2239 Prospect Road. The open house was a great success. The cafeteria walls at Brookside Jr. High School were filled with maps produced for the Master Plan. Staff from EDM Ltd. and HRM as well as several of our citizen Advisory Committee members were present to lead discussions and answer questions. Over fifty local residents participated in lively discussions on the Plan. A highlight of the evening was a presentation ( WCWC Open House Presentation) that provided participants with a clear overview of the project's goals and planning outcomes.
The beautiful photos in the presentation were taken by Dusan Soudek, the Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee during canoe trips and hikes throughout the Wilderness Common.
Executive Summary
• The Western Common extends over lands owned by HRM between Highway 103 to the north and Highway 333 (Prospect Road) to the south. It extends from the Ragged Lake Business Park in the east to the Nine Mile River in the west.
• The Wilderness Common comprises the western half of the Western Common. It includes seven lakes, extensive rivers and streams, historical trails, special habitats and culturally significant areas complementing a variety of urban land uses in the south (Prospect Road and vicinity) and the Halifax Mainland in the east.
• Drawing up a Wilderness Common Master Plan was recommended as one of four major elements of the Western Commons Concept Land Use Plan presented in the 1999 study 'Planning for the Western Common'. Considerable change has occurred since the study was published. HRM was less than three years old when it was completed, and the Otter Lake Solid Waste Management Facility only began operations in 1999, as the report was being reviewed and presented to the public. The HRM Regional Plan consultation process began three years later, and the resulting plan was adopted in August, 2006.
• The goals of the current study are to review the 1999 Concept Plan, conduct a community consultation process, and develop a Wilderness Common Master Plan that provides a sustainable vision for future park development by preserving the ecological integrity of the Wilderness Common while supporting outdoor recreation activities, enhancing regional context, ensuring connectivity to other parks and open spaces, and adopting best management practices to maintain the integrity of edge relationships with human and wildlife communities bordering the park.
• As recommended in the 1999 study, an advisory committee, entitled the Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committee, was formed to facilitate citizen involvement in developing and managing the Wilderness Common. The committee’s oversight has been key to the Master Plan’s successful development.
• Chapters 1 to 4 of the Master Plan were prepared between the project’s late July 2008 inception and October 2008. In November 2008, the first phase of the master planning process was completed with the publication of the 'Wilderness Common Situation Assessment Report'. It contains a thorough review of the 1999 study and associated land-use planning documents completed in the past decade. It includes an extensive collection and interpretation of geographical information system (GIS) site data, as well as field assessments of forest and archaeological site conditions. The report also documents information gained through consultations with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• The area was assessed using Land Suitability Analysis, which determines the fitness of land for a specific use. Chapter 5 outlines the analysis and its results.
• In Chapter 6, the Master Plan is presented in five phases, with an outline of park amenities, waterways and trail systems to be developed. The Plan also includes cost estimates and an implementation timeframe. Wilderness Common’s development as a regional park will be phased over a period of twenty years, with the exception of areas currently occupied by the Otter Lake Solid Waste Management Facility, which will likely require a sixty-year operational and closeout monitoring period to enable it to be fully incorporated within the park.
Highlights from the Master Plan
• The ongoing operation of the Solid Waste Management Facility and an extended closeout monitoring period are considerations for the Master Plan. The new designation of “Regional Park Reserve” ensures that the facility and surrounding exclusion area lands will eventually become part of the regional park.
• The Master Plan also deals with forest management. The main recommendationis that a detailed forest management plan be prepared. Forest management planning for the Wilderness Common should be developed following principles of sustainable management such as those identified by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. Forest management standards for the Wilderness Common should be consistent with those adopted by HRM for the Point Pleasant Park Comprehensive Plan.
• Conservation of cultural heritage is a key element of the Master Plan. Further research concerning cemeteries and farmsteads in the former Greenhead Settlement will be conducted in order to preserve and interpret the area’s cultural heritage. The potential of pre-contact archaeological sites will also be considered throughout the regional park’s development.
Chebucto Peninsula Vison - A Complementary Concept Plan
• Chapter 7 is an expansion to the Master Plan presenting a vision for the Chebucto Peninsula that addresses some of the most pressing recreational and ecological issues on a significant portion of the Crown Lands on the Peninsula. Since it would require the Province’s leadership, it is separate from the Wilderness Common Master Plan and is included for discussion purposes only. The Chebucto Peninsula Concept Plan could provide HRM and the Province of Nova Scotia with a world-class multi-use trail experience for tourist and local residents, while also protecting the habitat of the Mainland Moose, an endangered species—all within an area less than 30 kilometers from downtown Halifax. The expansion outlines a wider vision for the Chebucto Peninsula as it relates to the Wilderness Common. This vision, which has been presented to HRM staff, Provincial departments and NGOs, defines a possible solution to the divergent issues of OHV use in the area and the presence of the endangered Mainland Moose.
• Stakeholder groups such as the Chebucto Wilderness Coalition, the St. Margarets Bay Safety Minded ATV Association, the Ecology Action Centre and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society have reviewed and shown support for the Concept Plan, and HRM’s Western Common Wilderness Advisory Committee has endorsed its further development.
• The Chebucto Peninsula Concept Plan has four components:
a) Wilderness Conservation Area,
b) Regional Park Reserve,
c) Regional Park,
d) Multi-Use Trail System.
The trail system, which includes motorised and non-motorised sections, would allow access to communities throughout the Chebucto Peninsula, and would minimize human disturbance of the moose by gradually redirecting human activities to the periphery of the moose habitat area. The Concept Plan provides a pragmatic, integrated planning approach to accommodating human recreational needs while fostering survival of the Mainland Moose on the Chebucto Peninsula. Further cost/benefit analysis will be required to calculate natural capital costs associated with the potential loss of the Mainland Moose, as well as potential trail-related financial benefits such as tourism revenues.
To download the draft master plan please click on the following links.
Executive Summary
Western Common Wilderness Common Master Plan - May, 2010
Appendix ABC (Contains Appendix A: Western Common Zoning, Appendix B: Property Ownership and Appendix C: Land Use and Study Area Mapping - see 'Maps' section below).
Appendix DE (Contains Appendix D: Excerpt from Planning for the Western Common (1999) and Appendix E: Chebucto Peninsula Concept Plan Map).
Appendix FGH (Contains Appendix F: Trail Profiles and Appendix G: Tables 4.1 and 4.2 from the Point Pleasant Park Plan, October 2008 and Appendix H: Active Transportation Routing Safety ).
Maps
To download the maps referenced in the master plan please click on the following links.
Figure 1: Primary Forest Species
Figure 2: Surficial Geology
Figure 3: Eco Sections
Figure 4: Soils
Figure 5: Archaeological Resources
Figure 6: Significant Locations and Protected Areas
Figure 7: Government Controlled Property
Figure 8: A.F. Church Map
Figure 9: Air Photo Overview
Figure 10: Trails and Water Routes
Figure 11: Zoning
Figure 12: Areas of Interest
Figure 13: Watercourse Protection
Figure 14: Residential Suitability
Figure 15: Mammals
Figure 16: Reptiles and Amphibians
Figure 17: Birds
Figure 18: Species Richness
Figure 19: Views
Figure 20: Road Density
Figure 21: Model Composite
Figure 22: Overall Concept
Figure 23: Park Development Phases
Figure 24: Forest Inventory-Current Conditions
Figure 25: Community Centre Connector Trails
Figure 26: View Protection
In March 2009 a final revised version of the November 2008 Wilderness Common Situation Assessment Report was published. To learn more about this background research document please select Background from the Links menu to the left.
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