FEEDBACK NOW SOUGHT ON MIDDLE SACKVILLE COMMUNITY VISION

MIDDLE SACKVILLE

Yvette d’Entremont – The Weekly News
Halifax News Net

July 24, 2009

A volunteer group working to gather ideas and develop a community vision for the future of the Middle and Upper Sackville-Lucasville region is now seeking feedback on their draft document.

Volunteers with the Middle and Upper Sackville-Lucasville Community Liaison Group are hoping residents will view the online document and submit their comments, feedback and suggestions by Aug. 7.

"People might wonder why it’s not more specific, but that’s for the next phase,” explained liaison group member Jenifer Tsang. “The statement and vision is about what the community would like to see, then we’ll go into an implementation phase to make it more specific.”

The committee spent months seeking community input from residents. Issues raised included everything from the history of Middle and Upper Sackville and Lucasville to suggestions about what the area should look like in the next 10 to 20 years and ideas for improvements to the area.

The process has included various public consultations. The community feedback received by the committee has been included in the vision document, which was posted online earlier this week.

Tsang said they’re hoping to receive feedback from a wide range of residents, including local youths, residents with young families, seniors and those living in both rural and more urban areas of the region.

"This has been a harder job than we first thought because our vision area is so diverse,” Tsang said.

"It’s a large land mass that includes rural and urban, main streets, farms, and areas marked for significant future development. This is an opportunity to influence that before development happens, rather than reacting afterward.”

Goals and action statements included in the draft plan document focus on a wide range of issues including: a desire for retention, acquisition and protection of the region’s parks and open spaces; preservation of the watershed; developing strategies to encourage and promote local businesses; and improved transit service.

Other concerns expressed by the community and referred to in the document include a desire for easier access to 24- hour-health care, less “piecemeal” and more sustainable development, and the need for a variety of alternative housing options.

The document can be viewed online at http://www.halifax.ca/visionhrm/MiddleSackville/index.html
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca

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