Case 22267- Dartmouth Road and Wardour Street, Bedford

Proposal

This process will consider mid-rise, multi-unit buildings on Dartmouth Road. The study area will also include some properties on Wardour Street. There are two proposals in the study area.

Shelley Dickey Land Use Planning, on behalf of the Stevens Group, is proposing a four storey residential building on Dartmouth Road, between Wardour Street and Stone Terrace. View the site in Google Maps.

The major aspects of this proposal are as follows:
•    4 storeys with 2-storey sections at both ends of the building
•    48 residential units
•    Main driveway off Wardour Street for 47 underground parking spaces
•    Secondary driveway off Stone Terrace for 9 surface parking spaces

The applicant’s letter provides drawings and more details about this building. 

Zzap Consulting Inc., on behalf of Bedford Holdings Ltd., is proposing to develop a surface parking lot on Wardour Street behind the Wardour Centre. The proposal is to construct a five storey residential and commercial building. View the site in Google Maps.

The major aspects of this proposal are:
•    5 storey building, with upper stories set back
•    About 6,300 square feet of ground level commercial space 
•    51 residential units above the commercial space
•    Adding a new driveway on Wardour Street
•    52 underground parking spaces and 24 surface parking spaces

The applicant’s letter has more information. Building drawings and plans are here. 

Process

The applications will be considered under the process to amend a Municipal Planning Strategy. 
 

Status

On November 12, 2019 Regional Council directed staff to begin this planning process. View the staff report.

A public meeting scheduled for Monday, March 23, 2020 was postponed due to COVID19 protocols. 

Public Engagement and Survey
A survey on Case 22267, was sent to nearby residents in early October 2020. Through April 2021, municipal staff received 110 surveys, a response rate of 42%. This response rate is much higher than surveys for other planning projects. View the survey results. In summary, the survey indicated strong opposition to the new development, especially to the new apartment buildings. Complied surveys (full comment with personal information removed) can be viewed below. Please note: these are large files so they have been broken up for easier viewing:

• Compiled Surveys 1
• Compiled Surveys 2
• Compiled Surveys 3  

HRM Regional Council has enabled virtual public meetings to support public engagement for active planning processes. The municipality, through the North West Planning Advisory Committee, will host virtual public meetings with residents in the future. When virtual public meetings are scheduled, nearby residents will be notified and provided with directions on how to participate.