Case 22879 - Lovett Lake, Beechville

Request

Application by ZZap Consulting Inc., on behalf of Armco Capital Inc., requesting substantive amendments to the existing development agreement for Lovett Lake to add additional lands and allow for a Phase 3 of Lovett Lake with 91 residential units, resulting in an increase of residential units from 257 to 348 units on the site

Proposal

A planning application has been submitted to make changes to the existing approved development agreement for lands to the east of Lovett Lake. The existing agreement allows 257 residential dwellings (single family homes and townhomes) to be built over 2 phases. The application is proposing to add four parcels of land to create a 3rd phase of development.

The details of the proposal are as follows:
•    Adding 4 properties to the existing development agreement site (which is currently made up of 5 properties) to create a 3rd phase.
•    Adding 91 residential units (single family homes and townhomes) which would allow 348 residential units in total.
•    Create an additional (2nd) road access to St.Margaret’s Bay Road.
•    Intent to provide an area of land to the west of the Beechville Baptist Church where a historic baptismal path and gravesites are located, to the Church. This area of land is currently approved as parkland, but the property owner intents to deed this land to the Baptist Church and provide parkland elsewhere.
•    Provide parkland:
•    An area in Phase 1 to the east of Lovett Lake
•    An area in Phase 3
•    An area in Phase 1 where a historic building foundation was identified (see more info. below)

Please see attached submission information under “Documents Submitted for Evaluation” below. This includes a proposed site plan which shows roads, parkland areas, and dwelling lots. There are also areas of historical significance identified which include a historic baptismal path (used by the Beechville Baptist Church - a Municipally Registered Heritage Property) and an area of land where historic building foundation remains related to the habitations and activity of first-generation War of 1812 Black refugees that formed the community, were uncovered, and excavated in 2014. You will see these noted on the proposed site plan.

Process

The application will be considered under the Development Agreement Amendment process.

Status

A Virtual Public Information Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 17, 2021 with a backup date of Monday, June 21, 2021 (depending on number of people interested in attending) at 6:00 p.m. Municipal planning staff invite you to participate and provide feedback, ask questions, and express concerns you may have. View the Public Information Meeting Presentation. 

To participate in the meeting, we invite you to:
•    Contact the Planner (contact information below) prior to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 to register for the meeting;
•    On the day of the meeting, visit the webpage for this application and view the presentation document (in PDF format) so you can follow along with the conversation;
•    Join the Microsoft Teams meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 17, 2021;
•    During the question and answer portion of the meeting, those registered to speak will be called upon one at a time.

Alternatively, if you are unable to participate in the virtual meeting, you can still reach out directly to planning staff with your feedback. The application is currently in the public consultation stage and we are inviting questions and comments on the proposal. Feedback will be collected until July 1, 2021 before moving the application to the next stage. Following public consultation, municipal staff will create a development agreement and staff report for review by the Halifax and West Community Council. Should Community Council wish to consider the proposal, a public hearing will be scheduled. The public hearing is an opportunity for you to share your opinion about the application to Community Council.  

Previously, the municipality held public consultation as part of the Beechville Planning Strategy Review & Community Benefit Action Plan (Case 20226), which included these lands. Since that time, the property owner has applied for this application instead. Public engagement is required as part of the process for this new application however, the detailed feedback from the community and the Beechville Community Development Association during the previous consultation will still be factored into engagement for this application. 

We invite you to participate in this virtual meeting and share any new or additional feedback you may have.

Documents Submitted for Evaluation

The applicant has submitted plans and studies required by municipal staff to properly evaluate the application. 

Planning Application
Traffic Impact Study
Planning Rationale Policy Chart
Servicing Schematic
Revised Site Plan