HRM Regional Council meets on Dec. 3rd to consider RP+5 - Draft 3

HRM Regional Council meets on Tuesday Dec. 3rd at 1 pm at City Hall to receive and consider recommendations related to RP+5 - Draft 3. ("RP+5" refers to the 5 year review of the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy. The first version was released in 2006, and is reviewed at 5 year intervals. The current review has taken two years.)

backlands
Will iconic natural settings like this one (Williams Lake and backlands) close to core areas still be here in 5...25 years?
Click on image for larger version.
Our HRM Alliance, representing 48 organizations, has worked hard over the last 3 years to develop and promote "Seven Solutions", key amongst them a vision for Greenbelting which would preserve natural spaces and concentrate growth, with benefits for transportation, health, taxes and environment. There has been strong public support for the "Greenbelting Solution".

Our HRM Alliance feels very strongly that although the concept of greenbelting is introduced in RP+5, the greenbelting solution has not been adequately addressed in Draft 3 or in the Staff Recommendations.

Please attend the Regional Council meeting on Dec 3rd or parts of it, as at all possible, to show the public cares about this process.

If you can't physically make the meeting Tuesday you can access the webcast under "Live Video" or "Live Audio" here.

Next steps: HRM Regional Council discusses recommendations and votes to adopt/reject the 3rd Draft and individual recommendations (Dec 3rd & possibly further sessions); public hearings are held (likely Jan/Feb, 2014) and a final plan is finally adopted. See Staff Diagram of RP+5 process.

View the HRM Committee of the Whole Agenda for more details including the following documents: See also: WRWEO Letter
Posted Nov. 29, 2013










Letter to Councilors from Our HRM Alliance, Dec 2

Comments on HRM's 3.0 RMPS draft (Our HRM Alliance, Dec 2)

Greenbelting is good for our health & environment and reduces taxes! Read Oakville Ont experience: Greenbelts for growth (Halifax Magaine, Dec 2, 2013)

Grand design is key to livable future for HRM (Op-ed in Chronicle Herald, Nov. 30th) & see Comments by Tristan on reservations held by some councillors about CDAC's recommendations and the idea of a greenbelt in particular

"A plan is only as good as the content, and the content has to come from the people.  They are the people who have to determine where we want to go, and then we have to find a way to get there; so we need to have the input of the people."
- Mike Savage
Mike Savage