Letter of Oct 1, 2024 to Premier & Others

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Oct 1, 2024
To: Honourable Tim Houston, Premier, Province of Nova Scotia,
Mayor John Savage, Halifax Regional Municipality

Honourable John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Honourable Timothy Halman Minister of Environment and Climate Change
From: David Patriquin, Prof. of Biology, Dalhousie University (retired)
Subject:
The precarious state of Sandy Lake (Sandy Lake Special Planning Area)
——–
I am writing to you as key decision-makers in relation to a major challenge that faces us in HRM and Nova Scotia at large: the need to address the housing crisis and the combined Climate/Biodiversity crisis simultaneously, and as much as possible with approaches that are not compromises, that are win-win for both housing and our environment.

Specifically I want to bring to your attention a key issue pertaining to the state of Sandy Lake which lies within the Sandy Lake Special Planning Area in HRM. I suggest it is serious enough to warrant not proceeding with the development as currently envisaged, if at all; that if we do, we are very much addressing housing at the expense of Climate/Biodiversity, and also in the intermediate to longer term, the well being of the surrounding communities.

On the other hand, I suggest that we can place the currently proposed development on some of the already degraded lands or lands of much lower ecological value in the same general area and that by doing so we would be addressing both the Housing Crisis and the combined Climate Biodiversity Cris simultaneously; and conserving a significant natural heritage/outdoor recreation area for the benefit of very many folks in a major growth area.

The details are in the letter and two related documents attached.

I am very grateful for your consideration of this issue.

Respectfully,

– David Patriquin
David G Patriquin
Professor of Biology (retired)
Dalhousie University

cc: Waye Mason (my HRM Councillor); Stantec (Halifax branch); OurHRMAlliance; Clayton Developments; Sandy Lake Conservation Association; Halifax Field Naturalists*; NS Wild Flora Society* *Members of these societies have contributed observations at Sandy Lake & Environs