Quinpool 6067

The proposed regulations (draft Land Use By-Law [LUB]) summarized at Open House 2 on December 9, 2015 will be available for public comment in their entirety at a yet-unscheduled Public Information Meeting through the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC).  Following PAC, staff will make any necessary amendments stemming from the feedback received, and proceed to Regional Council for a Public Hearing. A Public Hearing offers members of the public the opportunity to speak directly to Council – the decisions makers – prior to a decision being made.  Once the LUB (and amended area municipal planning strategy) is approved by Regional Council, the property will be offered for sale under competitive bid process. At that point, the new owner would be able to submit an as-of-right development application to develop the site. Submitted plans will be carefully assessed against the regulations approved by Council. If all regulations held within the Land Use By-law and Municipal Planning Strategy are met, the owner will receive their permit.

Thanks for your inquiry. The sequence of steps for the property’s disposition and development are:

• First Open House (July)
• Second Open House (Fall)
• Recommendations/deliverables by Consulting Team to the municipality, which includes proposed MPS & LUB amendments in response to the direction for this property’s Economic Development disposal category (as per Administrative Order 50), and community input through the design phase (December)
• Application Report For amendments submitted to Regional Council (Winter 2016

1. This step will include consultants’ input and staffrecommendations as informed by public engagement
2. This process also includes a recommendation on how the property is to be disposed-of (i.e., sold)
3. The end of this process includes a Public Hearing, as required to approve a plan amendment

• Upon approval by Regional Council, the property will be marketed for sale (~Summer 2016)
• Upon sale of the property, the purchaser/developer will submit an application for development
• Municipal staff would then review the development proposal/application to determine whether it meets requirements under the [revised] MPS and LUB

Regional Council approved Quinpool 6067 as a property surplus to ?municipal requirements as per Administrative Order 50 (AO50), respecting The Disposal of Surplus Real Property. The process that determines a municipally-owned property's surplus status under AO50, and approved by Regional Council, requires an internal review of business unit needs (municipal requirements), as well as any that Regional Council require or request be studied for future consideration. Such needs are typically informed by stakeholders, policy studies and scans, master plans, multi-year capital and business plans, and the annual capital budget cycle. In the case of this property, no municipal requirements for this site have been identified, and as such, the property was approved as surplus with the condition that a plan amendment process be done prior to disposal.

Regional Council has not approved the renovation of the building, due to its poor condition, including hazardous materials throughout. Significant costs would have been needed to renovate the building's systems (electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, insulation, roof, exterior, windows/doors, flooring...everything), and in the end, it would remain a 265,000 square foot (25,000 square metre) school characterized by wide, long hallways, centralized bathrooms, high ceilings. Sale of the property allows sales revenue to be reinvested in other public goods or amenities for the benefit of the community.

Thank-you for these links. Although the Milan Food Policy Pact in one of the links seems to be an issue for higher levels of government to consider, the rooftop commercial gardens are a rather interesting proposition. Some questions that immediately come to mind are:

Is LUFA the sole capital investor who works with building owners to set-up the infrastructure atop and within a building?

What are minimum criteria for a building and site required to make a commercial rooftop garden an economically sustainable entity?

What incentives and risks are there for a building owner?

Thank-you for your comments.

Regional Council approved initiation of plan amendment that would support a mixed-use outcome on the site. The intent is to sell the property as a whole/at one time. This does not mean that a consortium could not bid to acquire it and then propose a phased development or alternatively, propose to subdivide it. Council ultimately will advise staff on how to proceed with disposal of the process when the project advances to that stage. Currently we are trying to ensure we get a design that is supported by the community so that policy can then be crafted to support the project.

Thank-you for your comment.

No population density target has been set for this site. Density is but one measure of a development proposal, rather than an urban design goal unto itself.

In response to the questions/comments: "Does it include any consideration of the implications for traffic, parking on adjacent streets? In a nutshell, how can HRM proceed with any development proposal without considering the impact on the neighbouring communities, traffic flows and existing services without an overall plan for the Centre. This is Job One and I would like to ask why it has not been completed before entertaining grand new development plans?"

Municipal traffic and transportation staff have done a preliminary review of the site for mixed use development. No major concerns have been identified, under the existing road network. A preliminary traffic impact statement or study will be generated as part of the consultants’ recommendations. In addition, as with all developments, a traffic analysis will be required at the time a development proposal is submitted for approval.

Currently, 45 feet.