A Community Vision for Upper Tantallon at the Crossroads Becomes a Reality
The third annual Village Forum is set for April 16-17 at St .Luke’s Auditorium in Upper Tantallon. The event promises to be the culmination of three years of planning, discussions, and community consultations. Central to the event will be the unveiling of a new town concept for Upper Tantallon at the Crossroads.
“We’re moving from visioning to reality,” says Ella McQuinn, event host and chair of the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association (SMBSA). “This forum will be a proactive approach to change. We’ve responded to the challenge of uncontrolled development of Upper Tantallon at the Crossroads and proposed an alternative that will incorporate our community values based on previous forum and input. This forum is designed to present a local vision that developers can easily step into and be a part of. ”
The SMBSA, working in cooperation with the SMB Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Associations, has helped to forge a community consensus on change. “We’ve had to address outdated by-laws, shifting demographics, and laissez-faire development. We’ve consulted Bay organizations, conducted surveys, and encouraged Bay resource people to work closely with HRM councilors and planners. We now have a new concept, born from and developed by the community, to present for input and ratification.”
Commenting on the visioning process, Councillor Peter Lund observed that “The community has shown a tremendous interest to get out in front of the change happening to our village. Our residents want to be more proactive and not just settle for what comes their way. They’ve put forward some great ideas for how our village can evolve and still keep its coastal character and identity. HRM is listening and supportive.”
The 2010 April forum will be entitled “Vision Become Reality.” The Friday night session will feature a slide show summary of the challenges and solutions to date, followed by a keynote address by Andy Fillmore, the coordinator of the Halifax By Design process now in progress. Fillmore will comment on the challenges and opportunities facing coastal communities experiencing rapid change and shifting demographics.
Saturday morning will showcase the unveiling of a new village plan jointly prepared with HRM Planning. Discussion groups will invite community reaction. A special pre-Forum break out session will allow village landowners, businesses, and developers to network and meet personally with Andy Fillmore.
The Forum event will culminate with a complementary lunch and the presentation of the Annual Community Recognition Awards.
With HRM planner’s help, event organizers will incorporate community feedback from the Forum into a revised concept plan and present this to Councillor Lund and HRM Regional Council for formal approval.
“What we hope to see later this year is the designation of Tantallon at the Crossroads as a unique development zone,” says Guy Arsenault of the SMB Chamber of Commerce.
“This designation is a win-win situation for residents, businesses and developers. The community will preserve the kind of scale, look, and integration that we value; and business and developers will have a much more definite game plan to make locating or doing business here more practical and efficient.”
Forum attendance is free of charge. To ensure a space, advance tickets will be available at Redmond’s Hardware after March 1.
2009 Community Forum Sparks Bay Residents’ Creativity
The March 27-28 Community Forum at St. Luke’s Church Hall drew 130 participants for the Friday evening slide show and panel discussion, and 75 participants for the Saturday morning discussion groups. In addition to Bay residents, the forum was attended by HRM Councillors Lund and Rankin, MLA Bill Estabrooks, former MLA Gordon Earle, and HRM planners Roger Wells, Susan Corser, and Fred Wendt.
The forum was jointly organized by the St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship, Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism Associations. Friday night featured a power point presentation on the state of development at the Tantallon Crossroads. The presentation focused on the issues of population growth (56% increase over the past 10 years), the infringement of commercial development on the rural nature of the Bay, and the need for a change in the present HRM zoning regime. The present “Multiple Use” status favors “as of right” development, which allows developers to ignore community values.
Panelists Patricia Manuel, of Dalhousie School of Planning, David Bryson, developer of Three Brooks, and Beverly Miller, Halifax urban activist, commented on the issues from their various perspectives and responded to questions from the audience. The Saturday morning discussion groups provided an opportunity for Bay residents to voice their opinions on change and to engage in a group village design process. What emerged were a number of positive suggestions for the future development of Tantallon Crossroads. A summary report is now being prepared and will soon be circulated to the media, forum participants, developers, politicians, and HRM planners.
Commenting on the recent commercial development in Tantallon Village, Event organizer Ella McQuinn of the Stewardship Association stated that “The forum displayed a tremendous community interest to get out in front of the change happening to our village. We want to be more proactive and not just settle for what comes our way. Bay residents had some great ideas for how our village could evolve into a more people-oriented place and keep its coastal character and identity.”
Forum organizers also presented three “Community Recognition” Awards. Crossroads Academy was the winner of the “Village Design” Award as a model for sensitivity to local architectural standards. The Rylan Jack’s redevelopment won a “Village ReDesign” Award for a development that improves the appearance and function of an existing building in Tantallon Village. HRM Councillor Peter Lund was also honoured with a “Community Commitment” Award as an individual who has done much to promote community values.
The community was surprised by “gifted land” donated by the WM Fares Group. Company Architect Douglas Choo presented the land located immediately behind the new St. Margaret’s Square development on Highway Three. The land borders on the East River and adjoins provincial crown land. The presentation was made to the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association who accepted on behalf of the entire community, and will work with other Bay organizations to create the best plan for preservation of this land as green space in Tantallon Village. For a photo essay on the Forum, go to the following:
http://picasaweb.google.com/smbsa.admin/VisioningAVillageMarch2009?feat=directlink
To add your choices to the Forum experience, please go to the Forum questionnaire on this web site: