(Image: Wedding photoshoot outside City Hall yesterday.)
Our fifth council meeting of 2026 was held on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.
The full meeting agenda, reports and video recording are linked below.
Halifax Regional Council – March 10, 2026
This meeting was somewhat abbreviated, as we started the day by finishing our budget deliberations and didn’t get started until about 2 pm.
Items most relevant to District 7 are highlighted below, along with notes on the M District public hearing & the Wyse Road permit issue.
Items 10.2 (Green Network), 15.1.2 (Dangerous Dogs), 15.1.3 (Dartmouth Cove), 15.5.1 (Transit Prioritization), 15.5.2 (Transit Core Services Plan 20 buses) and one in-camera item were deferred to our next meeting.
10.1 Councillor Purdy – Review of the Complete Streets Policy and Consideration of a Maintenance-First Approach
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer to prepare a staff report outlining options to amend or discontinue the Complete Streets Policy and to evaluate a Maintenance-First approach that prioritizes pavement condition, road rehabilitation, and core infrastructure renewal. The report should include financial implications, impacts on project delivery and asset management.”
I see streets as public spaces that can/could be used for anything (all modes transportation, recreation, housing, parks). Cities are not static. The Cogswell District project is a great example of converting vehicle infrastructure to space for homes, businesses, parks and all modes of transportation. Last year’s improvements on Dutch Village Road and Brunswick Street are examples of complete streets projects. Robie Street is not being designed as a complete street (IMO) because staff have not allocated space for cycling along it and are preserving the current general traffic lanes. The sidewalks will be widened, and a lane in each direction will be dedicated to transit for the full length of the street until Inglis. (More from me on Robie later. I have mixed feelings but do think reserving the land for future BRT and then LRT is important.)
Pages 56-70 of our Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP, p 60-74 of the pdf below) explain what a complete street is, why we want more of them and where we are implementing them.
The IMP has been in place since 2017, and staff are working on a revised version of the Action Plan.
This motion for a staff report failed 7 – 9. I voted No.
10.3 MPSA 2025-00514 – Initiation Report for 169 Wyse Road
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council refuse to initiate amendments to the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) and Land Use By-Law (LUB) to allow a 12-storey building in a tall mid-rise built form at 169 Wyse Road (PID 00045351) in Dartmouth.”
A developer has built two extra floors beyond their building permit on Wyse Rd. They have a permit from 2022 that allows 9 stories plus a non-residential penthouse (for mechanical equipment etc.). They built 12 stories. Council is not able to penalize or make demands on what to do with this space (for example require that it be affordable housing) and was provided with the choice to require that the extra stories come off, or the alternative to permit the building as-is through MPS and LUB amendments.
Council voted in favour of the staff recommendation 15 – 1. I voted Yes.
12.1 PUBLIC HEARING Case 24469: Comprehensive Neighbourhood Planning – M District Future Growth Node, Dartmouth (Joint Meeting with Harbour East – Marine Drive Community Council)
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council:
1. Adopt the proposed amendments to the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy and the Regional Centre Land Use By-law, as set out in Attachments A and B of the staff report dated February 18, 2026, to enable comprehensive development of the M District Future Growth Node located between Micmac Boulevard, Horizon Court, and Highway 111, Dartmouth;
2. Direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to incorporate the capital expenditures needed to support the proposed development, as outlined in the Financial Implications section of the staff report dated February 18, 2026, into future capital budget processes; and
3. Direct the CAO to begin negotiations for the purchase and sale of lands within the M District Future Growth Node for a new off-street transit terminal.”
(Plus the Development Agreement motion, DA, that only HEMDCC members voted on.)
At our Feb 24th meeting, I voted No to first reading and scheduling this public hearing for the current Mic Mac Mall site. On page 12 of the staff report, it clearly states that this development (for 8600 people) will not generate enough tax revenue to cover the operational costs. This is troubling to me and makes me question why we are doing it.
Between the two meetings on this topic, staff indicated that although the neighbourhood may not be self-sufficient, it will provide general benefits to HRM by preserving nature elsewhere and upgrading our transit service with a new terminal. The area will be more pedestrian oriented than it currently is and being infill development we are more likely to reach cost recovery here than with further sprawl. This development is sprawl repair, that I am in favour of in general.
My other big concern with this development is the collector road separating the 7 towers from the pedestrian-oriented space. I would like to see this road decreased in design speed and number of lanes to provide road safety to the 8600 residents of this new M District town. The whole development, though improved from its original design, feels more car dependent than necessary for our Regional Center. 5000 parking spots are part of the full design between the mall and the new homes.
This motion passed 14 – 1. I voted Yes.
The DA motion passed 3 – 1.
15.2.3 Wanderers Grounds Temporary Stadium Expenditures
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council:
1. Approve a one-time withdrawal of $590,385 from the Options Reserve Q421, with this amount deposited to Cost Centre C721 in order to fund the Wanderers Grounds Temporary Stadium Expenditures; and
2. Pay the Halifax Wanderers Football Club (HWFC) the amount of $590,385, in accordance with the Services Agreement, with such payment addressing both the HWFC fees to manage the Wanderers Grounds stadium on behalf of HRM and to reimburse HWFC the additional expenses it properly incurred in its management of the Wanderers Grounds stadium.”
Operating the Wanderers grounds has become more complicated with the field being used by two teams with different league requirements in the same space. HRM is not experienced in budgeting for this situation but have done our best to accommodate the addition of a new team in 2025. HRM is moving towards full cost recovery and equitable field access for the two teams. If HRM moves forward with a permanent soccer stadium at the Wanderers grounds, there is interest in having Events East run the operation, drawing on their successful operations at Scotiabank Centre and the Convention Centre.
Long term, I am only in favour of continuing to host the Tides and the Wanders if HRM can break even or generate revenue from the operation, and gain access to the field for community.
This motion passed on the consent agenda.
15.4.1 HRTG-2025-00886: Substantial Alterations to the municipally registered heritage property at 5820 Spring Garden Road, Halifax
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council approve the proposed substantial alteration to the municipally registered heritage property at 5820 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, as set out in the staff report dated January 26, 2026.”
Sacred Heart School will be replacing their wood windows with aluminium ones.
This motion passed on the consent agenda.