Two portions of Halifax area parkland closer to becoming construction sites

As she walks along the woods, Clayton Park West resident Wendy McDonald spots a chickadee in a tree, and notices the buds on the mayflowers below.

“We need to put a sign on that park before it disappears altogether,” says McDonald.

McDonald is referring to Park West School Park, a wooded area next to the school, which also borders the popular Mainland Park Trail off Radcliffe Drive.

Earlier this month, regional council approved the sale of 4.21 hectares of the park to the province of Nova Scotia, to make way for a new elementary school.

“Cut down all the trees and where will the birds and the deer go?” says McDonald. “People move to this area because of our small parks.”

In 2021, a public survey of 380 people found 69 per cent of respondents opposed transferring the land to the province, with the loss of the parkland cited as the main reason.

“We want to save our trees, we don't want to cut them down,” says McDonald.

Clayton Park West resident Wendy McDonald has worked on several petitions opposing the plan.

On Feb. 7, council voted in favour of the transfer, with councillors Pam Lovelace and Kathryn Morse the only ones opposed.

That means the process will get underway to declare the land surplus, to then be sold to the province as it hopes to construct a three-storey school to address overcrowding at schools in the area, including Park West.

A city staff review suggests maintaining a “strong focus on ‘green’ practices to mitigate the conflicts with the abutting neighbourhoods and the loss of tree canopy/habitat.”

McDonald, however, believes the site, which is in a densely populated neighbourhood with an already busy thoroughfare, isn’t the best choice for a new school.

“In my mind, this site is not large enough,” she says. “I know the population is increasing… but we need to go where that’s most felt.”

“There’s no more development in this community,” McDonald adds. “We’re built out.”

Across the harbour in Dartmouth, N.S., there’s another parcel of green space council also agreed to sell for development, this time to a private company.

The small portion of Penhorn Lake Park measures 221.7 square metres.

A city staff report recommended the sale to Penhorn Residential Holdings GP Limited as part of its proposed 905-unit subdivision, “based on lack of other practical options.”

The only councillor who voted against the move isn't worried about setting a precedent, but blames the project for poor planning.

“The Opalridge development would probably not lose a single apartment, if they were to redesign their development appropriately,” says Paul Russell. “So I’m not sure why they would need that extra parkland.”

The project at the former Penhorn Mall site is in one of the areas fast-tracked by Nova Scotia’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing last March to address the housing shortage.

In both cases, the land deals have not yet been closed.

Regarding the land for the new school in Clayton Park West, a spokesperson for the provincial Department of Public Works tells CTV in an email, “The…property has been identified as a preferred location for the new school. The department is now working to confirm the site is technically suitable. “