HRM Rejects Engineering Company’s Offers To Build Food Shelter At Meagher Park

HALIFAX–A Halifax engineering firm is offering to design and construct a food storage unit for people sleeping rough in Meagher Park if the city is willing to grant a construction permit. The Halifax Regional Municipality, however, says that won’t be happening.

“It’s easy for us to produce compliant plans,” said Neil Wolthers of Well Engineered. “If that’s all the issue is then we can quite easily put an engineering stamp on it and we can proceed.”

“The whole thing can happen inside of a week.”

Wolthers made his offer on Twitter after getting involved in an online discussion about the removal of the structure from Meagher Park.

Halifax Police removed a food storage facility in the park on February 26 just as it was being built.

In a press release, Halifax Regional Police said the structure was being built illegally. They also claimed there were safety risks associated with a “cooking facility” at the park.

The police went on to say they did not remove any tents, shelters, or personal items from the park. No fines were given, either.

But even though volunteers referred to their storage facility as a ‘kitchen’, it was going to have no cooking appliances or electricity.

“They’re not looking for a kitchen,” remarked Wolthers after reading about the incident. “That’s the word they used to describe it.”

Wolthers said he was shocked by how quickly police removed the shelter. In all his years of engineering he never heard of authorities removing a construction the same day it was built–permit or no permit.

‘You wouldn’t see the city walking up to a homeowner and saying: ‘you don’t have a permit for your fence, we’re going to tear it down,’” claimed Wolthers. “Never heard of it, never seen it before. I challenge you to find the precedent for that.”

If Halifax does provide a building permit to Well Engineered, there would be no shortage of support from the wider business community to help shoulder the costs of materials. Wolthers said many offers came in after he made his offer.

“The amount of support from the community; there’s three or four other businesses saying they’ll support the material costs. I don’t think there’d be any problem building it.”

In an email to Huddle, the Halifax Regional Municipality said it won’t be issuing any such permit. A spokesperson for the city said the structure does not meet land-use bylaw requirements.

Wolthers has decided to appeal to Halifax’s director of parks and recreation directly for a special permit to construct an 8×12 structure for food storage. He says he can design it so it can be moved after the people living at the park secure housing, and the unit is no longer needed.

He sent an email off to the parks and recreation department on March 9 but hasn’t received a reply yet.

Wolthers believes more people need to look at the homeless people living in the city’s parks as being their neighbours, rather than intruders.

“You wouldn’t treat your neighbours this way,” he exclaimed. “If someone is looking for a place to store their food and they’re already living there, why are you coming to tear it down? What’s the added harm there?”

“They’re people. They’re people having a rough go at life, they’re not succeeding at capitalism for whatever reason, and they’re being punished for it.”

Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].