Halifax Must Embrace Change, No Matter How Painful

The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter based in Halifax.

Change is hard, there’s no doubt about that, but change is also inevitable. Yet, even when it’s clear things must change, we often still fight against it.

I’ve been guilty of it in my life, as I’m sure everyone reading this has been, too. We find comfort in the usual sights and sounds while the unknown is terrifying.

There may be no city in Canada facing the inevitability of change more than Halifax. The city is one of the fastest-growing in the nation. It grew by 4.4 per cent in 2022.  That growth will bring major change. Halifax, with a population of 480,000, is already a fair-sized city. But it often feels more rural than urban, depending on what part of HRM you’re in.

That’s about to change. It must, if we want to welcome all who want to live here. We need more density instead of suburban sprawl. This means bigger buildings than what we are used to in residential areas.

Whether our elected officials are ready to make the change was put to a bit of a test this week. Harbour East-Marine Drive Community Council was tasked with approving a six-story residential building. Now, a six-story building isn’t really that high, but the location, on the corner of Portland and Carver Streets, is in a neighbourhood of smaller houses. Many of the people who have lived in the neighborhood for years didn’t want this in their backyard.

This quote from one neighbour, Steven Elliot, really stuck out to me. It highlights the uncomfortableness that neighbourhoods face when change is coming.

“God, it makes me mad. We used to live in the North End and then the zoning changed and they let a strip club go into the north end. And then…I packed up the kids and we left. We moved here and it was great.”

Elliot did make some good points about the potential downside of living next to such a high building. He was worried it would cast a shadow over his property, denying him sunlight.

Other residents also had concerns over stormwater and traffic, all of which the developer tried to temper through different studies.

But there were other comments that highlighted the fact that some people are fearful of change because it presents an unknown situation.

“This proposal is out of character for our neighborhood. Our current neighborhood is made up largely of single-family dwellings, mostly young families and elderly couples. It’s within walking distance to both the elementary school and junior high… There are individuals who are disabled and many young children in this area who will become increasingly vulnerable to interference with increased foot traffic from Cortland Street,” one person argued.

“Currently we have a peaceful quiet neighborhood that is safe for all of us. However, if this proposal is accepted, we wonder if it will be safe any longer,” another said.

There is no proof that this neighbourhood will become more dangerous just because of this development. To me, that argument subtly suggests that renters are more dangerous than homeowners. I’ve always lived in areas where everyone was renting and never felt unsafe.

The four council members who were present at the meeting faced a difficult task. On top of the strong pushback made by community members, there was a petition with more than 500 signatures calling for them to reject the development.

I give the council credit for how they went about their business that night. It’s very easy for municipal politicians to cave when homeowners band together and fight against change. I’ve seen this in towns big and small. In Labrador, where I’m from, a bunch of well-to-do homeowners even fought against something as small as a playground.

But the community council members highlighted Halifax’s growing housing crisis. I was impressed with how eloquently they reasoned through a complex decision.

“These are always difficult decisions,” said Coun. Becky Kent. “We don’t want to create hardship or a sense of loss of community in our neighborhoods. But what weighs heavily for me in this decision is… the blatant and undeniable access to housing in our city…Every single day we get concerns from residents who are not able to access housing.”

My favourite quote came from Coun. Tony Mancini, who underscored the growing pains that will be necessary for Halifax in the coming years. Even his own neighbourhood is transforming in front of him. His decision to support the project must have been even more difficult since it’s in his district. That means he may have lost some future votes.

“It’s not the same place from when you started. Change is tough. Where I live on Waverley Road, right across the street from my home is the Port Wallace development; 4,900 units and 10,000 people… It’s going to change my landscape. But we need to have housing.”

Perhaps this column is depressing you, especially if you grew up in Halifax and love the way it is. Perhaps you are one of the voices against massive growth or change. But I challenge you to change your perspective.

I grew up in a town of 550 people. The population never wavered. It was always 550. Change came slowly. It wasn’t a vibrant or diverse place to live. The fact that thousands of newcomers choose Halifax every year means we live in a special, welcoming place.

And even though the buildings will have to get higher, and neighbourhoods less quiet, the city will benefit from all of these new souls.

We just need to make sure the city and the province supply enough housing.