Case 20507 Paper Mill Lake, Bedford

Updated: August 6, 2024

On August 6, 2024, the Province of Nova Scotia designated Case 20507 – Paper Mill Lake, Bedford, as a Provincial Special Planning Area.

Request

Sunrose Land Use Consulting, on behalf of United Gulf Developments Ltd., has applied for substantive amendments to the existing development agreement for the southern portion of Bedford Village/ Paper Mill Lake subdivision, between Moirs Mill Road and Nine Mile Drive, Bedford to allow for the construction of 214 residential units (lots), one neighbourhood commercial parcel and parks and open spaces, prior to completing the collector road connection from Moirs Mill Road to Hammonds Plains Road, Bedford.

The original development agreement was entered into in 1995 with Annapolis Basin Group Inc. for a 921-unit residential development referred to as Bedford Village, covering approximately 221 acres of land abutting Paper Mill Lake, Hammonds Plains Road and Highway 102. A total of 100 lots were developed in the late 1990s off Moirs Mill Road, Ahmadi Crescent, Richardson Drive and Baha Court. The existing agreement from 1995 stipulates that no more than 100 lots may be developed until such time as the collector road is constructed, because the only route out of the subdivision was eastward to the Bedford Highway and there was a desire to allow for some initial development to take place while also securing an access to Hammonds Plains Road. However, today there is another access route out of the subdivision, which is via Nine Mile Drive and Larry Uteck Boulevard to Highway 102.

Proposal

This proposal encompasses approximately 56 of the original 221 acres. The major aspects of the proposal are as follows:

77 standard single-unit dwellings;
137 small-lot or ‘R-0’ type residential dwellings (more narrow than traditional lots, allows for houses to be located close to or on the side property line);
Construction of an extension of Moir’s Mill Road which will link to an extension of Nine Mile Drive (collector street), thereby creating access to Larry Uteck Blvd and Highway 102;
Extensions of two local streets (Ahmadi Crescent, Richardson Drive), and construction of three new local streets;
One small commercial site at proposed intersection of Moirs Mill Rd and Nine Mile Dr.;
Two new park areas, an expansion of an existing park (treed area) at the end of Ahmadi Crescent, and two open space areas;
New walkways and trails which link the new streets with parks and open spaces;
Increase of setback from watercourses, from 50 feet to 66 feet (20 metres);
New detailed water quality monitoring program and testing requirements for Paper Mill Lake.

Process

The application will be considered under the substantive amendment to a development agreement process.

Status

On August 6, 2024, the Province of Nova Scotia designated Case 20507 – Paper Mill Lake, Bedford, as a Provincial Special Planning Area. As such, the staff report and proposed amending development agreement will be presented to the Executive Panel on Housing for consideration, rather than North West Community Council.

A staff report was considered by North West Community Council on Monday, May 27, 2024. A link to the agenda and video can be found here. North West Community Council put forward a motion to defer consideration of the report, pending a supplementary report from staff. The minutes for the meeting will be uploaded to the North West Community Council agenda soon, where the entire motion to defer can be viewed. A decision on the proposed amendments to the existing development agreement is pending until the supplementary report requested by North West Community Council is completed by staff and brought back to Council for consideration.

An information fact sheet was mailed to residents in March, 2024 to provide an update on the status of the proposal.

The application has progressed through the review team stage of the process where the request was reviewed by internal municipal staff from Development Engineering [including Traffic Services], Building Standards, Civic Addressing, Development Officer [By-laws], Fire Protection Services and Parkland Planning as well as externally by Halifax Water.

Public Consultation took place from December 12, 2020 - January 18, 2021. Thank you for your feedback on the proposal and involvement in the public engagement process. We've received a variety of comments and questions and have created FAQ's to answer some of the common questions. Review materials can be found below. In addition, please visit Shape Your City Halifax for a video presentation on the planning process and project. Individuals can contact the municipal planner guiding the application through the planning process by email or phone 902-719-9457.

Staff conducted an analysis of the survey and feedback responses. The completed analysis will be included in the staff report to Community Council for their consideration in their decision on the proposed project.