Ways to Take Action for Sandy Lake - Sackville River
1. Have your say - HRM Survey or Email
The Province has forced HRM to move to the "secondary planning" stage of development planning for the Sandy Lake Special Planning Area. That means HRM staff and consultants are looking at how development could be laid out on the lands west of Sandy Lake, and what infrastructure would be needed to support the developer's plan.
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HRM hosted 3 open house sessions on November 12 at Bedford United Church. At this session staff gathered feedback from participants through notes. You can also provide feedback to HRM by completing their online survey (it is biased towards development), or emailing the lead planner on the Sandy Lake area, Melissa Eavis, at eavism@halifax.ca
BUT ALSO: share your thoughts with your provincial MLA, since it is the Province (specifically the Minister of Housing, John White) that will make the final decision about potential development at Sandy Lake.
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Not sure what to say? Here is our blog post and document on the shortcomings of the "background studies" that will inform planning for development at Sandy Lake. And here is a document with the main points that our Coalition made at the open house.
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2. Write a letter/ email
The Nova Scotia Provincial Task Force on Housing in HRM has named the land west of Sandy Lake a "Special Planning Area" to be fast-tracked for development, which would be bad for people and wildlife in this important park area.
The Minister of Housing has the power to remove locations from the list of Special Planning Areas. But time is quickly running out for the Province to reverse this decision. We have requested that the Minister remove Sandy Lake from the Special Planning Area list.
Make a difference today by letting decision-makers know that you do not support development in the Sandy Lake Special Planning Area and want it off the SPA list. We've made it easy - here is an example letter to send to Minister John White and the Premier.
Make sure your concerns are on the record by emailing him at johnwhitemla@outlook.com and copying the Premier at premier@novascotia.ca. Please copy us at sandylakecampaign@gmail.com.
Map image source: https://engagehalifax.ca/sandy-lake-special-planning-area
3. Request a sign or print a sign
Whether you have a lawn, a balcony, or a window, you can help demonstrate just how many people care about what happens around Sandy Lake. The land and water that stretch from the Hammonds Plains Road to the Sackville River, all around Sandy Lake, has long been identified for protection as a park. This area is at high risk from development planned in the Sandy Lake Special Planning Area. We need lots of signs, across Nova Scotia, to raise awareness of this threat and instead call on the government to Save Sandy Lake!
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Request your 24 x 16 inch "lawn" sign through this form.
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Would you rather print your own sign? That's great too! Post it at home, on your community bulletin board, or send it to friends, the possibilities are endless...
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