Good morning neighbours, Just wanted you to be aware of a proposed zoning change for our neighbourhood, part of Centre Plan "Package B." To start, the Bloomfield Neighbourhood, defined in the Centre Plan as follows... ...will be a proposed "Heritage Conservation District". This acknowledges the "/largely intact and contiguous tree-lined streetscapes of the Bloomfield District, west of Gottingen in Halifax's North End, contain[ing] an important collection of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian grand residences representing the merchant class of the 19th century/." I am not opposed to the HCD designation, but HRM has also automatically assigned the "ER-1" zone to any proposed heritage conservation district. Here's the rationale: "/The ER-1 Zone [lowest-density zone in the Centre Plan] is applied to these proposed HCDs, regardless of existing unit types, to help discourage redevelopment of heritage assets prior to the creation of the HCDs. This approach is intended to reduce the risk of major redevelopment, while still allowing existing uses and the development of secondary and backyard suites/." Fifty properties (26%) in our neighbourhood currently contain two or more units, and it concerns me that ER-1 zoning will make these duplexes/triplexes/etc. "nonconforming," while also prohibiting future duplex conversions. Over time, this may result in a reduction in the neighbourhood’s population density and affordability, as rental properties are gradually converted back to single-unit dwellings. (The neighbourhood is currently zoned R-2 under the Halifax Peninsula land use by-law, which permits up to four units on a property, subject to lot size and other requirements.) I've written to HRM to say I actually want _more_ people living in the neighbourhood; density uses existing services more efficiently and helps to build a strong, cosmopolitan community. As one of the only 10-minute neighbourhoods in all of HRM, I think we should be encouraging more people to live in the Bloomfield Neighbourhood, not fewer. Applying the ER-2 or ER-3 zone instead would acknowledge the existing multi-unit dwellings and would not grant any more height or building size permissions than ER-1. Hope this makes sense. If you have concerns about this (whether you agree or disagree with me!), you should email your feedback to planhrm(a)halifax.ca. It would be a good idea to CC our councillor (lindell.smith(a)halifax.ca) as well. More details on Centre Plan are available online here, if you want to read up further: http://centreplan.ca. - Kyle