HRM issues stop-work order to Bedford Commons development

BEDFORD
By Yvette d'Entremont - The Weekly News
When Jim MacLeod drove past the Bedford Commons last week, he was very upset to see a road being constructed in an area where he always enjoyed watching nesting Canada geese, ducks, two loons and even swans.
"I haven't seen any of them since they started putting that in there," MacLeod said last week. "It bothers me that they'd do that. Why fill it in? That swamp was there a long time before Bedford was and now here we are taking away their habitat."
On June 8, HRM issued a stop-work order at the site, confirmed public affairs spokeswoman Shaune MacKinlay. She said the stop work order was issued because the project contravened a part of the municipal planning strategy that applies only to Bedford.
"Bedford has a planning strategy where there's a requirement for a permit if you are going to alter the grade of a property, and that was not in place," MacKinlay explained. "The land- use bylaw requires a set back of 100 feet from a water retention area. (The developer) will have to rectify these shortcomings and show he's in compliance."
Besim Halef of Banc Developments is the developer working on that piece of land. Halef said he received proper approval from the Nova Scotia Department of Environment, and that the portion of land in question was not determined to be a wetland.
He said he was unaware different rules applied to Bedford and believed all he needed was the province's approval.
He stopped work on the site immediately after HRM informed Banc Developments of its oversight, and said he's hoping to get back to work as soon as possible.
"If we didn't have approval, we wouldn't touch it. We don't contravene the rules," Halef said.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca