Physicians' group joins opposition to Sandy Lake development area

Dozens of medical professionals have joined the call to stop development around a Bedford lake, which they say could hurt the environment and the health of residents. 

A group of 70 doctors, nurses, scientists and other health care workers with the Nova Scotia committee of Canadian Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) recently wrote to the province, urging them to take Sandy Lake off the list of special planning areas.

"These are quite literally our city's lungs, and we need to keep them as such if we want clean air," said IWK emergency doctor Chris McCrossin.

A provincial housing task force chose the 10 special planning areas around Halifax Regional Municipality as places to fast-track residential developments, in order to address the city's ongoing housing crisis. But Halifax councillors and Mayor Mike Savage have expressed concerns that there will be less public consultation on the projects.

The Sandy Lake area includes about 400 hectares of land west and south of the lake, which local advocates have long asked to be added into the existing Sandy Lake Park on the eastern side.

McCrossin said access to natural green space has proven medical benefits for mental health, chronic lung conditions, concentration scores in children with ADHD, and inflammation and stress in adults.

He said developments like Sandy Lake often require people to rely on cars and provide inadequate access to jobs, shops, and schools — all of which have negative consequences for physical and mental health.

"Why would you pick specifically ecologically sensitive areas that we know have global benefits to the health of Haligonians?" McCrossin said.

"Why those areas would be fast-tracked for development makes no sense."

Clayton Developments plans to create 6,000 housing units in the area through a mix of residential buildings with new streets and public parks. Various studies, including land suitability and transportation, have to be done before a master plan can be considered.

CBC News has reached out to Clayton Developments about the Sandy Lake concerns but did not receive a response by deadline.

Karen Robinson, co-chair of the Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park Coalition, said any development endangers stands of old-growth Wabanaki-Acadian forests, habitats for 16 species at risk (including snapping turtle, chimney swift and Canada warbler) and the health of the lake where Atlantic salmon have only recently returned. 

In 2018, Halifax Regional Municipality's Green Network Plan — a land management and community design strategy — identified three wildlife corridors in the areas surrounding Sandy Lake, meaning the area is important for animal migration and habitat.

"This place is a treasure and it's a gem, and it's a unit of ecological richness that is just beyond compare in Nova Scotia," Robinson said.