Halifax moves ahead with downtown Dartmouth heritage district

People will soon be able to weigh in on a proposed heritage district for downtown Dartmouth, a move the municipality says will protect a unique area while allowing appropriate development.

Municipal staff have been working toward a downtown Dartmouth heritage conservation district since regional council gave the idea the green light in 2020. These districts include specific planning and land-use rules around building development, alterations or demolition.

On Tuesday, council accepted a background study of the area and agreed to move ahead with the public consultation phase of the project.

Coun. Sam Austin, who represents Dartmouth Centre, said the neighbourhood does have important heritage buildings like the old Dartmouth post office, Quaker House and Christ Church. But he said the area's entire collection of buildings and character is also of value.

"When you walk down Portland Street, you still have this intact, small-town sort of main street that is lovely in terms of vibe and that kind of human-scale feeling," Austin said outside the meeting.

"There's something unique there that doesn't get built today in modern construction. That's something that I think is worth holding on to."

The district would include most of the area bordered by Portland Street and the Dartmouth Common, south of Pine Street.

A staff report said some character-defining elements of the district include the original grid of the Dartmouth town plot laid out in 1750, views of the harbour at the ends of Ochterloney, North and Portland streets, church properties within the original town, and park features in the Dartmouth Common.

The report notes the district is being prioritized because of development pressure ramping up over the past few years. Halifax Regional Municipality issued 109 development permits between 2015 and 2023 in this study area, mostly for mixed-use and commercial projects.

Austin said heritage conservation districts don't freeze development completely but actually allow for flexibility and projects that bring a benefit to the area.

"It's essentially a key part of potentially unlocking additional development in places, while also retaining what is great about the place," he said.

Amanda Furniss, executive director of the Dartmouth Heritage Museum, said the milestone is "certainly a step in the right direction."

The museum runs Quaker House in the proposed conservation district. The restored 1785 building shares the story of the Nantucket Quakers who brought a whaling enterprise to Dartmouth. 

They were responsible for successfully lobbying the governor of Nova Scotia to grant common land to the locals for grazing livestock in 1788, the staff report noted. Part of that remains the Dartmouth Common public green space today.

Furniss said she hopes the new district includes historical interpretation, like plaques or displays, about the diverse history of the area that includes the Mi'kmaq, Jamaican Maroons, Loyalists, and Irish and Scottish stonemasons who constructed the Shubenacadie Canal locks.

"It just will help have a more fuller picture of all of the people who have been here," Furniss said.

Two public information meetings will take place this year, allowing residents to weigh in on what they would like to see in a plan for the heritage district and how development should be controlled.

Financial incentives to help property owners update and care for buildings in the heritage district will also be considered, as they are in other local conservation areas.

The final plan is expected to go to Halifax's heritage advisory committee in early 2026 before going to regional council. There will be a public hearing before the plan becomes final, and after it's adopted it will be sent to the province's minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage for final approval.

Expanding or creating multiple new heritage districts is part of the city's $79-million Housing Accelerator Fund agreement with CMHC that aims to create 2,600 net new housing units by 2026.

The city has three active heritage districts on the Halifax side of the harbour: Barrington Street, Schmidtville and Old South Suburb.

The municipality is in the midst of plans to merge Barrington and the Old South Suburb into a new downtown Halifax district to create consistent policies for the area. The new district will add the "capital" area including Province House and Historic Properties.