Halifax Viewplanes/Sightlines

[halifaxboyns]

I guess no one has been tracking this, but there is a viewplane study underway for the north west arm.

It looks like the second information meeting has already passed.

Here is a link to the project website.

[Hali87]

reposted from the Fenwick discussion:

Originally Posted by Hali87

The view planes are fundamentally about preserving historical authenticity, not making the city more beautiful. The point is not to offer visitors the "finest views" but to allow them to experience more or less the same views that would have been present when it was an active military fortress. This is why heritage groups often fight to preserve the view of the oil refinery.

It all comes down to a tension between two different approaches to creating an interesting city: what we have now is a very academic approach that requires people to reflect on their surroundings and read up on the area's history. What I think a lot of people want (or even think that the view planes are meant for) is to preserve the most attractive views of the harbour while filling in the unattractive ones (like the refinery) with buildings or monuments, creating a very real improvement of the aesthetics that you really only have to see, not think about, to enjoy. I think a careful balance of the two is the best approach, but even that would require a revision of the view planes.

The Fenwick viewplane violation might be "insignificant" in that it won't really affect any views but it is "significant" in that if it is amended, we will no longer be able to say "the view planes are absolute and cannot be/have never been changed". This is of course much more important to some people than others.

[RyeJay]

The viewplanes should never be absolute. Some people believe we shouldn't have any viewplanes. I would be fine with some...

When I consider my usage of Citadel Hill, and all the people in my age group, it's a popular public space for picnics, or even a leisurely study space. I always brought my school work to the hill during sunny, non-windy days. As part of this atmosphere, it is nice to be able to see the water in between the downtown buildings -- but I need to acknowledge that it's the cityscape that is mostly contributing to this view's appeal.

There are simply way too many viewplanes. Limiting it to just a few, or even a couple, would still drive home the same point for anyone on the hill: yes...there is a harbour down there.

[halifaxboyns]

I'm not sure if people know this but Vancouver has a series of viewplanes - 12 if I am not mistaken. But they are no where near as big or wide as the ones HRM has.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by halifaxboyns

I'm not sure if people know this but Vancouver has a series of viewplanes - 12 if I am not mistaken. But they are no where near as big or wide as the ones HRM has.

Yeah, I used to live in the Fairview neighbourhood around Broadway and Oak. There's a park there (Choklit Park -- weird name) that has protected views of the mountain. The views extend across the downtown, limiting building heights.

In my opinion many of those views are about as silly as the Halifax ones. Vancouver has all sorts of public beaches and waterfront areas that will have mountain views regardless of the height of buildings downtown. For the small park example I gave, most people don't even know it's there and in reality those view cones preserves a small number of mostly private views at the expense of density over an area of maybe 30 downtown blocks.

The Heritage Trust people are often misguided but at least the Paceys don't own a condo on Citadel Hill. There are typically huge conflicts of interest in these debates, like when the Martello residents complained about the YMCA.