New changes put Beechville development in hands of historic Black community

A historic Black community just outside Halifax will now have more say in local development.

On Tuesday, Halifax regional council approved amendments to municipal strategies that will change what businesses can operate in Beechville, and what new buildings and neighbourhoods in the community will look like.

"We've accomplished a lot," Patsy Crawford, co-chair of the Beechville Community Development Association, said after the decision.

"We got one goal and the goal is to move our community forward."

Crawford and others have been working with city staff over the past few years to find ways to take back more control over Beechville, and expand the community's boundaries to better reflect more of its original area.

Crawford said it's been alarming to see recent buildings and neighbourhoods go in without locals knowing many details.

"The community has banded together and said, 'Nope, shut it down,'" said Crawford.

Beechville, originally called Beech Hill, was first settled by refugees who escaped from slavery in the United States during the War of 1812. The British granted the original families roughly 2,000 hectares near the North West Arm, including present-day Beechville, Chain of Lakes and Nine Mile River.

But over the decades, the city and province annexed land for a civic water supply and industrial development, according to a staff report.

"All these land acquisitions altered and removed community assets and displaced residents," the report said.

Tuesday's changes will create a new Beechville Comprehensive Development District for large pieces of undeveloped land of more than four hectares between Highway 103 and neighbourhoods along St. Margarets Bay Road.

The new zone will require neighbourhood planning that fits specific criteria the community will define about what's important to them, and is addressed in a development agreement with the city.

Resident Iona Duncan-States, 83, said it has hurt to watch the community "just dwindle to nothing" over the years.

"We've been here a long time. Our ancestors been here a long time, and I think we deserve some respect," Duncan-States told councillors during the public hearing on the changes.

Eleven properties on the south side of St. Margarets Bay Road will also be rezoned to prevent future industrial developments and only allow for smaller businesses and services, to better fit in with neighbouring residential areas. Existing businesses will be exempt and can continue to operate, but any change of use in the future would have to follow the new zoning rules.

Staff said they plan to return to council soon with more proposed changes, including allowing multiple homes to be built on one lot, echoing the traditional settlement pattern of historic African Nova Scotian communities. 

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.