Some Halifax-area residents are fighting a proposed stargazing park in their neighbourhood, saying the project would ruin their quiet way of life.

But the development’s owner says its scale is being exaggerated.

In January, Halifax councillors on the North West Community Council approved a development agreement for a stargazing facility in a rural residential area on Big Lake off Prospect Road, near Peggys Cove.

The agreement allows for an observatory, which is already in place, plus 12 rental cabins, 12 bunkhouses with telescopes, 20 tenting sites, a café, boathouse, walking trails, and a 15,000-square-foot lodge with a hall, washrooms and a kitchen that could be rented for events.

One of the cabins has the option to be converted into two sites for recreational vehicles.

Adi Fleisher said she and her family live close to the site, across a narrow part of the lake, and have been there since 2019.

While Fleisher said she was originally excited about the project, she soon became worried about the “scale and impact” of the development.

Fleisher appealed the community council’s decision to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board, which heard the matter Tuesday.

Her appeal argues the council’s decision, which followed staff’s recommendation, does not reasonably carry out Halifax’s own planning policies. It argues the traffic impact study was flawed, and proper consideration was not given to environmental impacts.

Fleisher told the board her family can clearly see the observatory structure now, as it sits on a barren ridge with little tree coverage, and will be able to see many of the new cabins or buildings and people using the trails.

‘We came there for the wilderness’

She said when people with flashlights have been on the project site, the beams reach into their living room, and they can hear noise from the site.

“We came there for the wilderness,” Fleisher said in an interview outside the hearing.

“I’m not sure I would be able to stay with, you know, such a big development being like, in my face.”

Fleisher’s appeal asks the board to overturn the city’s decision and send the development agreement back to Halifax for more study, or deny the agreement outright.

A petition Fleisher filed with the board also included 269 signatures from residents and property owners from more than a dozen surrounding communities supporting the appeal.

Multiple letters of support for the project were also filed. One neighbour, who originally signed the opposing petition, said they changed their mind because its information was incorrect and “skewed” by the appellants.

John Read, an astronomer behind the Stargaze Nova Scotia project, told the city in his original January presentation there would be no loud music “at any time.”

In his written evidence to the board, Read said the project provides a unique opportunity for education and low-impact ecotourism. The Abbey Ridge Observatory itself is run by a non-profit with the aim of educating Nova Scotia science teachers about telescopes, he wrote.

After the hearing, Read said the project’s goal is to inspire young people to appreciate nature and the night sky in a unique area with little light pollution.

When asked about neighbours’ concerns, Read said he believes they are “overstating” the scale of the project. 

“They want to keep their area quiet and peaceful, and we want this area to remain quiet and peaceful as well. So our goals on that matter are completely aligned,” Read said in an interview.

The staff report on the development said the proponent is aware of the “sensitivity of the natural environment” on the site, which is why the lodge and cabins have been placed on granite barrens. It also said there is at least the required 20-metre buffer along Big Lake and a large wetland.

Bill Laurette, who is in the process of building his retirement home near the site, was an intervener in the appeal.

When questioning Read, Laurette said there are fewer than 100 clear star-viewing nights a year in Nova Scotia, and asked if the cabins and rental lodge would become a larger part of the business — possibly featuring vacationers not concerned about viewing the sky.

“When it comes to the actual use, there may be a significant imbalance of your dream versus what happens in reality,” Laurette said.

“I mean, I guess we don’t know,” Read replied.

Read told CBC News he does not envision weddings among the possibilities for the site, and any activities would be bound by the city’s noise bylaw.

No funding in place yet

He said the project does not have funding in place yet, but he plans to look for a mix of private and government support. Read also said he is hopeful for partnerships with local universities and the Canadian Space Agency.

“We’re really taking this one day at a time. The process has taught us to be patient … but we’re hopeful that over the next few years, some of the stuff that we’re really excited about will come into reality,” Read said.

The board said it aims to deliver a decision by the end of September.

If the appeal is dismissed, Read said the project would likely be done in phases. 

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