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Zoning regulations halt King's College's expansion plans

Neighbour concerns and land-use regulations have stalled King’s College’s efforts to fill an empty house it purchased on Coburg Road

The University of King's College bought a house on Coburg Road near its campus last November to meet space needs – but one year later the house is still empty and continues to cost the college money.

The college purchased the house for $486,000 with plans to use it for "swing space" while college committees evaluated longer-term space needs, says Vice-President Christopher Elson.

In the past decade, the small college has added a new academic building and two new undergraduate honours programs. College officials say they’re squeezed to provide office and teaching space and there’s no room to expand affordably on its existing 1.56-hectare campus.

Office space is probably the "most crucial" need over the next two to five years and the college thought it could "squeeze out a number of offices with relatively inexpensive renovations" to the house says Elson.

The committee that manages college property recommended the newly acquired house be used as offices. This summer, the college spent approximately $10,000 on renovations.

But there was a problem.

"The house is not zoned for such a use – was not zoned when we bought it, is not zoned now," acknowledges Ian Stewart, a professor at King's who also chairs a sub-committee that deals with space-related issues.

College President William Barker says the process of rezoning is complicated because it is "neighbour driven." He says the college wants to proceed with caution in determining proper use for the house.

"There is no intention on my part to go into offices unless the neighbours were OK with that."

But the neighbourhood is designated residential and that is unlikely to change – regardless of resistance from the neighbours.

 "There is specific policy in our plan against amendments" that would not allow university zoning north of Coburg Road, explains Mackenzie Stonehocker, a planner for the Halifax Regional Municipality. She says "staff wouldn't be able to support an application for a rezoning so we wouldn't even go to the neighbourhood" to consult on changing the zoning of this property.

Concern from the neighbours

A neighbour says she is glad city regulations prevent King's from using the property as office space. She says that could eventually ruin what she describes as a "family neighbourhood."

She points out what’s happened to other properties south of Coburg Road.

"We've seen Dalhousie buying houses up all over the place and they let them go to rack and ruin and use them for offices, and then eventually tear them down and put up big buildings," says a neighbour who asked not to be identified.

"We can see it all around us. Dal has been the precedent."

Another college committee suggested using the property to house the dean of residence in order to free up more space on campus, says Stewart. That was supposed to have happened in October. He won't comment on the "status of that suggestion" now.

"We were very happy at the thought of having a Dean or somebody in there who would take care of it," says the neighbour.

"We're sorry we don't have a neighbour. We like people next door and they're not taking care of it. My kitchen window looks out over this big heap of pipes and ducts that are sitting amongst the weeds, and that's kind of annoying to me."

Cost to the college for an empty house

In an Oct. 14 letter to members of King's faculty, Barker outlined how much money the house has cost the college since it was purchased: $5,000 in amortization, $7,000 in taxes and bills, and $10,000 in renovations, for a total of $22,000.

The house’s assessment value for tax purposes increased from $405,600 in 2007 to $450,800 in 2008 but there’s no way to determine the current market value.

Barker says the college has received good value out of the house –  although it's remained unused for a year – because it has helped generate a "very extensive discussion on campus about space... and we're beginning to get a clearer idea of the actual space needs."

In his letter to faculty, Barker also makes the point that the college "may need to purchase more property" in addition to the house in order to address space concerns to allow "some room for more activities on campus."

It's unclear how long it will take the college to figure out a use for the house but an assessment that outlines its two- to five-year space needs is almost ready for presentation, says Elson.

"This may take a year, it may even take longer but it's underway."

President Barker also says the consultative process as a "very slow one" but "that’s normal in any university."