By KRISTEN LIPSCOMBE

An environmentally conscious city councillor wants to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of Shubie Park and its surrounding lands.

Coun. Andrew Younger (East Dartmouth-The Lakes) says it's time Halifax Regional Municipality took the steps necessary to protect the wilderness area from potential developments, starting by rezoning 120 hectares as parkland.

The city-owned land south of Lake MicMac and southwest of Lake Charles, and Shubie Park lands southwest of the Shubenacadie Canal, are all zoned holding, Mr. Younger said. And that means those areas could be slated for residential or light industrial development down the road.

"It's important to realize that although we had no plans to allow development in these areas, it was always a possibility that it could happen," he said Friday.

And it could be done without a public hearing.

Mr. Younger also said a small portion of land on the Lake MicMac side of Shubie Park is zoned commercial and it should be rezoned parkland.

"We need to protect that watershed and the surrounding environment," Mr. Younger said. "And we need to be . . . protecting urban forest and parkland for the public to use."

Mr. Younger said the Halifax-Dartmouth Regional Plan included the aforementioned lands in a proposed park system back in 1975, but "for whatever reason, since that time, nobody has ever taken it upon themselves to do anything to protect it."

Because the city didn't take any action then, a private company ended up developing profitable homes across from MicMac Mall, he said.

"I have no doubt that there are people that are thinking, in the back of their heads, maybe HRM will hopefully sell the land off at one point for development," Mr. Younger said, adding that there has been talk of building up an area along the shore of Lake Charles.

HRM has no plans to sell that land but rezoning it would make a sale less likely, he said.

"There are trails through there now, so obviously people are considering it to be part of the park, but we need that land protected to ensure that the health of the lakes remains safe," Mr. Younger said.

Part of the land he wants protected is part of the former O'Toole estate, which was bought for the expansion of Burnside Park.

But he noted in a news release that the 120 hectares of the former O'Toole land between Highway 118 and Lake Charles "remains untouched." He said rezoning it would not stop construction of a proposed Highway 118 interchange.

"We have this whole area of Shubie Park that we aren't protecting properly."

He said he doesn't expect much opposition when the Harbour East community council reviews the rezoning application Jan. 6. A public hearing in late January or early February will allow community members to voice their opinions.