Halfmoon Bay Community Hall Project

Construction of a new community hall is anticipated to begin soon. The hall, located in Connor Park in Halfmoon Bay will be a space for events, meetings and social gatherings available for the entire community on the Sunshine Coast.

Nearby residents and visitors to Connor Park will see some work being done in the coming weeks to prepare the site and may also notice the two signs that have been recently installed. One of the signs outlines the design and plans for the hall, the other has been placed as a requirement for the Federal Government grant that is covering the majority cost for this project.

Here is what else is planned as part of the site preparation.

Trees

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) knows that environmental conservation and protection of our forested areas and in particular, white pine trees, are very important to residents. To alleviate these concerns, the SCRD conducted an environmental assessment of the site prior to it being selected for the Community Hall.

Following this assessment, in February, a certified arborist surveyed the site. A small number of trees within the construction footprint area were assessed and will be removed. The arborist also recommended the removal of several unhealthy or damaged trees to help manage the long-term health of the Park’s forests in the vicinity of the project area and park access roads.

No white pine trees are part of this tree removal work. In fact, the arborist identified some areas where informal vehicle parking outside of assigned parking areas is affecting the health of white pine trees. As a result, the SCRD will work towards reducing the damage being done to these trees by ensuring clear guidance is in place on where people should park.

The SCRD’s intention is to construct the hall with as little impact to the forested area as possible.

Utilities

Utility work will begin in the coming weeks This work will include the installation of a new water service, electrical connections and septic upgrades for the hall. Residents on Northwood Road will receive notification prior to this work being done as water service installation will involve some excavating work on the road.

Additional Site Preparation

An older shed structure, located on the Southwest side of the site will be dismantled. This structure was once used as a washroom and the old pit toilet will be fully decommissioned. Staff are doing this work in a manner that will ensure the trees that border the existing pit, located between the hall site and the playing fields are not disrupted.

Please note that as the work outlined above continues, there will be some temporary changes to parking availability at the site. Any major disruptions and other information such as project updates and details on the groundbreaking for the hall will be communicated via the online information space for the project at letstalk.scrd.ca/community-hall and at www.scrd.ca.