Community group protests Colonial Honda expansion
Posted May 13, 2016 04:18:21 PM.
Last Updated May 13, 2016 04:28:16 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – A community group protested outside of Colonial Honda Friday in an effort to stop the dealership’s planned expansion.
Steele Auto Group, which owns the North End dealership, has drawn the ire of many since word came out the group has purchased a number of residential buildings surrounding the business with the intention of demolishing them to make room for a larger dealership.
Homes Not Hondas organized a protest Friday, and dozens of people lined the sidewalks outside of Colonial Honda showing their support for those who live in the area affected.
Jeff Arsenault was at the rally and said there are many vulnerable, low-income people living in the area targeted for demolition.
“This is going to push a lot of people out who are not going to be able to find another rental at that price point,” said Arsenault.
Also an opponent to the expansion, Matthew Halliday said the reality is that demolition, in some form, will go ahead. He wants to see the two sides come to a compromise.
“How can we accommodate what they want to do and preserve the residential character of the neighborhood and not lose all these houses,” he pondered.
Though Steele Auto Group may well be within its legal rights, Joanne Light, who does live in the community, said she hopes Friday’s show of solidarity by community members will give Steele reason to re-think the expansion.
“Morally – if they know what that word means – it’s not worth it,” Light said.
Homes Not Hondas is collecting signatures for a petition fighting Colonial Honda’s plans, and Light said many people have agreed not to buy a Honda ever again.
The group’s Facebook page had 1,009 members as of Friday afternoon.
Arsenault said the support is good, and reiterated the importance of the North End community.
“These are people who work in coffee shops, they work in the grocery stores, they’re artists,” he said. “They’re people with lower incomes and they’re essential to a vibrant community like this.”
