Cluster Development Regulations

On March 25, 2025, Council directed Staff on the following motions regarding Cluster Development Regulations:

• Council direct Staff to draft an amendment to the Cluster Development Regulations to include a section (i.e., 5.3.2) that would permit developers a specified time period to get a building permit for a cluster development (that is not a phased development condominium) and, provided that construction commences within 12 months after the date of the permit, said development will be recognized by Council as non-conforming (and therefore not subject to the regulations).
• Council direct Staff to draft an amendment to the Cluster Development Regulations at section 5.3.1 to change the date from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
• Council direct Staff to set the ‘grandfathering clause’ at section 5.3.1 (be it the current December 31, 2025, or the recommended December 31, 2026) to also be the date set for the proposed ‘grandfathering clause’ for cluster developments.

Given the substantive nature of these amendments, Council will consider moving forward with a first reading. The revised regulations will extend the grandfathering date until December 31, 2026, and provide exemptions for non-phasing cluster developments until the same date, provided they secure a building permit before the deadline.

Staff will present revised amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy and Municipal-Wide Land Use Bylaw regarding cluster development on April 22, 2025. Upon review, Council may consider proceeding with First Reading.

Following a public hearing on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Municipal Council voted to defer the Second Reading of the proposed amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy and Municipal-Wide Land Use By-law to include Cluster Development Regulations.

Staff have been directed to bring forward other options, which include specific exemptions for William Hebb Road and Trunk 10 Cookville development which were discussed at the hearing. These options will be presented at the March 25, 2025, Council meeting for further consideration, along with a report and recommendation from the CAO. You can read those reports here: https://engage.modl.ca/37531/widgets/155071/documents/149706

Following a public hearing on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Municipal Council voted to defer the Second Reading of the proposed amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy and Municipal-Wide Land Use By-law to include Cluster Development Regulations.

Staff have been directed to bring forward exemption options for two specific projects—William Hebb Road, Hebbville, and Trunk 10, Cookville—which were discussed at the hearing. These options will be presented at the March 25, 2025, Council meeting for further consideration.

On, January 28, 2025, Municipal Council passed First Reading on an amendment to establish Cluster Development regulations. The proposed regulations will guide how development of six or more units on one partially or entirely unserviced lot are permitted through the development agreement approvals process.

A public information session will be held prior to a public hearing and second reading to give residents opportunities to learn about the regulations and ask questions. Details about this session will posted in the coming weeks.

The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 11. The meeting will begin at 8:30 am and will be held in Municipal Council Chambers at 10 Allee Champlain Drive, Cookville.

To stay updated about this project, including times and dates for the information session, please sign up for our newsletter updates in the Stay Informed section.

For further information, contact the Planning Department offices at 902-530-2802.

On January 28, 2025, the Cluster Development regulations will be brought forward to the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg's (MODL) Council in the form of amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy and Municipal-Wide Land Use By-law. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will be held in Municipal Council Chambers at 10 Allee Champlain Drive, Cookville. Council meetings are open to the public and any interested residents are encouraged to attend. To view Council's agenda for January 28, 2025, click here.

The amendments to MODL’s planning documents contain the regulations for cluster developments. The Land Use By-law will define what developments these regulations apply to. To view the proposed Land Use By-law, click here. 

The Municipal Planning Strategy outlines the procedure by which cluster developments are permitted by development agreement, the requirements that such a development agreement can contain, and the provisions for non-conforming (grandfathered) bare land condominiums, among other policies. To view the proposed Municipal Planning Strategy, click here.

A staff report is available by clicking here. Next steps in this process involve a public information session and a formal public hearing. This website will be updated as soon as dates and times are confirmed.

On December 27, 2024, the regulations establishing the Cluster Development regulations reached the one-hundred-and-fifty-day expiry period and are no longer in effect. Under Section 246 (4) of the Municipal Government Act, a proposed land-use by-law amendment which has not come into full effect within this timeframe becomes inactive. Council may choose to re-initiate the process by approving first reading again. For more information about this project and to be informed about further action or decisions, please sign up for our newsletter updates in the Stay Informed section on this page.

On July 30, 2024, Municipal Council passed First Reading on an amendment to establish Cluster Development regulations. A public information session will be held prior to a public hearing to give residents opportunities to learn about the regulations and ask questions.

Information regarding the dates and times of the public information sessions and public hearing will be provided in a future update. For more information about this project, please sign up for our newsletter updates, in the Stay Informed section on this page.

Today, the Government of NS announced The Future of our Coastline: Nova Scotia’s plan to protect people, homes, and nature from climate change and it provided Coastal Property owners with resources and planning tools to help them plan for the effects of climate change. These resources included a Coastal Hazard Map (and Users Guide) so that coastal property owners can see what sea level rise and storm surge could look like on their property at high tide in the year 2100; a Navigator Service (to help residents use the Coastal Hazard Mapping Tool and understand your results); and a Coastal Adaptation Toolkit.

MODL has prepared a draft Coastal Protection Land Use Bylaw which was scheduled to proceed to First Reading tomorrow (Feb 27, 2024). MODL did not have access to the resources and tools that were announced today by the province and, on a brief review of the provincial information, it appears that there is some discrepancies between the scientific information that we relied upon in creating our Coastal Protection Land Use Bylaw and the information that the Province relied upon in creating the Coastal Hazard Map. In order to ensure that we are using the best information available, I will be recommending that Council pause the First Reading of the Coastal Protection Land Use Bylaw to permit staff to review the information released by the Province earlier today. Under the circumstances, I fully expect that Council will agree with my recommendation and that the First Reading of the Coastal Protection Land Use Bylaw will be removed from tomorrow’s Council Agenda.

In addition, given the number of comments and questions received by members of Council regarding the Cluster Development Land Use Bylaw, I will also be requesting that we pause the First Reading of the Cluster Development Land Use Bylaw as well to allow for additional public engagement with residents. Again, I anticipate that Council will support my recommendation on this item as well.