Cluster Development Regulations

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.

On February 27, 2024, during a regularly scheduled Council meeting, the Cluster Development regulations will be brought forward to Council in the form of an amended Municipal Planning Strategy and a new 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 enact these regulations, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg's (MODL) current Municipal Planning Strategy needs to be repealed and replaced with a new document that includes edits to older sections and the addition of new sections pertaining to the Cluster Developments. To view the proposed amended Municipal Planning Strategy, click here.

In addition, a new Municipal-Wide Land Use By-law document has also been prepared which contains Cluster Development regulations. The document contains standard regulatory information such as title and purpose, definitions, administration, and a general provisions section that includes specific Cluster Development regulations. To view the proposed new Municipal-Wide Land Use By-law, click here.

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

On December 5, 2023, during a Special Council meeting, Council discussed proposed regulations for Cluster Development. After hearing input from the public, including potential developers, and a thorough discussion, Council passed the following motion:

• That Municipal Council direct staff to prepare Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw amendments related to cluster developments based on the input from the Planning Advisory Committee, the staff presentation, and Council discussion.
  

Click here to view the regulations report for Cluster Development.

Staff is now drafting policies for Cluster Development and is targeted to return to Council for First Reading in February 2024.

Council will discuss the Planning Advisory Committee's recommendation pertaining to the Cluster Development regulations at a special Council meeting on Tuesday December 5, 2023. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be held in Council Chambers at the Municipal Office (10 Allee Champlain Drive, Cookville).

Council meetings are open to the public, and any interested residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the proposed Cluster Development regulations.

Click this link to view Council's agenda which includes the Planning Advisory Committee's recommendation.

For further information, please contact Jeff Merrill, Director of Planning & Development Services at 902-541-1340.

To view all informational materials related to this project, please visit: https://engage.modl.ca/cluster-development-regulations

Council will discuss the Planning Advisory Committee's recommendation pertaining to the Cluster Development regulations at a regularly scheduled Council meeting on Tuesday November 28, 2023. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will be held in Council Chambers at the Municipal Office (10 Allee Champlain Drive, Cookville).

Council meetings are open to the public, and any interested residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the proposed Cluster Development regulations.

Click this link to view Council's agenda which includes the Planning Advisory Committee's recommendation.

For further information, please contact Jeff Merrill, Director of Planning & Development Services at 902-541-1340.

To view all informational materials related to this project, please visit: https://engage.modl.ca/cluster-development-regulations

You can now read the Cluster Development Recommendations Report!

The Recommendations Report outlines staff recommendations for ways to regulate Cluster Development in the Municipality going forward. A special Planning Advisory Committee meeting that is open to the public will be held at the Best Western (527 Nova Scotia Trunk 10, Cookville) on October 12, 2023, starting at 7 p.m. where planning staff will present the recommendations and hear from the public and the committee.

To read the full report, click the following link: https://engage.modl.ca/37531/widgets/155071/documents/115100

You can now read the Cluster Development What We Heard Report (WWHR)! The Cluster Development WWHR summarizes all the feedback that was collected through the various forms of public engagement. A special Council meeting that is open to the public will be held on August 29, 2023, from 9AM - 12PM where planning staff will present the WWHR findings.

To read the full report, visit https://engage.modl.ca/cluster-development-regulations and scroll down to 'Background Documents' on the right side of your screen, then click 'Cluster Development What We Heard Report'.

The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg extends our gratitude to everyone who participated, your feedback is invaluable to the progression of this project.

Thank you everyone for your interest and participation in this initiative!

A What We Heard report is being prepared to summarize the input you've provided and it will be presented to Council at a special meeting on August 29th, at 9am which will be held at the municipal building at 10 Allée Champlain Drive, Cookville, NS. The report will also be posted to this site in the days leading up to the 29th. Workshops with Council will be held in September, with staff recommendations and draft regulations coming forward in the Fall. Further updates will be provided on upcoming public meetings in the coming months.