Municipal-Wide Land Use Planning

The second drafts (Draft #2) of the municipal-wide land use planning documents were presented at a Council meeting on March 10, 2026. You can watch the presentation here. There will be additional opportunities to discuss Draft #2 at several upcoming open houses:

• March 12 – LaHave Fire Hall | 6–8 p.m. (presentation 6:30)
• March 18 – Municipal Services Building (Drop in) | 3–7 p.m.
• March 19 – New Germany Legion | 6–8 p.m. (presentation 6:30)
• March 23 – Municipal Services Building (Drop in) | 3–7 p.m.
• March 25 – Virtual Open House | 1–2 p.m.
• March 30 – Municipal Services Building (Drop in) | 3–7 p.m.
• April 1 – Northfield Fire Hall | 6–8 p.m. (presentation 6:30)
• April 8 – Big Tancook Island Recreation Centre (Drop-in) | 11:30–1:00 p.m.

At these events, you can speak directly with our planning team to learn about how the draft planning documents relate to your property and community. Each event will have a kid’s zone with colouring and other activities for those who need support with childcare while attending a meeting.

If you cannot attend a meeting, we welcome your input on our Engage site, here.

Hope to see you soon!

The Municipal-Wide Land Use Planning Project has been an ongoing effort to introduce land use regulations (zoning) across the municipality, as required by the province. The Municipality is now pleased to share an update on this work.

Important Update: The second drafts of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law are now complete, and these documents will be available to residents and the public within the next two weeks.

The changes made to these second drafts reflect the direction given by Council that was based on resident feedback from earlier public engagement. Over the next few months, there will be opportunities for residents to help shape the final planning documents. Ongoing community involvement is very important throughout this process.

Lastly, at an upcoming Council meeting at 6pm in Council Chambers on March 10, 2026, the second drafts and an overview of planned public engagement will be formally introduced. Please stay tuned for project updates!

Council has held three Direction Report sessions as the Planners prepare Draft 2 of the MPS and LUB. On Tuesday, December 16 beginning at 9am you can watch the fourth and final session on YouTube or attend in Council Chambers. Read Direction Report 3.

The purpose of these reports is to support informed decision-making by identifying where policy adjustments may be warranted before preparing Draft 2 of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Council has held two Direction Report sessions as the Planners prepare Draft 2 of the MPS and LUB. On Tuesday, December 9 beginning at 9am you can watch the third session on YouTube or attend in Council Chambers. Another session is booked for Tuesday, December 16; however, additional sessions may still be required as Council considers each topic.

The purpose of these reports is to support informed decision-making by identifying where policy adjustments may be warranted before preparing Draft 2 of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

On November 25, 2025, the first of three Direction Reports was discussed at a Council workshop. The next session will be held on Tuesday, December 2^rd at 1:00 pm in Municipal Council Chambers. Watch the December 2 session on YouTube.

The second Council Direction Report focuses on zoning. Each section of the report provides an overview of the topic, a summary of feedback, and policy direction options for Council to consider. The report is available in the Documents section on the right-hand side of this page.

Direction Report #2 covers the following zoning related topics:

• Environmentally Protected Areas
• Built-up Areas
• Future Uses

The final council workshop will be held on December 16, 2025, to discuss additional topics. The purpose of these reports is to support informed decision-making by identifying where policy adjustments may be warranted before preparing Draft 2 of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Staff have outlined several options for each topic from which Council may provide direction to guide the preparation of Draft 2, anticipated for release in February 2026. This will be followed by a final round of public information sessions prior to adoption and submission to the province for final approval.

Municipal-wide Land Use Planning Update

On October 27, staff presented a What We Heard Report to Council. You can read the report here, or watch the presentation here. Throughout the month of November, Council will meet to provide input and direction to staff on their priorities for the second drafts of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Using the input provided by Council, a second draft will be written during January 2026, which is scheduled to be released to the public in February 2026. During March 2026, we will be bringing the Second Draft back out to the public. Stay tuned for regular updates on our work, and be sure to sign up for our email list at https://engage.modl.ca/modl2040 to receive email updates.

At a special Council Meeting on Monday, October 27, 2025, planning staff will present a summary of the What We Heard Report for the Municipal-wide Land Use Planning Project (MODL2040). The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in Council Chambers at the Municipal Office located at 10 Allee Champlain Dr., Cookville. The meeting will also be streamed live on the Municipality’s YouTube page which can be accessed by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/@modlnovascotia/streams.

The What We Heard Report represents the findings gathered during the public engagement period that took place between March and August 2025 on the Municipal-wide Land Use Planning Project, following the release of the first drafts on March 13, 2025. This session is intended for information and discussion purposes. Additional workshops with Council will take place over the coming months to discuss the content of the second drafts.

Council meetings are open to the public, and any interested residents are encouraged to attend.

You can read the summary or the full report in the Important Docs section on the right side of this page.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who participated in our public engagement activities on municipal-wide land use planning over the past several months. We have now officially wrapped this phase of public engagement. Whether we heard from you through a Facebook comment or an open house, we appreciate your time and your thoughts on this work.

A recap of the past few months

The Municipality has been working on drafting property regulations for the District, as required by the province. As many of you know, the first drafts of a municipal-wide Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law were released in March 2025. These documents were the Municipality’s first attempt at creating a proposed planning framework for the District.

The release sparked a lot of conversation about the content of the drafts and what they would mean for residents and as a result, we heard from many of you throughout the process and gathered a significant amount of feedback.

Our engagement activities included town hall sessions, numerous open houses, a survey, stakeholder workshops and more across every district. Since April, we have received feedback from hundreds of residents across the entire Municipality.

So… What’s next?

We are actively working on compiling and summarizing your insights into a What We Heard Report that will be presented to Council and the public in October. Following the release of this report, and throughout the month of November, Council will meet to provide input and direction to staff on their priorities for the second drafts of the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Using the input provided by Council, a second draft will then be written during early 2026, which is scheduled to be released to the public in March 2026. During March and April, we will be looking for your input again on specific aspects of the second draft. Stay tuned for regular updates on our work! We have updated the project timeline on this webpage.