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Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations
made under subsection 229(4) of the
Halifax Regional Municipality Charter
S.N.S. 2008, c. 39
N.S. Reg. 138/2019 (effective December 3, 2019)
amended to N.S. Reg. 178/2024 (effective August 21, 2024)
Effective September 25, 2024, these regulations are amended by N.S. Reg. 205/2024.
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.
Mandatory content related to housing supply
Discretionary content related to planning tools
Discretionary content related to engagement
Discretionary content related to fiscal matters
Discretionary content related to the natural environment
Discretionary content related to social aspects
Discretionary content related to resource lands, infrastructure and economic
development
Discretionary content related to culture, heritage and landscape features
Discretionary content related to general matters
Appendix B: Urban Service Area
1 These regulations may be cited as the Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations.
2 In these regulations,
“Charter” means the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.
3 (1) Council must include policies in a municipal planning strategy on how it intends to review the municipal planning strategy and land-use by-law that implements the municipal planning strategy.
(2) A municipal planning strategy and its implementing land use by-law must be reviewed no later than 10 years after the later of the following dates:
(a) the date it was adopted;
(b) the date it was last reviewed;
(c) the effective date of these regulations.
(3) Where the Municipality has one or more secondary planning strategies, subsection (2) shall be satisfied if a municipal-wide municipal planning strategy and all the land use by-laws applicable in the Municipality are reviewed within the timelines provided in subsection (2).
(4) “Review” in relation to a municipal planning strategy, means the Municipality’s consideration of the content of a municipal planning strategy to determine if it should be amended or replaced to ensure that it meets the purposes outlined in Section 228 of the Charter and the minimum planning requirements.
4 In addition to the requirements prescribed in subsection 229(1) of the Act, a municipal planning strategy must contain all of the following:
(a) a discussion of the background and contextual information that informed the goals and objectives of the municipal planning strategy;
(b) a map of the lands within the Municipality that depicts the intended future uses of the lands as contemplated by the Municipality’s municipal planning strategy;
(c) statements of policy with respect to the lands subject to the municipal planning strategy in relation to all of the following:
(i) residential uses,
(ii) commercial and industrial uses,
(iii) institutional uses,
(iv) recreational facilities and public open spaces, and
(v) resource uses, where resources are present within a municipality;
(d) a statement of policy describing the procedures to be followed when reviewing a municipal planning strategy that must provide for public consultation and notice.
Mandatory content related to housing supply
4A (1) In this Section,
“regional centre” means the area of the Municipality identified as the regional centre on the map attached as Appendix A;
“urban service area” means the area of the Municipality identified as the urban service area on the map attached as Appendix B.
(2) In addition to the requirements prescribed in subsection 229(1) of the Charter and Section 4, a municipal planning strategy must do all of the following to address the issue of housing supply:
(a) include a statement of policy that expressly recognizes that the Province and, in particular, the Municipality are experiencing a housing shortage crisis and specifies that the most urgent priority in municipal land-use planning, regulation and development approval is to rapidly increase the supply of housing in the Municipality;
(b) require that priority be given to increasing the supply of safe, sustainable and affordable housing in the Municipality over other interests identified in the municipal planning strategy for the purposes of all processes, approvals and decisions made under the municipal planning strategy;
(c) permit residential uses in all zones, except for all of the following:
(i) areas zoned for industrial, military, park, transportation reserve and utility uses,
(ii) zones intended to protect the environment, water supply, floodplains or another similar interest;
(d) require that the Municipality share with the Province the information used by the Municipality to identify, fund, schedule and deploy the infrastructure to develop an adequate supply of housing to support anticipated population growth;
(e) provide for the adoption of a secondary municipal planning strategy and the implementation of a land-use by-law for the area of the Municipality identified as the suburban area on the map attached as Appendix A, or a substantially similar area, no later than January 31, 2025;
(f) for developments enabled under the Municipality’s Conservation Design Development policies in the Regional Municipality Planning Strategy that begin construction before April 1, 2027, permit the following maximum densities:
(i) for a site serviced by groundwater, a maximum density of at least 0.4 units per gross hectare, and
(ii) for a site serviced by central services, a maximum density of at least 0.4 units per gross hectare;
(g) not impose maximum height restrictions in a manner that negatively affects the density of residential buildings using mass timber or any other construction method;
(h) for residential buildings that begin construction before April 1, 2027, provide that no requirement related to unit mix applies;
(i) provide that no requirement for on-site parking applies to residential uses within the urban service area;
(j) for multi-unit residential buildings that begin construction before April 1, 2027, not require that the ground floor consist of more than 20% commercial space;
(k) permit temporary housing in non-permanent structures as a use in all zones where it can be safely established to allow employees to live on or near their worksite during a work assignment for a period of time that can be reasonably tied to the duration of the project and that is explicitly set out in the development permit;
(l) permit manufactured housing, including modified shipping containers converted into housing, in all residential zones.
(3) The requirements outlined in subsection (2) must be implemented no later than December 31, 2024.
Matters subject to other enactment of Province
5 (1) A municipality may include in its municipal planning strategy statements of policy on land use relating to any of the matters set out in Sections 6 to 13 unless the matter is the subject of another enactment of the Province.
(2) Provided it is not prohibited by another enactment, statements of policy referred to in subsection (1) may be more stringent than another enactment.
Discretionary content related to planning tools
6 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on the use, content, development, and administration of the following:
(a) zoning;
(b) development agreements;
(c) comprehensive development districts;
(d) site-plan approval areas;
(e) incentive or bonus zoning;
(f) accepting and using cash-in-lieu of required parking;
(g) studies to be carried out before undertaking specified developments or developments in specified areas;
(h) staging development;
(i) non-conforming uses and structures;
(j) subdividing land; and
(k) regulation or prohibition of development in areas based on noise exposure forecast or noise exposure projections.
Discretionary content related to engagement
7 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on engaging with provincial and federal departments, First Nations, and non-abutting municipalities.
Discretionary content related to fiscal matters
8 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) municipal investment for public and private development and coordinating public programs relating to the economic, social and physical development of the municipality;
(b) eligibility criteria for establishing a commercial development district including all of the following:
(i) the percentage increase in the taxable assessed value of the eligible properties, as defined in subsection 92C(1) of the Charter, within the proposed commercial development district, and
(ii) the period over which the increase in the taxable assessed value of the properties occurs.
Discretionary content related to the natural environment
9 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) climate change mitigation and adaptation;
(b) protecting the natural environment and biodiversity;
(c) protecting the coast;
(d) protecting water supplies;
(e) identifying, preserving and protecting landscape features;
(f) stormwater management and erosion control;
(g) excavating or filling of land, the placement of fill or the removal of soil;
(h) identifying, protecting, using and developing any of the following:
(i) lands subject to flooding,
(ii) steep slopes,
(iii) lands susceptible to subsidence, erosion or other geological hazards, and [sic]
(iv) wetlands or other environmentally sensitive areas.
Discretionary content related to social aspects
10 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) how social issues must be incorporated into decision making;
(b) promoting social well-being;
(c) housing opportunities for a range of social and economic needs and to support aging in place;
(d) promoting community food security;
(e) accessibility standards to help prevent and remove barriers that disable people;
(f) walkability; and [sic]
(g) healthy built environments.
Discretionary content related to resource lands, infrastructure and economic development
11 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) protecting and using resource lands;
(b) infrastructure including municipal services and facilities and the means of recovering their cost;
(c) generating, using, and conserving energy;
(d) transportation services and networks including establishing transportation reserves; and [sic]
(e) home occupations and home-based businesses.
Discretionary content related to culture, heritage and landscape features
12 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) heritage property protection and heritage buildings;
(b) sites of cultural, historical or archeological interest; and [sic]
(c) other significant natural or human-made features.
Discretionary content related to general matters
13 A municipal planning strategy may include statements of policy on any of the following:
(a) public health and safety; and [sic]
(b) land use matters relating to the physical, economic or social environment of the Municipality not otherwise prescribed in these regulations.
Appendix B: Urban Service Area
Legislative History
Reference Tables
Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations |
N.S. Reg. 138/2019 |
Halifax Regional Municipality Charter |
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Note: The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only. |
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Source Law
The current consolidation of the Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations made under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter includes all of the following regulations:
N.S. |
In force |
How in force |
Royal Gazette |
138/2019
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Dec 3, 2019 |
date specified (in force date of S.N.S. 2018, c. 39) |
Oct 11, 2019 |
178/2024 |
Aug 21, 2024 |
date specified |
Sep 6, 2024 |
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The following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:
N.S. |
In force |
How in force |
Royal Gazette |
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*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for
rules about in force dates of regulations.
ad. = added |
fc. = fee change |
rep. = repealed |
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Provision affected
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How affected
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4A..................................................... |
ad. 178/2024
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Appendices A-B............................... |
ad. 178/2024
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Note that changes to headings are not included in the above table.
Editorial Notes and Corrections
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Note |
Effective |
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Amending instruction in N.S. Reg. 178/2024 to add s. 4A does not specify where to insert Appendix A and Appendix B, which are referred to in the Section. Appendix A and Appendix B added immediately after the end of the text of the regulations for the purposes of this consolidation. |
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Repealed and Superseded
N.S. |
Title |
In force |
Repealed |
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Note: Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this table. It may not reflect the entire history of regulations on this subject matter.