Amendments to Help Control Unsightly Properties and Development

Municipalities across the province will soon have more tools to help them deal with unsightly properties, thanks to amendments to legislation introduced today, April 27.

"Unsightly properties are more than an eyesore. They encourage crime, and they impact the entire community," said Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Minister John MacDonell.

"Municipalities want to ensure these properties are cleaned up and properly maintained, and these amendments will help."

Changes proposed to the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter and the Municipal Government Act will let municipalities ticket property owners who stockpile materials inside or outside their homes and specify that unsightly properties include those with a stockpile of materials that could create a health or other hazard.

They also ensure that fines handed out by municipalities for anything except a person's home cannot be reduced through the courts and that unsightly-premises administrators report regularly to municipal councils across the province on their progress in enforcing these provisions.

In addition, an amendment proposed to the Municipal Government Act will allow each municipality to better control frontage requirements for new buildings. This will help towns determine the type of development allowed in their downtowns.

A similar amendment was made to the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter in 2010.

There is also a minor technical amendment proposed to the Municipal Government Act which will allow the minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, rather than Cabinet, to approve municipal auditors' registration fees.