Centre Plan Zoning Map Link For Halifax, Nova Scotia

What will Centre Plan do to your neighbourhood? This is a question many residents are asking in my area of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Without getting too detailed, here is what is happening: The current zoning in the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) is inconsistent, and essentially all over the map. This makes it very difficult for property owners to know what they can and cannot do to their property. The last changes were made some time in the late seventies.

What this has meant was in order to change a property use to add additional commercial or residential density, it is a lengthy often complicated, expensive process.

Halifax / Dartmouth like many other areas in North America is growing in population and has an abundance of small lowrise and small unit properties. Many are past their usable life. This in short has created a housing shortage (which of course is worse for those looking for affordable housing).

The city council decided to take action and put together a concept named centre plan, with a primary focus in the areas they want to grow in the HRM.

We will still have grandfathered in properties that were changed as one offs or during different eras, however, the goal will be clear direction on what somebody can and cannot do with a property. The other purpose will be to add more legal rental units, which will include a variety of secondary suites, rooms, townhomes, and multi-family buildings.

This will also generate more tax revenue, in both the lift in land value (some of the new zoning will be very favorable to many land owners), and the increase in size / units per lot.

Consultations have been taking place for several years, and now it appears the final draft and approval will be happening very soon.

With any change, especially where adding density in residential areas is involved, there are many folks for and against centre plan.

Here is a link to show what zoning properties in the HRM will qualify for, and brief notes on the explanation for the new zones.

(You can enter an address in the search bar, and it will indicate the proposed zoning for each property.)

Proposed Centre Plan Package B

Proposed ER1 Zoning
• Secondary suite or backyard suite (up to two floors) permitted on every property
• Three-unit conversion in some areas
• Small shared housing use (rooming house, etc. 4 to 10 bedrooms depending on zoning)
• Local commercial on corners on the ground floor, B&Bs, etc.
• Urban farms, beekeeping, chicken keeping (up to 10 hens per lot)

ER-2
• All ER-1 uses, and
• Up to 4 connected townhomes permitted
• Semi-detached dwellings permitted
• Two-unit dwellings permitted
• Three-unit dwellings permitted

ER-3
All ER-1 and ER-2 uses, and
• Up to 8 connected townhomes permitted
• Four-unit apartment buildings permitted
• Local commercial uses on all lots on ground floors

Until next time,

Design your landlord experience,

Michael P Currie

Landlord by Design

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