Minimum Planning changes in Halifax

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The Halifax Regional Municipality (the municipality) is inviting residents to learn about changes the Province of Nova Scotia has made to the Halifax Charter’s Minimum Planning Requirements.





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Updates

Last Updated 11 August 2025


Halifax Regional Council held a Public Hearing on the proposed Regional Plan and amendment package, including Minimum Planning Requirements, on Thursday, June 19, 2025 and approved the documents. These were subsequently sent to the Provincial Planning Director for approval, as required under Section 223 of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.


Pursuant to Section 223 (3) of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, the Provincial Director of Planning advised the municipality on July 10, 2025 that they had completed their review of the Regional Plan. This review identified that Regional Plan policies may be inconsistent with provincial interests.  


As a result, the decision was referred to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, with the Minister having 30 days to render a decision, pursuant to Section 223 (6). Under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, in rendering a decision, the Minister can either (a) approve all or part of the documents; (b) approve the documents with amendments; or (c) refuse to approve the documents.


On Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, the Halifax Regional Municipality received a letter from the Province of Nova Scotia’s Minister of Municipal Affairs in response to the municipality’s submission of the updated Regional Plan.


Moving forward, this means that the current 2014 Regional Plan, last amended in May 2025, remains in effect, as the new proposed amendments have not been approved by the province. The municipality is still required to implement the Minimum Planning Requirements. Over the coming weeks, municipal staff will re-engage with the province to determine the next steps on the planning process and ensure the Regional Plan is updated in a way that fulfills the municipality’s obligations under provincial legislation.

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Background

The Halifax Charter (“the Charter”) is provincial legislation that controls how the Municipality operates. The Minimum Planning Requirements are regulations that form part of the Charter. The municipality’s land use plans and strategies must meet these minimum requirements.

In August 2024, the province announced 12 new minimum planning requirements regulations. These requirements are intended to make sure that the municipality’s planning framework, including policies, by-laws, regulations, decisions and development approvals recognize the current housing crisis in the Halifax region and works to support the increase in housing supply.

On October 1, 2024, Regional Council directed staff to incorporate amendments to meet the Minimum Planning Requirements as part of the ongoing Regional Plan Review. As part of this direction, a public participation program was approved.

The municipality is required to meet these requirements and ran a 30-day public engagement period to notify residents of the upcoming changes.


What’s changing?

To comply with the new regulations, the municipality is making changes to the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy (the Regional Plan), secondary municipal planning strategies (Community Plans), and land use by-laws.

Some of the key changes made to adhere to the new Minimum Planning Requirements will affect requirements for bedroom unit mix within apartment buildings, parking requirements, how building height is measured, and ground-floor commercial use requirements.

To read about the changes, click here.

To check which land use by-law applies to your home, please visit the Community Plan Areas page.


How can I ask questions or share feedback?

The municipality is legally required to meet the Provincial requirements and ran a 30-day public engagement period from January 24 - February 24, 2025, to notify residents of the upcoming changes. Any comments after February 24, 2025, should be sent to clerks@halifax.ca.

Staff are available to answer questions at regionalplan@halifax.ca.


What are the next steps?

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Halifax Regional Council passed a motion to repeal the existing 2014 Regional Municipal Planning Strategy and adopt the proposed 2025 Regional Municipal Planning Strategy along with related amendments to other planning documents.

In accordance with the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, the Plan and other planning documents are subject to review by the Provincial Planning Director of the Department of Municipal Affairs before they may take effect. A Notice of Approval will announce when the amendments become effective.

To read the staff report and amendments, please see Item 4.1 of the June 19, 2025 Special Regional Council agenda.

To read a summary and synopsis of the plan and amendments, please click here.

If you have questions about the 2025 Regional Plan or amendment package, please contact regionalplan@halifax.ca.

The Halifax Regional Municipality (the municipality) is inviting residents to learn about changes the Province of Nova Scotia has made to the Halifax Charter’s Minimum Planning Requirements.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates

Last Updated 11 August 2025


Halifax Regional Council held a Public Hearing on the proposed Regional Plan and amendment package, including Minimum Planning Requirements, on Thursday, June 19, 2025 and approved the documents. These were subsequently sent to the Provincial Planning Director for approval, as required under Section 223 of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.


Pursuant to Section 223 (3) of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, the Provincial Director of Planning advised the municipality on July 10, 2025 that they had completed their review of the Regional Plan. This review identified that Regional Plan policies may be inconsistent with provincial interests.  


As a result, the decision was referred to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, with the Minister having 30 days to render a decision, pursuant to Section 223 (6). Under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, in rendering a decision, the Minister can either (a) approve all or part of the documents; (b) approve the documents with amendments; or (c) refuse to approve the documents.


On Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, the Halifax Regional Municipality received a letter from the Province of Nova Scotia’s Minister of Municipal Affairs in response to the municipality’s submission of the updated Regional Plan.


Moving forward, this means that the current 2014 Regional Plan, last amended in May 2025, remains in effect, as the new proposed amendments have not been approved by the province. The municipality is still required to implement the Minimum Planning Requirements. Over the coming weeks, municipal staff will re-engage with the province to determine the next steps on the planning process and ensure the Regional Plan is updated in a way that fulfills the municipality’s obligations under provincial legislation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background

The Halifax Charter (“the Charter”) is provincial legislation that controls how the Municipality operates. The Minimum Planning Requirements are regulations that form part of the Charter. The municipality’s land use plans and strategies must meet these minimum requirements.

In August 2024, the province announced 12 new minimum planning requirements regulations. These requirements are intended to make sure that the municipality’s planning framework, including policies, by-laws, regulations, decisions and development approvals recognize the current housing crisis in the Halifax region and works to support the increase in housing supply.

On October 1, 2024, Regional Council directed staff to incorporate amendments to meet the Minimum Planning Requirements as part of the ongoing Regional Plan Review. As part of this direction, a public participation program was approved.

The municipality is required to meet these requirements and ran a 30-day public engagement period to notify residents of the upcoming changes.


What’s changing?

To comply with the new regulations, the municipality is making changes to the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy (the Regional Plan), secondary municipal planning strategies (Community Plans), and land use by-laws.

Some of the key changes made to adhere to the new Minimum Planning Requirements will affect requirements for bedroom unit mix within apartment buildings, parking requirements, how building height is measured, and ground-floor commercial use requirements.

To read about the changes, click here.

To check which land use by-law applies to your home, please visit the Community Plan Areas page.


How can I ask questions or share feedback?

The municipality is legally required to meet the Provincial requirements and ran a 30-day public engagement period from January 24 - February 24, 2025, to notify residents of the upcoming changes. Any comments after February 24, 2025, should be sent to clerks@halifax.ca.

Staff are available to answer questions at regionalplan@halifax.ca.


What are the next steps?

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Halifax Regional Council passed a motion to repeal the existing 2014 Regional Municipal Planning Strategy and adopt the proposed 2025 Regional Municipal Planning Strategy along with related amendments to other planning documents.

In accordance with the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, the Plan and other planning documents are subject to review by the Provincial Planning Director of the Department of Municipal Affairs before they may take effect. A Notice of Approval will announce when the amendments become effective.

To read the staff report and amendments, please see Item 4.1 of the June 19, 2025 Special Regional Council agenda.

To read a summary and synopsis of the plan and amendments, please click here.

If you have questions about the 2025 Regional Plan or amendment package, please contact regionalplan@halifax.ca.

  • Minimum Planning Requirements Summary

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    The 12 Minimum Planning Requirements and a general summary for each is provided below.


    Click here for a link to the Provincial Legislation.

    To check which Land Use By-Law applies to your home, please click here.

    Minimum Planning Requirement
    Summary and Approach
    (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;

    Approach: Include policy intent in the Regional Plan to increase housing supply.

    Please click here to view a fact sheet and learn more.
    (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;

    Approach: Include policy intent in the Regional Plan to increase safe, sustainable and affordable housing.

    Please click here to view a fact sheet and learn more.

    (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;
    Approach: Include policy intent in the Regional Plan, but no changes to land use by-laws proposed at this time. Future changes may happen through other planning projects such as the upcoming Suburban Plan.
    (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;
    Approach: Include policy intent in the Regional Plan to share information with the Province.
    (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;

    Approach: A revised work plan for the Suburban Plan is expected to come forward in Spring 2025.

    Please click here to view a fact sheet and learn more.

    (f) for developments enabled under the Municipality’s Conservation Design Development policies in the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy that begin construction before April 1, 2027, determine the maximum density of a development based on a lot’s gross area and not on its net area;
    Approach: Adjust Regional Plan policy to provide alternative density calculations for Conservation Design Development projects until April 1, 2027.
    (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;
    Approach: Include policy intent in the Regional Plan and adjust land use by-laws to convert height from metres and feet to storeys for medium and high density residential buildings.
    (h) for residential buildings that begin construction before April 1, 2027, provide that no requirement related to unit mix applies;
    Approach: Adjust land use by-laws to remove the bedroom count requirements until April 1, 2027.
    (i) provide that no requirement for on-site parking applies to residential uses within the urban service area;
    Approach: Adjust land use by-laws to remove on-site parking for 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;
    Approach: Adjust planning documents to reduce the amount of commercial space on the ground floor of a building until April 1, 2027.
    (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;
    Approach: Adjust land use bylaws to allow temporary housing on or near construction worksites.
    (l) permit manufactured housing, including modified shipping containers converted into housing, in all residential zones.
    Approach: Adjust land use by-laws to allow converted shipping containers as a dwelling or backyard suite.