Milestones

The Federal Government announced funding for Municipality of Chester under its Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) program. This contribution will allow implementation of nine transformative initiatives that will prepare the Municipality for growth.

Develop a comprehensive map of existing serviceable boundaries, potential new wastewater treatment sites, and currently undeveloped land that could readily be included in existing or expanded wastewater service areas.

Development of a plan and process for the disposal of land assets owned by the Municipality for the development of affordable housing as-of-right.

Work with developers and not-for-profits to explore incentives that would encourage the creation of affordable and attainable housing throughout the Municipality.

Working with partners such as CMHC, the Government of Canada, and the Province of Nova Scotia, building plans will reviewed to identify any for pre-approval within our development permitting purposes.

Develop and implement a campaign to drive more investment from developers in our Municipality to secure new building units.

Enable increased density, particularly “missing middle” type residential housing. The Village Periphery Area will build on the newly developed Village Boundary Area within the draft Secondary Planning Strategy.

Complete a comprehensive and integrated review of the Subdivision By-Law, Sewer By-Law, and Municipal Specifications to provide a more efficient and effective regulatory framework that proactively advances appropriate housing development.

Review the Municipality’s permit processes in order to identify opportunities for streamlining, efficiencies and improved customer experiences via digitization.

Hire and train junior building inspectors to significantly increase our capacity to provide timely building inspections of new housing units in the Municipality.