Charting a Course for Growth

We got off to a rocky start with unintentional late notice of the four Session 1 public engagement meetings. Unfortunately, print and delivery didn't go as planned, but has been rectified for Sessions 2 and 3.

To compensate, we recorded one of the sessions (below). While this doesn’t take the place of an in-person event, it at least will provide context for the upcoming sessions. The presenter will also revisit topics covered in Session 1 at future engagements.

We invite you to participate in the upcoming public engagement sessions so that your valuable insights can guide how the Growth Plan takes form. Three public engagement sessions are being organized, each with a differing theme:

Your participation in the development of the growth plan is essential, and we encourage you to join us at one of the upcoming Session 1 engagements:

Sessions 2 and 3 will be hosted in October and November in locations around the Municipality of Chester. We will provide more information on these upcoming sessions when the details are finalized.

The Municipality of Chester is growing! More people are recognizing that our Municipality is a great place to live, a welcoming place to start and grow a business, and a wonderful place to visit. Since 2016, the population of the Municipality has grown 10% to an estimated 11,525 as of July 2023, and populations seem to be growing in every district.

Work is now underway to ensure that we are well prepared to manage this growth. In April, the Municipality began working with FBM’s Planning Studio to collect data and develop population and workforce growth projections with a view to the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. Projections will provide a range of forecasts based on three scenarios: status quo, moderate growth, and high growth. We will also be provided with tools to help understand the anticipated demographic makeup of the community and what can be done to ensure we have housing that is attainable for people we are attracting to our communities.

This initial work is the first milestone and will form the basis of future work, including:

• Identification of areas where new or expanded wastewater sites may be needed and where water supply infrastructure may be feasible,
• Encouraging the production of attainable housing units to meet the needs of different households,
• Addressing barriers and gaps in employer needs and workforce development within the Municipality,
• Assessment of existing recreation services to understand current and future anticipated needs.

The work is just getting started and we’re looking forward to the input you will provide. As the Municipality moves forward, we are committed to ensuring our communities continue to attract people as wonderful places to live, visit, and invest.

The Municipality of Chester has received $1,986,000 in funding through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to support nine initiatives supporting the Charting a Course for Growth plan.

These initiatives will position us as an excellent location for housing developments within the next three years. Initiatives to support an expected increase in affordable, attainable, and attractive housing units include:

• Review of Municipal By-Laws and Specifications, including the Subdivision By-Law, Sewer By-Law, and Municipal Specifications;
• Higher-Density Development Strategy that supports "missing middle" type residential housing;
• Plan for municipally-owned land for the development of affordable housing as-of-right;
• Online permitting system to facilitate faster processing of building/demolition permits, development permits, and sewer permits;
• Marketing campaign for residential development to drive more investment from developers;
• Infrastructure Plan to locate potential new and/or expanded wastewater treatment sites, explore service feasibility for possible water supply options, identify resources and processes for data concerning watersheds and coastal flood risk areas when planning climate resilient infrastructure and service delivery;
• Hiring and training junior building inspectors;
• Working with CMHC and the federal and provincial governments to develop pre-approved building plans; and
• Exploring incentives for developers and non-profits that will encourage the creation of affordable and attainable housing.

Please visit this page often for community engagement opportunities, status reports, documentation, timelines, and more. More details on each initiative and project will be shared on this page as well as the municipal newsletter.

Welcome to the project page for the Municipality of Chester's Charting a Course for Growth Plan. This page will continue to be updated with information as the plan progresses and initiatives are implemented.

Click the "Stay Informed" button to subscribe to the project and receive updates.

If you have suggestions or comments, please "Leave a Comment". Questions can also be submitted and contact information is available if you wish to speak directly with staff.