The Municipality of Chester is undertaking work to develop transparent, effective and meaningful regulations for new development at or near the coast. The intent behind developing and implementing these regulations are to help protect people, structures and the environment from the negative impacts of coastal development.
Coastal protection has been discussed by Provincial Government(s) for over a decade. In recent years, the Province opted not to implement Provincial regulations for coastal development, instead recommending that each Municipality develop their own regulations if desired.
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February 2026 Update:
On January 22, 2026 staff presented a "What We Heard Report" to Council. The report outlined the feedback and comments heard during the three public sessions in Nov/Dec 2025. Council discussed the comments and findings and reviewed some of the concepts for potential regulations. Council provided direction to staff to create a Draft set of Coastal Regulations. Once complete, staff will return to Council for review. Staff then expect to hold a second round of public sessions to inform members of the public on the draft regulations. Staff will be seeking input and comments on the draft regulations, before a final discussion with Council to finalize and approve Coastal Regulations for the Municipality.
Please continue to watch this page for updates on the second round of public sessions.
November 2025 - Public Sessions Announced!
Council has now directed staff to begin this work, with the first step being a series of three meetings held to provide information on the threats and risks posed by unsafe coastal development. The sessions will also touch on some of the potential regulations that could be implemented and we are looking for your feedback, thoughts and comments.
- November 13, 2025: Western Shore - Western Shore Legion (6582 Highway 3, Western Shore)
- November 24, 2025: Village of Chester- Tuck Hall (54 Regent Street, Chester)
- December 10, 2025: Hubbards - Hubbards Area Lions Club (43 Lions Club Rd, Fox Point)
Each session will be open from 6:00pm - 8:00pm. The format is Open House and staff will be spread out to discuss a variety of topics related to coastal regulations. Please feel free to drop in at any point during the three sessions (ie. come and go as you please, drop in anytime during the Open house hours.
We want to hear from you about what level of regulations/rules are the right fit? What is your level of risk tolerance for private development on the coast? Are you concerned about negative environmental impacts of coastal development? What specific regulations might you support or not?
Following the three sessions, staff will collect feedback and present this material to the Village of Chester and Municipal Planning Advisory Committees. Council will also be presented with the feedback and comments obtained from the three sessions.
Staff will then prepare a set of draft regulations, specifically outlining when, where and how any new regulations would impact development at the coast. Council may wish to then schedule further meetings for public discussion on the draft regulations or if Council feels consensus has been reached, may move forward to adopt and implement the draft regulations for development at the coast.
