NOTE: PROJECT NOW COMPLETE - After almost five years of public consultation, committee meetings, writing and re-writing, the Municipality has prepared final drafts of two new documents: the Municipal Planning Strategy and the Land Use By-law — which will shape the way that our communities grow over the next 20 years. These documents have policies and regulations dealing with the environment, the economy, heritage and community character, housing, and social and physical health.

Read More in the document library on the right.

Zoning is one tool used to achieve the outcomes detailed in the Municipal Planning Strategy. Zones determine what can be built where, and what the approval process is for certain types of development. All areas of the Municipality will see some change to zoning rules.

Municipal Council has now given 1st Reading to the new documents at a meeting held on October 24, 2019. Council has also set a date for a Public Hearing: November 25, 2019, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Forest Heights Community School. The Public Hearing is the last opportunity to tell us whether or not you agree with the new documents. Written submissions will be accepted for the Public Hearing but must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on November 18, 2019 to the Municipal Clerk (pmyra@chester.ca) or phone 902-275-3554.

Council may vote to adopt the documents following the Public Hearing.

Visit the Interactive Map to find your current and proposed zoning.

Click here to contact us if you need help with the map

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Have your say

What do you like about our plan?

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Zoning and Land Use Conflicts

Do you think that zoning is a good tool to help prevent land use conflicts?
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What would you change?

What are the changes you would like to see? Would you keep the zones but make them less restrictive? More restrictive? Would you change the zoning boundaries? Let's hear your thoughts.
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Farm Animals

Do you agree with placing some rules around farm animals and backyard chickens? Do you keep chickens in your backyard? The new rules allow up to 10 female chickens in all zones (except the Single Unit Residential Zone, the Conservation Zone, and the Protected Watershed Zone) without a permit. Once you exceed 10 chickens, additional regulations apply—such as setbacks for the chicken coop from neighboring properties and a minimum lot size requirement. Does this seem like a fair and balanced approach? We also have some regulations around the number of farm animals. A summary is available here: Read more: https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-canada/documents/attachments/23d5d9169f8d9d2c284eac8711d922b4ad5bbcee/000/010/023/original/Farmanimals.pdf?1525092080
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What did we miss?

We make mistakes too! What did we miss? Is there a topic we didn't cover that you would like to see us include?
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Lakefront Overlay and WaterCourse protection

We heard that environmental protection is important. We tried to get a good balance of regulations with environmental protection. We created an "overlay" which is an additional set of regulations that apply within an "overlay area," which in this case is around all the lakes as shown on the lakefront overlay map. The zoning doesn't change for these areas—the permitted uses and other regulations in the zone still apply—but there are some additional controls that require setbacks from the lake and limit the amount of paving or hard surfaces. In all areas of the municipality, any use that requires a development permit requires buildings be set back 20m from the ordinary high water mark of a watercourse, waterbody, or wetland. This requirement would not apply if you otherwise don't require a development permit (such as a single-family home in the General Basic zone that is not in the lakefront overlay). We tried to put some protections in place to protect our watercourses and waterbodies, which we believe is a common good for our communities. However, we also realize that when we do this, it limits the use of an individual's property. Did we get the balance correct? Did we go too far? Not far enough? Read More: https://www.voicesandchoices.ca/5346/documents/9579
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