West Hants residents encouraged to get involved in planning review

West Hants residents are encouraged to get involved in the municipality’s planning review.

The West Hants Plan Review—a comprehensive review of the policies and regulations that govern land use and development in the municipality—is nearing completion. West Hants Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) is holding a public information meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 in the West Hants council chambers to receive comments from the public on revised drafts of the proposed West Hants Municipal Planning Strategy, Land Use By-law and Subdivision By-law.

The changes take into account comments received at community meetings last June, when an earlier draft was presented. In all, more than 160 people attended the seven meetings in Upper Vaughan, Scotch Village, Falmouth, Avondale, Centre Burlington, Three Mile Plains and Brooklyn. The draft planning documents were generally well received, although some concerns were raised.

In Three Mile Plains, the most contentious issue was mobile homes, while in Avondale, the zoning change from Agricultural Priority One to Agricultural Priority Two created the most discussion.

Several issues were brought up at two or more meetings, suggesting there were some common concerns across the municipality. These included the 300 foot maximum setback for non-farm dwellings in agricultural zones, off-highway vehicle course provisions, setbacks for wind turbines and watercourse protection.

In the months following the community meetings, the PAC spent a great deal of time discussing ways of addressing the concerns and making revisions to the documents. The committee is now seeking comments from the public on the revised drafts.

Planning committee chairperson Coun. Shirley Pineo urged West Hants residents to get involved in the Plan Review. She said, “We received a lot of useful input at the meetings last June. Now we need some feedback on the changes we’re proposing.”

Warden Richard Dauphinee added that, “with the growth the municipality is experiencing, it’s all the more important that we complete the Plan Review and have a framework in place to guide development.”

More information and copies of the draft West Hants Municipal Planning Strategy, Land Use By-law and Subdivision By-law are available from the Windsor-West Hants Planning Dept., 76 Morison Drive, Windsor-West Hants Industrial Park, 798-6900 or online at www.windsorwesthantsplanning.ns.ca. See next week’s Hants Journal for more details on the Plan Review.

Submitted