The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg (MODL) has been progressively working on a land use planning project called MODL2040 over the past several years. The project was launched in 2020 and is a multi-year campaign to amend strategic planning documents such as the Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) and Land Use By-law (LUB) based on a shared vision for the Municipality up to the year 2040. While the MODL2040 project has been making progress, there have been shifts in focus due to pressing issues such as coastal protection and cluster development regulations.
The Province of Nova Scotia has mandated that every municipality create municipal-wide land use plans to ensure consistent planning standards province-wide. Every municipality in Nova Scotia is required to meet this minimum land use planning requirement by developing and adopting municipal planning strategies and land use bylaws that follow provincial guidelines, known as Statements of Provincial Interest. The Statements of Provincial Interest include important topics such as agriculture, drinking water, flooding, infrastructure, and housing. The Statements of Provincial Interest articulate the province’s vision for protecting our land and water resources, addressing community growth, fostering economic development, and managing the effects of climate change. The MODL2040 project is how the Municipality will meet the minimum planning requirements of the province through the creation of comprehensive policies and regulations that will apply to the entire Municipality.
The province has granted an extension to the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg for meeting the minimum planning requirement of developing municipal-wide land use plans, recognizing the recent efforts in implementing coastal protection and cluster development regulations. Municipal staff are actively working on the project and aim to bring forward draft documents in the coming months.
For more information and to stay informed on the project, visit: https://engage.modl.ca/modl2040.