Halifax councillors question 'reckless' planning changes required by province

Halifax is moving ahead with planning changes mandated by the province to speed up housing, but multiple councillors argued that their impacts are unclear — and in some cases might hurt affordable housing.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr introduced changes to Halifax Regional Municipality's charter in August on minimum planning requirements.

They include allowing manufactured housing, like modified shipping containers, in all residential zones, removing parking requirements for residential buildings within the urban boundary for municipal services, and allowing residential uses in most zones.

But two other changes drew the most discussion during Tuesday's council meeting.

For developments starting before April 1, 2027, there will be no bedroom-unit requirements for residential buildings, and the ground floor of multi-unit residential buildings won't be required to contain more than 20 per cent commercial space.

Now, a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units are required in most large residential buildings and in many situations the entire ground floor must be commercial, including along key main streets.

"It's just not responsible planning. It's reckless," said Coun. Patty Cuttell.

Cuttell and Coun. Kathryn Morse said the bedroom mix is one of the few things the municipality can control to help affordability, and were concerned it would lead to no multi-bedroom units for families or groups of roommates.

"To have something like this come in when we have such a crisis in affordable housing right now goes against everything that we should be trying to do … around affordability, complete communities," Morse said.

Cuttell said dozens of new developments going up in her district around the Spryfield area are prime opportunities for ground-floor commercial space. She said daycares or other small businesses are badly needed there to support the growing population.

Another new regulation that said maximum building heights cannot negatively affect the density of residential buildings using mass timber or "any other construction method" drew concerns from councillors.

But Kate Greene, director of regional and community planning, said after talking with provincial staff, she believes that requirement is more about wood frame or other new construction technologies — not lifting height rules for all new buildings.

"We are intending to work with them even more on exactly what these mean," Greene said.

Coun. Sam Austin said having to go back and clarify what the province expects by these requirements is "problematic," but he and others noted the changes are unavoidable.

"This is not really a choice, and if people are upset about what's happening, well, down the hill on Hollis Street is where they need to direct their anger," Austin said, referring to Province House.

Halifax will accept public feedback on the changes in the coming months. They will then be included in the updated regional plan, which establishes planning bylaws and policies around growth, and will return to council in early 2025.

Halifax CAO Cathie O'Toole said while the legislation connected to these charter changes — last year's Bill 329 — was a surprise, municipal staff did work with the province to make sure the minimum planning requirements didn't overlap with work already underway at HRM.

"I think without the input from our staff, the regulations that could have come forward could have been potentially much more drastic," O'Toole said.

A 'chance' province could adjust requirements

When asked whether the province could back down on some requirements in the face of concerns, O'Toole said there's "always a chance."

"Particularly with this provincial government who has been fairly responsive to feedback from the public," O'Toole said.

The PC government has changed tack on multiple issues after public outcries, including the subsidy for commercial wine bottlers and amalgamation of the town and county of Antigonish.

Staff will also put together a report on the risks and potential approaches to land-use planning in light of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling from 2022 involving Annapolis Group developers and a dispute over a 390-hectare block of land in the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes area west of Halifax.

The Annapolis Group tried for several years to develop the property, but the city refused to give its approval. That prompted the company to launch a lawsuit in 2017. The argument centred on whether, by refusing to permit development, the city had effectively expropriated the land.

Nova Scotia courts rejected the lawsuit on grounds there was no realistic prospect of it succeeding, but the Supreme Court overturned those decisions, saying Annapolis's argument should be tested in court.

That report is expected late this year or early in 2025.

Mayor Mike Savage will now officially ask the province to amend the HRM charter to include immunity from "constructive taking" or "de facto expropriation" claims.

Without this immunity, HRM's ability to respond to the housing crisis "may be limited in terms of the level of potential risk associated with amendments to any planning documents," a staff report said.

Although Lohr asked for HRM's upcoming planning strategy for suburban areas to be fast-tracked and brought in no later than Jan. 31, 2025, municipal staff said Tuesday that was not possible and they would be asking for an extension.

The province says the new regulations come in the wake of a 2022 independent report from Deloitte that recommended a slew of changes to help housing construction, including the push for a suburban plan and the elimination of minimum parking requirements for new developments.