Project Update!

Public Engagement: Draft Planning Documents and HAF Amendments

The next phase of engagement begins Wednesday, October 29th!
This phase includes two separate but related opportunities to provide input:

1. Draft Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw (“Planning Documents”)

Open for feedback until January 11th, 2026

The drafts of the updated Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw are now available for public review. These documents are a complete rewrite of the Town’s planning framework, setting out the long-term vision, land-use policies, and detailed rules that will guide how Yarmouth grows and develops over time.

2. Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Amendments

Open for feedback until November 20th, 2025

The Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan (HAF) Amendments are a focused package of “quick-start” zoning changes being introduced to support the Town’s HAF Action Plan, which aims to enable approximately 120 new homes over the next three years.

Because HAF projects are time-sensitive and subject to contractual obligations between the Federal Government and the Town, these changes are being advanced ahead of the new Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw so that new housing can move forward sooner. However, most of the HAF-related changes are expected to be carried forward into the new Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw, ensuring consistency between the Town’s short-term housing goals and its long-term planning framework.

Draft Documents

All drafts can be found in the 'documents section" on the right side of your screen. We want to hear your thoughts - What did we get right? What would you like to see changed?

We have also developed a series of Fact Sheets to provide a high level overview of the changes proposed.

There are multiple ways to share your feedback – including the short HAF Amendments Survey, the Interactive Draft Zoning Map, or the feedback form, all found below. You can also join us for an in-person or online engagement session to share your feedback directly, or send us an email at planningreview@townofyarmouth.ca

Stay tuned for more details on upcoming events! New to the project? Scroll down to read more in the "About the Project" section below, or watch the video on the right sidebar to get an introduction to the project.

About the Project

The Town of Yarmouth Planning Review is a project to review the Municipal Planning Strategy, Land Use Bylaw and Subdivision Bylaw for the Town of Yarmouth. The Municipal Government Act, which governs how municipalities operate in Nova Scotia, requires planning documents to be reviewed at least once every 10 years. The Town of Yarmouth's planning documents were last reviewed in 2016.

The planning documents include:

1. The Municipal Planning Strategy is the primary planning document that guides growth and development in Yarmouth. It lays out the vision, goals, and policies that guide how growth and development are managed within the Town.
2. The Land Use Bylaw is the companion document to the Municipal Planning Strategy, and puts the vision, goals, and policies into action through specific regulations that have to do with development activities. This includes where certain types of buildings can be built and what kind of land uses (like commercial, residential or industrial) can happen where.
3. The Subdivision Bylaw is a planning document that guides how a parcel of land can be divided into two or more lots, or how multiple lots can be combined to create one parcel. It also guides the construction of new services in new subdivision developments, such as streets, sewers, water lines, parkland, and sidewalks.

Together, these documents guide the Town of Yarmouth by determining what types of development can happen, and where.

The Town of Yarmouth Planning Review presents an exciting opportunity to establish a vision for the Town and to ensure our planning and development processes better serve our residents and businesses.

Your input will help to inform future changes to the Town's planning bylaws and policies.