{"id":9536,"date":"2025-12-10T16:18:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T20:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=9536"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T20:18:58","slug":"region-of-queens-to-launch-comprehensive-review-of-land-use-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2025\/12\/10\/region-of-queens-to-launch-comprehensive-review-of-land-use-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Region of Queens to launch comprehensive review of land use rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ryan MacLean with UPLAND Planning and Design Studio at a public engagement session in Liverpool in July. (Rick Conrad\/File)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Region of Queens will be looking for outside help for a planned overhaul of some parts of its land use bylaw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Councillors voted this week to hire an external firm to review the bylaw and municipal planning strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region passed an extensively reworked bylaw and planning strategy in May 2022. The process cost $140,000 and was led by UPLAND Planning from Halifax. It was also supposed to take 18 months, but ended up taking almost four years because of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2022 bylaw changes were controversial, with many residents upset that proposed livestock provisions<\/a> could prevent many people from raising small numbers of animals on their land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mayor Scott Christian said this week that it\u2019s time for a review.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe municipal planning strategy and land use bylaw, I think, is second only to a budget deliberation as an allocation of the public resources, and setting of the tax rate in terms of the levers that we have available to us as a council to impact our community, impact business owners, impact residents, in terms of the regulations, the protections and regulations, and avenues that residents and businesses have with respect to permitted use of property in our municipality,” Christian said.<\/span><\/p>\n

“And I think that it’s really important to me that our land use bylaw or municipal planning strategy is reflective of the priorities and the concerns and the direction that this council wants to take the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The land use bylaw returned to council\u2019s radar earlier this year as developer Eric Fry applied to turn the dilapidated former Stedmans building on Main Street in Liverpool into apartments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Councillors initially rejected<\/a> his plan because it contained no commercial space. The rules required that at least half of a downtown building\u2019s ground floor be devoted to businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

But after Fry threatened to sell the property, councillors relented. They changed the bylaw<\/a> in late November to allow a modified version of Fry\u2019s plan to go ahead, with two much smaller spaces for commercial use.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region hired UPLAND to conduct citizen engagement sessions<\/a> in relation to Fry\u2019s development and proposal to change the bylaw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike MacLeod, the municipality\u2019s director of land use, told councillors at their regular meeting this week that hiring outside consultants would be more efficient, since the region\u2019s staff don\u2019t have the capacity to carry out the review in a timely manner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is considerable work involved in even an interim planning review,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo if staff were to undertake it, the timeframe will be considerably lengthened to complete the review, as well as staff’s ability to carry out the day-to-day operations at the department. We would be very challenged to do it in-house.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The region has about $50,000 set aside already for future planning review projects. MacLeod said that money could go toward the cost of this review.<\/span><\/p>\n

Councillors want to create or review regulations regarding<\/span><\/p>\n