No Strong Mayor Powers, but all of HRM is an Interim Planning Area

Following my previous post on Strong Mayor Powers, Premier Houston confirmed on the Todd Vienotte Show in September that strong mayor powers are not being tabled in this legislature. The reasons he gave (based on my listening of the show) very much align the reasons I listed earlier. In short, the province already has all the tools they require to meet their agenda around housing and infrastructure.

Today, October 3rd, the province illustrated how true that was, and announced in this press release: Province Takes Further Steps to Unlock Development in HRM. In short, Minister John Lohr has designated all of HRM as an 'intrim planning area'. I assume that part of the reason for this drastic step is because, as I wrote in my previous post on the rejection of the regional plan, in-flight housing projects were jeopardized by the rejection of the plan.

Beyond the watercourse/coastal setback issue I wrote about previously, I don't expect much to change for Planning District 4 (Prospect), or Planning Districts 1&3 (St. Margaret's Bay). District 13, and the planning districts we cover, are not in the service boundary (where there is water and sewer), and thus not a target for housing density. Having said that, these changes will no doubt change the face of HRM forever. Councillor Patty Cuttell of District 11 wrote a meaningful post on what this means for Spryfield for example, and I would encourage you to read it here.