The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has 400 kilometres of coastline. The changing landscape coupled with coastal erosion and storm surges are a few reasons HRM councillor Nancy Hartling brought forward a revised motion on this. “At the end of the day this is an environmental risk, this is a safety risk there are many, many, many good reasons to advance this today,” says Hartling. The motion Hartling put to council Tuesday suggested that council direct the Chief Administrative Office to write a formal letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs requesting the immediate reconsideration of the 30-metre coastal buffer policies. The council’s first attempt, requesting the coastal buffer policy was denied by the province Aug. 8, 2025, citing reasons around impeding housing. “I think that we have already heard from industry, [The Urban Development Institute] has already written a letter saying that the 30-metre coastal setback does not impede housing so with this new information in hand lets make our submission,” says Hartling. All councillors voted in favour of the motion except the mayor. He says he wants to hold off until there’s more information to understand environmental impacts and benefits of wetland buffers, while still providing much needed housing. “There is a large and extensive body of work there that is soon going to come back to council that will illuminate this entire issue in a very clear way, so it’s my position that we should just wait for that work to get done and not get ahead of ourselves,” says Mayor Andy Fillmore. “I would also say, and did say it in the chamber, that the provincial government chose to reject the regional plan in part they named the buffers as part of that plan because it was felt by them that it was limiting the ability to get houses up. If we just go back to them now with this motion with really no new data or information and sort of repeat the same request I don’t expect a different answer,” Fillmore adds. Coun. Hartling says she doesn’t think the data will improve with more time. “It’s fair to say that we have already done a significant amount of work regarding flood plan mapping, that’s available today you can look it up today, we have already done the important scientific work that we need to advance it so with the supplemental report coming to council will look at more is what would the impact to potential housing be. I think it’s fair to say that we all know that there will be no new housing that will be affected,” says Hartling. The province shifted the coastal development responsibility to municipalities and property owners in 2024 which sparked many protests. The Ecology Action Centre says a 30-metre buffer is a step in the right direction, but they want it to go even further. “Some different types of rock erode faster, and coastlines can erode faster than others and some coastlines host rare species that require a little more buffer space so it is situational. This 30-meter buffer is intended to be a buffer between industry and environmental standards. So, 30 meters is a step in the right direction, but we would obviously like to see higher standards like there are across Canada and across the world,” says Jilliam Ramsay, Ecology Action Centre sustainable cities co-ordinator. Coun. Hartling called out the fact that Lunenburg and Cumberland county have both advanced their coastal buffers. She says she referenced this to prove that there is nothing out of hand or extraordinary about what HRM is trying to achieve. “No, I wouldn’t say that we are following their lead, I am simply calling out that they have already advanced their coastal protection act based on their municipality and their experience,” says Hartling. Since HRM council has approved the motion for this today, they now await word from the province. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
