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Request:
Peninsula Community Council (PCC) requested that staff consider removing "office of a professional person" as a permitted use under the Halifax Mainland and Halifax Peninsula Land Use By-laws, and require that all home occupations abide by the same requirements.
Proposal: (Information Sheet)
The proposal is to remove the concepts of "professional person" and "office of a professional person" from both the Halifax Mainland and Peninsula Land Use By-laws. Currently, these two concepts allow a limited number of professional groups to have more rights than other professional or occupational groups, when establishing offices within their respective homes. The professional groups recognized under the concepts of "professional person" and "office of a professional person" are limited to the following:
• Doctor, Physician or Surgeon;
• Dentist;
• Barrister or Solicitor;
• Architect or Engineer;
• Chartered Accountant; and,
• Psychologist.
The purpose of zoning regulations is to create compatibility between land uses. This is achieved in part by requiring separation distances, limiting heights and by grouping like or compatible uses together while excluding incompatible ones.
This process should treat all uses which are similar and are in similar situations in the same manner. This is not being done for offices within residences.
The objective of the proposed changes is to bring all home businesses under the same umbrella regulations and thus eliminate disparities between professional and occupational groups having similar land use impacts.
Process:
The application is being considered under the land use by-law amendment process.
Status:
An information report was tabled with PCC on May 12, 2008. On October 20, 2008, PCC gave guidance to staff to proceed with removing the provisions for "office of professional person" from the Halifax Peninsula Land Use By-law, and require that all home offices be subject to the home occupation provisions of the land use by-law.
A public information meeting was held on March 12, 2009 at Halifax West High School. At this meeting staff gave a short presentation explaining the current requirements of the land use by-law and discussing the proposal. Approximately 35 members of the public attended and provided comments and feedback.
Staff will continue to collect comments from residents and professional associations. Once sufficient information has been collected and reviewed, a staff report will be prepared and, before any decision is made, Council will hold a public hearing.
Contact Information:
For further information, please contact:
Luc Ouellet, Senior Planner
Planning Services, Western Region
Telephone: 490-3689
Fax: 490-4406
Email: Luc Ouellet |
Mail: HRM Planning & Infrastructure
Planning Services, Western Region
PO Box 1749, Halifax, NS B3J 3A5
Attention: Luc Ouellet, Senior Planner |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the reason for considering this change?
Where does this apply?
Who does this apply to?
Will offices of professionals be prohibited?
How does this impact other home occupations (e.g. hair stylist, real estate agent, draftsperson)?
Will existing offices be grandfathered?
How will this impact my taxes?
How do I get involved?
What are the home occupation requirements?
What is the reason for considering this change?
This application originated from a request to add "actuary" to the list of professional persons permitted to operate offices from their dwellings. Staff provided Peninsula Community Council with a report suggesting that many professionals could be added to the list (occupational therapist, landscape architect, insurance professionals, etc), but rather than expanding the list, Council may want to consider removing this provision entirely, and requiring that all business owners be treated equally, under the more current home occupation requirements. This would be more consistent with practices throughout HRM, and also attempts to regulate home businesses based on the impact on neighbouring properties (noise, parking, nuisance etc), and not on the qualifications/credentials of the occupant.
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Where does this apply?
The changes being proposed would only apply to professionals who operate their business from their homes in residential zones in the former City of Halifax. Those properties that are zoned for commercial use would not be impacted.
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Who does this apply to?
The changes being proposed would only impact "professional persons", as defined in the land use by-law, who operate their business from their homes in residential zones in the former City of Halifax. These professionals are: doctors, surgeons, physicians, dentists, barristers, solicitors, chartered accountants, psychologists, architects and engineers.
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Will offices of professionals be prohibited?
The intent is not to prohibit these uses, but to require that they be subject to the same home occupation requirements that other home businesses must meet. Currently, the above noted professionals are not subject to any requirements under the land use by-law, and therefore have greater as-of-right abilities than any other home occupations.
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How does this impact other home occupations (e.g. hair stylist, real estate agent, draftsperson)?
Other professional or occupation groups not specifically listed under the "professional person" definition will not be impacted by the proposed changes. For clarity, the definition of "professional person" is limited to doctors, surgeons, physicians, dentists, barristers, solicitors, chartered accountants, psychologists, architects and engineers.
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Will existing offices be grandfathered?
Existing home offices would be permitted to continue as legal, non-conforming uses. If you currently operate from your home, and do not have a development permit from HRM, please apply for a development permit to ensure that we have a record of the use. You can apply for a development permit at our West End Mall location. There is no charge for a development permit. For more information about permits, please contact Development Services at 490-5650.
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How will this impact my taxes?
The proposed changes will not impact property taxes.
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How do I get involved?
This application is still in the very early stages, and the direction that it takes is dependent in part on the input received from the public. Part of the challenge with home occupations is finding a balance between being flexible enough to allow the business/office, while not compromising the residential character of the neighbourhood. We welcome any comments you may have about this application.
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What are the home occupation requirements?
The following is an extract from the Halifax Mainland Land Use By-Law:
14B Where home occupations are permitted under this by-law, such home occupation shall comply with the following:
(1) No person who is not a resident of the dwelling unit shall be the proprietor of, or shall be employed in, a home occupation;
(2) Only one home occupation shall be permitted per lot;
(3) Such home occupations shall be confined to one storey of the dwelling and shall not occupy more than 50 percent of the floor area of such storey to a maximum of 400 gross square feet;
(4) No interior or exterior alterations or additions shall be permitted not normally associated with a dwelling;
(5) Except for articles manufactured on the premises, no stock in trade shall be displayed or sold on the premises;
(6) The home occupation shall be conducted in such a way that it shall not be apparent from the outside of the dwelling that it is used for anything other than a residence and the home occupation shall be conducted entirely within the dwelling unit;
(7) There shall be no display of goods visible from the outside, or outside storage of equipment or material, or use of an accessory building in connection with the home occupation;
(8) Only one commercial vehicle, not exceeding 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, shall be parked on the premises in connection with the home occupation;
(9) The commercial vehicle permitted under clause (8) may contain the name, address, telephone number and occupation, profession or trade of the proprietor of the home occupation, which information shall be non-illuminated;
(10) The home occupation shall not create any noise, dust, vibration, smell, smoke, glare, electrical interference, fire hazard, traffic, or any such similar nuisance not normally associated with a dwelling;
(11) Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the preparation and sale of food, the keeping of animals, adult entertainment uses, and taxi stands, shall be deemed not to be home occupations.
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