PLANAPP 2025-01839 - 43 Braeloch Court, Lake Loon, NS

Request

Application from property owner requesting to discharge 3 clauses (1, 2, and 16) of the restrictive covenant registered to 43 Braeloch Court, Lake Loon (PID 40548752).

Proposal

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The applicant is requesting to discharge 3 clauses of the restrictive covenant registered to 43 Braeloch Court, Lake Loon (PID 40548752), and have indicated they intend to develop a backyard suite in accordance with the underlying R-1 zoning of the Cole Harbour/Westphal Land Use By-law.

The covenants requested as part of this proposal to be discharged are as follows:

1. The lands shall not be used for any use other than private residential purposes only and no building shall be erected on the said lands other than a detached private dwelling house to and for the use of a single family with or without an appropriate garage or carport.
2. No dwelling house shall be erected or stand upon the said lands or any part thereof which shall have a ground floor area less than:
   1. 1,200 square feet in the case of a dwelling of less than two stories;
   2. 1,000 square feet in the case of a dwelling of two stories or more, provided that the total habitable floor area of any such dwelling shall not be less than 2,000 square feet.
3. No trailers or mobile homes, either with or without wheels attached, shall be placed or permitted to remain on the said lands.

Regulatory Context

Restrictive covenants are agreements between two parties, such as developers and property owners. Although the municipality does not apply restrictive covenants in the application of municipal land use regulations, changes to the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter (Section 257A) allow the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the municipality to discharge or modify private covenants when they are more restrictive than the current zoning with respect to height or density. Section 257A (3) further states that the decision of the CAO may be appealed to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board.

It is important to note that if the CAO were to choose not to modify or discharge a private covenant, HRM could still issue a permit for the proposed use if it meets the land use by-law and other municipal regulations, because the municipality does not enforce private covenants when processing permit applications.

Process

The application will be considered under the Modification and/or Discharge of a Private Covenant process. 

Status

This application is currently in the public engagement stage. We are seeking the public's feedback on the proposal. Your participation is important to us, and we encourage all members of the public to participate. If you have any questions or comments, please provide them to the Planner at the contact information below.

Feedback on the proposal will be collected until November 12, 2025.

Documents Submitted for Evaluation

The applicant has submitted a rationale letter and provided a copy of the restrictive covenant registered to the subject property as required by HRM staff to properly evaluate the application. The documents are also available for review at the Planning Applications office at 5251 Duke Street, Halifax, Suite 300.