A rural municipality on Nova Scotia’s South Shore has become the first to pass its own coastal protection regulations after the province abandoned its legislation earlier this year.
The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg voted for the measures Tuesday, completing a process that began in April 2023.
In a news release, Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson says the new rules for land use represent council’s “commitment to addressing the challenges of climate change.”
Under the regulations, no new coastal development will be permitted within 30 metres of the top of a bank in order to guard against erosion risk.
As well, new residential structures must be elevated 3.97 metres above the average sea level, and no new development will be permitted within 30 metres of coastal wetlands.
The new regulations will only apply to new structures and additions to existing buildings in the sprawling municipality, which surrounds the towns of Bridgewater, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2024.