See you there!!

6:30 pm 54 Regent Street, Chester.

The time is NOW to show up and take action!

CBC News: Chester Density to Worsen Water Issues

YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED: 

Should the Village of Chester encourage greater density of population within the Core of Chester Village? Despite the lack of a water supply? 

On June 20th, 2024, the Municipality of Chester gave their first reading of a new Land Use By-law, which will govern future development. Once this document is in place it will be there for at least 10 years. 

The proposed By-law will allow for more people to live within the core of the Village of Chester. A stated reason for encouraging greater density is to help alleviate the housing crisis. 

With the twinning of Highway 103 to Chester, a Village Plan which permits unsustainable population growth in the Village Core will irreparably compromise the essence of the Village. While paying lip service to a desire to maintain the traditional scale and feel of the Village core, the draft Land Use By-law will do the opposite. We will lose the quiet streets, the serene views, and leafy canopy which makes Chester a true treasure of Nova Scotia. 

But it is not just the character of Chester at risk, but its most invaluable resource: Water. There is no existing or immediate plans for municipal water supply within the Village, nor any water sustainability mechanisms incorporated into the proposed Plan. Our existing precarious supply of water through private wells is already at risk due to unduly development and climate change. 

During the drafting process, presentations and submissions to Council were made by Residents. In spite of Resident concerns, the Municipality of Chester is proposing a by-law which promotes greater population density, notwithstanding the lack of sustainable water supply, and the possibility of overcrowding in the Village, through the implementation of an R2 zone which offers the ability to increase the number of households, per lot, by three. 

How will this density be achieved? Most dwellings within the Village will be zoned R2. Under the R2 By- law dwellings may house two independent, separate households, (provided each has a separate entryway, bathroom, and kitchen for the exclusive use of that household), as well as the potential for a further Accessory Dwelling Unit (“ADU”) on each R2 lot. Permitting over-development on existing lots will result in a changed and crowded Village and compound stress on our already limited water table and village infrastructure. 

Here is how you can show up for your community: 

Attend The Public Hearing on July 11, 2024, at 6:30 pm, at the Anglican Church Tuck Hall, 54 Regent Street, Chester; 

Speak at the Public Hearing, or Submit Your Written Comments In Advance to Pam Myra: pmyra@chester.ca by July 8th, 2024, at 4:30pm; 

Contact Your Councillor: Derek Wells K.C., the elected representative for District 3 (Chester), at dwells@chester.ca or 902-277-2263. 

Write to Council as a Whole at: council@chester.ca, or Chester Council , 151 King Street, PO Box 369, Chester, B0J 1J0. 

YOUR CONTRIBUTION MATTERS.