Updated:
Request
Request by Tingley Construction to discharge clauses of a restrictive covenant registered on 455 Waverley Road, Dartmouth, PID 41517251.
Proposal
The applicant is requesting to modify three clauses and discharge one clause of the restrictive covenant registered to PID 41517251 and has indicated that they intend to develop a four-unit dwelling as-of-right in accordance with the underlying R-1 zoning of the Dartmouth Land Use By-law.
The specific covenants requested to be modified are as follows:
3. 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 attached thereto. Detached garage may be permitted at the discretion of the Grantee. Any garage shall be constructed of the same design and exterior finish of the dwelling.
4. Dwellings on the Said Lands shall not exceed one story in height.
5. No more than one dwelling shall be erected or stand upon the Said Lands.
The covenant requested to be discharged is as follows:
6. Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the Grantor shall have the power to waive, alter or modify the above covenants and restrictions in their application to the Said Lands or any part thereof without notice having to be given to the owner of any other lot in 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) allows the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the municipality to discharge or modify 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
Currently this application is at the team review stage of the process where the request is reviewed by internal municipal staff as well as external agencies.
Documents Submitted for Evaluation
The applicant has submitted plans and studies 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.
April, 2026
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
Mailing Address
HRM Planning Applications
HRM Planning Applications
PO Box: 1749,
Halifax,
B3J 3A5
Attention: Kimberly Tam