Nova Scotia Bill 329 – Threatens to Undercut Heritage Protection in the Region

The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia is adding its voice to the many well-informed and  concerned parties who have spoken out against Bill 329. This proposed bill threatens to undercut heritage protection in the HRM

Announced on October 12 without advance consultation, this autocratic bill claims to speed up the development of housing in HRM and cut through the approval process, but utterly fails to address the issue it claims to address: the tremendous lack of affordable housing.

As the provincial body mandated to protect Nova Scotia’s built heritage, the Trust is particularly concerned that Bill 329 will be used to hasten the demolition of HRM’s diminishing historic building stock. Our heritage buildings, many of which were once large single-family homes, are well suited to being divided into multiple affordable rental units, as can be seen throughout HRM. Therefore, if Bill 329 is used to encourage the demolition of historic buildings in HRM, it will lead to fewer affordable housing units - not more - which directly contravenes the stated intent of Bill 329.

Furthermore, retrofitting historic buildings, rather than demolishing them and constructing new buildings, saves hundreds of thousands of tons of demolition material from going into landfills. It also produces far lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions compared to new construction. Therefore, if Bill 329 leads to the demolition of heritage buildings, the result will be diametrically opposed to the province’s stated environmental commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing solid waste disposal. 

If the provincial government really wants to increase affordable housing in HRM, and at the same time meet its environmental goals, heritage buildings can be part of the solution. To help realise this potential, we call on the province to:

 1.       enable HRM to increase tax rates for empty properties where owners have demolished existing residential units;

2.       enable HRM to require property owners to have a building permit in place before demolishing existing residential properties;

3.       enable HRM to charge preferential property tax rates for heritage buildings;

4.       update the provincial Heritage Property Act to strengthen the protection of designated heritage properties; and

5.       increase provincial incentives for heritage property owners.