Staff and councillors in Saint Andrews will be busy over the coming months.
They will be working on an update to the community’s municipal plan this year.
Mayor Brad Henderson said it is needed after municipal reform took effect in 2023.
“The reality is is with the municipal reform is Chamcook and Bayside are now part of Saint Andrews,” Henderson said in a year-end interview.
“We do have a municipal plan as a community, but it’s only for Saint Andrews. And of course, Chamcook and Bayside have their own rural plan.”
The municipal plan is a document that guides growth and development within the coastal community. It establishes policies to guide future land use and development while providing guidance to council in long-term planning.
Saint Andrews completed its most recent municipal plan just four years ago in 2020. Henderson said because of that, the new plan should end up having a lot of similarities.
“But you need to kind of go through it and say, ‘what does that look like from a lens of Chamcook and Bayside as a greater community to make sure that the plan speaks for everybody?'” he said.
“Of course, Chamcook and Bayside might have particular needs that have to be incorporated in a plan that before didn’t really apply to Saint Andrews.”
Municipal plans, which are a requirement under the province’s Community Planning Act, are typically reviewed every 10 years.
Saint Andrews has developed six municipal plans over the years. The current document updated and replaced the previous plan implemented in 2010.
