News
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT CALL FOR PUBLIC INPUT - Development requirements for undersized Lots
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Planning Staff has been asked by Council to study and prepare amendments to the Land Use By-law that would refine the guidelines for the development of undersized lots in coastal communities. The new requirements being proposed by staff changes the current requirements for new and the expansion of existing buildings/dwellings on undersized waterfront lots.
Staff is calling for input from the public on the proposed new regulations. Information and examples of the application of the proposed new policy can be found on PlanCumberland, through the link provided below:
Members of the public are invited to provide input on the proposed new regulations by e-mailing
News and Notes from Municipal Council's Dec. 18, 2024, Meeting
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Council gives first reading to Wards Brook, West Amherst land-use bylaw amendments
Cumberland municipal council has approved first reading of an amendment to the land-use bylaw that will rezone a property at 19 McCully Lane in Wards Brook from Agriculture to Commercial Recreation.
A public hearing will be scheduled prior to second reading.
The property is presently assigned two zones with the north portion zoned Country Residential and the waterside portion to the south zoned Agriculture. The property owner wants to rezone the Agriculture portion, approximately 8.5 acres, to Commercial Recreation that would permit the development and operation of campsites on the property.
Since the original zoning assignment in 2018, the property has been used as a source for gravel. Due to the lack of topsoil, the property is no longer suitable for agricultural purposes.
Council also approved first reading of an amendment to the land-use bylaw to rezone 1370 Southampton Rd. in West Amherst from Country Residential to Rural Industrial and to add office as a permitted as-of-right use. It will also create a 10-metre buffer area from the common property line of any adjacent residential use.
A public hearing will be scheduled prior to second reading.
The property owner wants to develop a transport truck and trailer storage area and a small office for a transport truck strategy.
In future, the property owners want the ability to permit an automotive service building for repairs of company trucks and trailers.
Council approves new Expense Reimbursement Policy
Municipal council has approved a new expense reimbursement policy and is repealing the reimbursement policy for council members and the chief administrative officer.
The new policy will consolidate the policy for councillors and CAO and for staff and committee members.
The policy sets out the signing authority for expense claims, responsibilities of individuals submitting expense claims and what expenses qualify for reimbursement.
Council approves amended grants policy
Cumberland municipal council has passed a motion to approve an amended grants policy.
The municipality’s grants program was last updated in 2015. The policy gives council direction for funding community initiatives using a consistent approach for all applicants.
The policy’s updates will reflect the county’s two grants streams: the county general grants that saw $837,000 approved for 90 organizations in 2024-25, and the district grant program that allows each councillor and the mayor to spend $10,000 on eligible projects.
Council approves amendments to Tax Reduction and Exemption Policy
Council has approved an amended Tax Reduction and Exemption Policy to include three properties divested by the Municipality of Cumberland to The Sunset Community Inc.
Under the Municipal Government Act, council has the authority to provide full tax exemptions for properties of a registered charity, non-profit community, charitable, fraternal, education, recreational, religious, cultural or sporting organization that provides a service that might otherwise be a responsibility of council.
Council approves an amended policy regarding safety lights
Municipal council has approved an amended policy regarding safety lights.
The municipality owns and maintains an inventory of safety lights that provide additional illumination where a hazard may exist, or is of benefit to roadway safety.
The policy establishes the process to determine whether to install a safety light at a particular location. The update will align the document with the municipality’s current organizational structure and reduce the number of staff involved in safety light review and decision-making.
Council asks for staff reports on food trucks in Springhill and repeated unsightly premises violations
Council has passed a motion to have staff create a report on the issues surrounding the feasibility of establishing a bylaw to regulate food trucks in Springhill.
Council also voted to ask staff to create a report on the pros and cons of establishing fines for repeated unsightly premises violations.
RFP-MCC-2431
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The Municipality of the County of Cumberland is currently advertising a request for proposal for a “Springhill Water Treatment Plant Chemical Tank Replacement“
Fall-Winter 2025 Newsletter is now available
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The Municipality's Fall/Winter 2024-25 Newletter is now available.
Find out what's taking place within the municipality in the coming weeks and months.
Learn more about the new Voyent Alert! system the municipality is using to send out news alerts, see what the new service kiosk in Pugwash has to offer and meet you new town council.
To access the newsletter, click here
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Dec. 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities
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Dec. 3, 2024, is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This day aims to increase awareness and promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.
New findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) show that 27% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 8 million people, have one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities.
All people in Canada have the right to take part fully in society. By working to remove barriers and break down obstacles—seen or unseen—that can hinder accessibility, inclusivity, and progress, we open our doors to a more creative, diverse, and welcoming environment.
A barrier is anything that prevents persons with disabilities from fully and equally participating in Canadian society. Some barriers are very visible, like a building without an access ramp. Other barriers are less visible, like instructions written in complicated language or jargon.
Advancing accessibility is about creating more barrier-free communities, workplaces and services, to build a country where all people, regardless of disability, are included in society and can take full advantage of programs and services.
In 2022, the rate of disability in Canada has increased by 5 percentage points since 2017, when 22% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 6.2 million people, had one or more disabilities. This increase can be partially attributed to the aging population and a large increase in mental health-related disabilities among working-age youth and adults.
Among persons with a disability, the most common type in 2022, as it was in 2017, was pain-related disability (62%).
Flexibility (40%), mobility (39%) and mental health-related (39%) disabilities were the next most prevalent types. The prevalence of mental health-related, seeing, learning, memory, and developmental disabilities increased from 2017 to 2022.
Mayor Rod Gilroy signs a proclamation declaring Dec. 3, 2024, as International Day of Persons with Disability Day in the Municipality of Cumberland.
The Accessible Canada Act: How are we striving towards a barrier-free Canada?
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) came into force in 2019. The overarching goal of the ACA is to realize a barrier-free Canada by 2040. The legislation benefits all Canadians—especially persons with disabilities—through the proactive identification, removal, and prevention of barriers to accessibility in seven priority areas:
- employment
- the built environment
- information and communication technologies (ICT)
- communication other than ICT
- the design and delivery of programs and services
- the procurement of goods, services and facilities
- transportation.
A key principle of the ACA is “nothing without us,” which means that persons with disabilities should be consulted when developing laws, policies and programs that affect them. In keeping with this principle, the Government of Canada works with persons with disabilities and organizations who advocate on their behalf to better understand the full diversity of the community it serves.
Removing barriers for people with disabilities in Canada
The 2022 CSD collected information on barriers to accessibility in support of the ACA.
In 2022, 72% of persons with disabilities reported that they experienced one or more of the 27 types of barriers to accessibility because of their condition at least sometimes in the past year.
Persons with more severe disabilities experienced more barriers to accessibility. These individuals reported that they experienced an average of nine of the included types of barriers at least sometimes in the past year.
By comparison, persons with milder disabilities reported that they experienced an average of six of the included types of barriers at least sometimes in the past year.
Barriers related to features of interior or exterior public spaces, such as entrances or exits and sidewalks, were the most commonly experienced (56%), followed by barriers related to communication (48%), barriers related to behaviours, misconceptions or assumptions (37%), and barriers related to online activities (17%).
See the 2022 CSD questionnaire for more information on the barriers to accessibility included in the survey.
The Accessible Canada Regulations made under the ACA provide further information about how we can work together to make Canada barrier-free by January 1, 2040.
A more accessible Canada
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is important for increasing awareness of diverse abilities and promoting inclusion for all people in Canada with disabilities. Removing and preventing visible and invisible barriers to accessibility can make positive, often life-changing, differences for people with disabilities.
Creating inclusive and accessible environments for all means working together to ensure that the perspectives of persons with disabilities are considered and strategies are implemented to protect and empower all Canadians.
Spource: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/5120-international-day-persons-disabilities-removing-visible-and-invisible-barriers
