Peggy’s Cove LUB

Peggy’s Cove is unique in many ways. Its small permanent population belies the abundance of visitors each year and the community’s outsized importance to provincial—and national—tourism and identity. The rocky coastal barrens define the aesthetic and character of the area, while presenting unique challenges for construction and infrastructure. At the physical and cultural heart of the community is an active fishery.

The Peggy’s Cove Land Use Bylaw of 1993 previously provided the planning framework for land use and development in the community. However, with 17 years since the last update of any kind, in 2003, the document was showing its age. As a result, the Peggy’s Cove Commission was grappling with planning issues such as mobile vending and pressures for larger-scale commercial uses, while at the same time struggling to efficiently and effectively enforce the planning requirements in place.

UPLAND Planning + Design was hired by the Peggy’s Cove Commission to develop a new Land Use Bylaw for the community where the permanent population barely breaks 30 people. The unique intricacies of land use planning in Peggy’s Cove— including close-knit relationships within the community, the high-profile nature of the area as a tourism destination, the involvement of multiple levels of government, and a legislative framework specific to Peggy’s Cove—reinforced the need for clear, defensible, and rational direction for regulating land use in the community.

UPLAND successfully collaborated with the community and the Peggy’s Cove Commission to navigate these intricacies and developed a modern Land Use Bylaw that will help the community “host the world” while continuing to thrive.