FAQs

The Halifax Grain Elevator is an industrial facility located on land owned by the Halifax Port Authority and leased to a private company, Halifax Grain Elevator Limited. It operates 24/7 and stores grains, wood pellets and soya beans which are transferred to and from bulk cargo ships and trains. 

The grain elevator has been in operation since 1924 and is a critical piece of logistical port infrastructure being the only grain elevator on the east coast of Canada with both rail and ocean access.

The Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report makes recommendations to the municipality for amending planning documents. These recommendations include:

• Aligning permitted land uses near the Halifax Grain Elevator according to the study’s  recommended risk-based land use precincts;
• amendments to building design requirements for buildings near the Halifax Grain Elevator; and
• amendments to limit the relaxations usually afforded to non-conforming uses and structures as provided in the HRM Charter.

Halifax Regional Council has initiated a planning process to amend the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy (Centre Plan) and Regional Centre Land Use By-law to implement the study’s recommendations. These amendments will be publicly shared on this webpage for residents to review, prior to a Council decision.

The municipality, in partnership with the Halifax Port Authority, has completed a land use risk assessment study of the Halifax Grain Elevator. 

The land use risk assessment was proactively commissioned in 2021 to help inform land use by-law planning and updates as part of the municipality’s Centre Plan – Package B. 

The Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report was provided to the municipality in November 2022 and since then ongoing coordination between the municipality and the Halifax Port Authority, has taken place to confirm the details and recommendations in the report. The study was published on the website of the municipality in August, 2023.

For summary information and a link to the complete report, visit: halifax.ca/grainelevator.

The Halifax Grain Elevator has been in operation since 1924 – a time when the surrounding south end of Halifax peninsula was largely focused on industrial and commercial use. Over the years the area has grown into a mixed-use residential neighbourhood. 

This is the first land use risk assessment conducted by the municipality and the recommendations in this report will help ensure that continued residential development in this area is done with full consideration of the risks outlined in the Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report.

The Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report provides recommendations to the municipality for future land use based on risks identified in the report in the area between Marginal Road and approximately Barrington Street at Foundry Lane, through Atlantic Street at McLean Street.

The municipality will continue to work in partnership with the Halifax Port Authority to ensure the continued safe management of the risks outlined in this report.

The Halifax Port Authority and the operator of the facility have done considerable work to reduce safety risks and that process is ongoing. 

With any grain elevator there is a potential dust explosion hazard, given the quantity and nature of materials handled. 

The safety of residents and protection of property and infrastructure within the municipality are paramount. The municipality will continue to work in partnership with the Halifax Port Authority to ensure risks outlined in the study continue to be monitored, assessed and managed. 

The Halifax Grain Elevator is located on lands administered by the Halifax Port Authority and is operated by a private company, Halifax Grain Elevator Limited. 

Halifax Port Authority lands fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government via Transport Canada. The municipality works in cooperation with the Halifax Port Authority on common goals and related initiatives. 

The Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report is an example of such cooperation to ensure future land use in the area fully considers the results of this report.

If there was an incident involving the Halifax Grain Elevator, the municipality and HRFE would respond in the same way they would for any land-based hazardous industrial emergency, regardless of land ownership.

Current residents and property owners within the areas around the Halifax Grain Elevator identified in the Halifax Grain Elevator Land Use Risk Assessment Study report are encouraged to review the report to determine what impact it might have on their property. 

For summary information and a link to the complete report, visit: halifax.ca/grainelevator.

The public is invited to participate in the planning process in the following ways:

• Getting up-to-date information from this webpage;
• Sending an email to the planner for this file (contact information available on the project main page); or
• Reviewing draft planning documents when they are posted to this webpage.

Residents and property owners on affected properties will be contacted directly and consulted during the planning process.

Questions related to port operations including the grain elevator can be directed to the Halifax Port Authority through publicaffairs@portofhalifax.ca or 902-426-8222.

When an existing use (ex: existing residential building) is no longer permitted by the zone in which it is located it becomes a "non-conforming use". This simply means the use would not ordinarily be permitted by the land use by-law in that zone (hence "non-conforming"), but recognizes an existing use in place before the by-law amendment made it non-conforming.

 A non-conforming use is protected by the Halifax Charter and may remain in place. A non-conforming use cannot be:

• expanded beyond the limits or structure that it legally occupies;
• changed to any other use except one permitted in the zone; or
• recommenced if it is discontinued for a continuous period of six months.

If a non-conforming use in a structure primarily used for residential purposes is destroyed by fire or otherwise, it can be rebuilt if it is substantially the same as it was prior to the destruction.

If a non-conforming use in a structure primarily  used for uses other than residential is destroyed by fire or otherwise, it cannot be rebuilt.

A non-conforming use may be repaired, maintained and upgraded so long as it meets the requirements of a non-conforming use noted above.

Residential tenancies are regulated by the province of Nova Scotia. A residential building which becomes non-conforming is not required to vacate or be demolished as a result of its non-conforming status.