Living Here

Yarmouth International Airport

The Mariners Centre is southwestern Nova Scotia’s premier destination for sport, recreation, entertainment, and event hosting. With two facilities, the Mariners Centre serves the Yarmouth region and its community members, featuring hockey arenas, a fitness centre, walking track, pool, splash park, and more.

For more information on the services provided, visit Mariners Centre.

Municipal Grants

Municipal grants provide financial assistance for not-for-profit organizations, groups and associations that are providing meaningful support services to the communities within the Municipality. 

• Each year, the application process for Municipal Grants opens on January 1st and closes on April 15th.
• Applications received after the deadline will be referred to the budget process for the following fiscal year.
• Applications received after the April 15th deadline will only be considered if the applicant can show that the need is urgent and could not reasonably have been anticipated before the beginning of the fiscal year, and no other sources of funding are available.

Click on the following link to view the pdf Municipality of Yarmouth Grants Policy(270 KB)  as well as the Grant application form. Please be sure to sign and date the application form before submitting it to our office.

If you want to find out more about our Grant programs or need any assistance completing your grant application form, our Community and Economic Development Officer is available to assist.

Past approved Municipality of Yarmouth Grants:

pdf 2026 Grants to Organizations(7 KB)

pdf 2024 Grants to Organizations(448 KB)

pdf 2023 Grants to Organizations(108 KB)

Municipality of Yarmouth Bursary

Council acknowledges that financial barriers to education frequently prevent our talented youth from entering programs after high school. To that end, Council has established four annual $1000.00 bursary awards. Two bursaries will be awarded to applicants entering a community college or technical/trades-related program and two bursaries will be awarded to applicants entering a university program. To qualify for a Municipality of Yarmouth Bursary, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Successfully complete the requirements for a Nova Scotia High School Diploma at a public or private school, or
• provide documentation of equivalency to Nova Scotia High School Diploma where the student is home-schooled.
• be accepted to a program of study at a university, community college, trade or technical school; and
• reside in the Municipality of Yarmouth or be the child of a residential ratepayer in the Municipality of Yarmouth.

Council shall, where there are less than two applicants from either of the streams, fully award the bursary each year.

Application Requirements

• Complete the application form
• Demonstrate to the Municipal Council, in a 150-word essay how this award will impact the applicant's access to higher education being sure to highlight how this bursary will help overcome barriers to education – be specific
• Confirmation from school administration that the applicant is on track to receive a Grade 12 diploma
• pdf Municipality of Yarmouth Bursary Application(100 KB)

Applicants will be selected based on the following criteria

• Demonstrated financial need
• Community involvement
• Essay pdf Grants Policy(169 KB)

The application process for Municipal Bursaries opens on January 1st and closes on April 30th of each year. Applications can be submitted by email or in person at our office located at 932 Highway 1 in Hebron, or by mail:

Municipality of Yarmouth
932 Highway 1
Hebron, NS B5A 5Z5

Given the personal and private nature of the applications, only the selection committee will see the documentation.

If you have any questions, please contact the Administration Office at 902-742-7159.

The Municipal Heritage By-Law states that no property which has been registered as a heritage property can undergo substantial alterations or demolition without permission of Council. Although demolition is easily defined, the term “substantial alterations” is not as clear.

Information regarding your property’s specific features, stylistic period and historic character can be found on your site inventory form which is the description of your property and its historic characteristics or at Canada's Historic Places. If you do not have a copy of your site inventory form or would like an additional copy, this will be provided for you by contacting the Heritage Coordinator.

Alterations that would not be affected would be items such as repainting your home, re-shingling your roof, or spot-replacing wooden shingles that are in poor condition. If at any time you have any questions regarding whether or not you would be required to make an application you can contact the Heritage Coordinator for verification. This is generally as quick as a phone call.

The Building Code of Canada and Fire Safety Regulations

If changes to your property are necessary to meet Provincial and/or Federal Building/ Safety regulations the specific Provincial and/or Federal regulations take precedence over the Heritage Property Act. If these required changes are substantial, you will be required to make an application to ensure that the alteration is in keeping with the Historic Character and Stylistic Period of the property. Some examples of these types of changes would be fire exits and stairs, changes in door frames to accommodate accessibility, etc.

There are some existing exceptions for registered heritage properties contained within some of these regulations if you have questions or concerns about these regulations such as the Building Code of Canada, please contact the Development office at 902-742-9691.

Making Application for a Substantial Alteration

There is an application for you to submit and it requires the following information: contact information, information about the proposed development/ alteration, pictures of the present site, and information on the materials being used. It is sometimes necessary for the Heritage Coordinator to require additional information which may include a site visit or clarification of items contained in your application.

When an application is completed it shall be brought forward to the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee to review the proposed changes and make a recommendation to Council on the application. Most commonly when the Committee has concerns about a project we work with the owners to reach a reasonable resolution to achieve both the needs of the property owner and the preservation of the heritage value of the property.

View the application form here.

Factors Considered by the Heritage Advisory Committee

If the proposed development/alteration is considered substantial, the following factors will be considered in making any recommendations or decisions on the request.

• The purpose of the request, such as for restoration to a particular period or recycling or rehabilitation;
• The materials used should conform with the identified style, but modern, more economical substitutes may be approved for us;
• The comparative costs of the various alterations;
• The effects on the neighbouring environment of the requested alteration.

Council would then either accept or deny the committee’s recommendation at which time you would be notified by letter of your application's status. This process usually takes around 30 to 45 days.

Contact Information

For more information please contact:

Mark Blinn, Heritage Coordinator
Municipality of the District of Yarmouth
932 Highway 1
Hebron, NS B5A 5Z5

Phone: 902-742-7159
Contact by email

Churches

Cemeteries

Residences

Public and Businesses

Many homeowners who consider registering their property as a Heritage Property have concerns about their insurance coverage and the effects of designation. In the event of a loss due to a fire or any cause, the following provisions apply to the Municipal Heritage designation for municipally registered properties:

1. Interior of the Structure: Pursuant to S.14(4) of the Heritage Property Act, the municipal heritage designation only applies to the exterior appearance and does not apply in any way to the construction of the interior of your house or the materials used in construction of the interior of your house on your property such as interior layout, interior walls, partitioning or interior fixtures such as furniture, kitchen or bath fixtures or finish treatments. Additionally, heritage designation does not apply to construction materials or construction techniques used in the construction of the exterior walls of the house on your property.
2. Complete or Near Complete Loss From Fire or any Cause: A deregistration process would be initiated by the Municipality.
3. Partial Loss From Fire or Any Cause: If the replacement causes the exterior appearance of the building or structure to be substantially different from the original, a de-registration process would be initiated by the municipality. Please note: For continued heritage designation, the municipality requires only that "like" materials be used on the exterior portion being replaced, otherwise an assessment will determine if enough of the original structure has remained to warrant continued heritage designation.

Given the misunderstanding which may arise for insurance considerations, this information is being provided to clarify that a Municipal Heritage Designation itself should not increase the cost of replacement should damage occur because: 1. The Heritage Designation applies to the exterior appearance only, and 2. the property can be deregistered if warranted.

Accordingly, such stipulation can be included with the "replacement" rider for insurance coverage.