Halifax Zoning Board orders site visit before ruling on Paradise Lane teardown

Zoning Board · Meeting of February 9, 2026

Halifax Zoning Board defers ruling on demolition and rebuild at 59 Paradise Lane. The board voted unanimously at its February 9 meeting to conduct an on-site inspection of the property on Saturday, March 7, before acting on petition ZBA-25-14, filed by applicant Nick Baspicas. Civil engineer Michael Edwards of Civil Engineering Associates presented plans to raze a deteriorated 1,100-square-foot lakeside cottage and replace it with a 2,000-square-foot, one-story home with an attached garage, also seeking rear-yard and side-yard setback variances under zoning bylaw Section 167-11.

Board member Gerald Joy argued the project exceeds the bylaw's 50-percent expansion cap for non-conforming structures, which would limit any new footprint to roughly 1,650 square feet, and flagged the attached garage as the element pushing the proposal over that threshold. A neighbor at 52 Paradise Lane told the board the structure has been uninhabitable for years, describing rodent infestations, roof leaks, and failing electrical systems dating back more than a decade. The applicant must also clear a Conservation Commission review before construction can begin, given the property's proximity to the lake.

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Source: the Zoning Board meeting of February 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.