Departments - Town of Yarmouth

STREET ADDRESS: 37 Alma Street

CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE: Yarmouth

MUNICIPALITY: Yarmouth

COUNTY: Yarmouth

YEAR BUILT: 1889

ARCHITECTURAL COMMENT:

Greek Revival in style, this is a one and a half storey building of wood construction. The asymmetrical two bay facade has an off centered doorway. The medium pitched gable roof has return eaves and one chimney discreetly placed at the peak. The windows are two over two double hung with narrow hoods above. A three sided bay and shed roof dormer are found on the west side. An entabliture is found above the main entrance. Decorative brackets trim the entabliture and the bay window. The house is clad in narrow wooden clapboard and trimmed with cornerboards and a wide frieze, a gable roof ell extends to the east. The exterior foundation is of brick.

HISTORICAL COMMENT:

This house is believed to have been built between 1885 and 1890 for Captain Ebenezer Scott, although it appears Captain Scott did not reside here. The directory for 1890 shows William H. Brackett living here. Mr. Brackett was a barber and hairdresser with his shop on Main Street. In 1895 John Maden, a tailor and presser was living here. The house was later owned by Mr. & Mrs. Edward Thurston. The Thurston's also owned for some time what is now 35 Alma Street and it is unclear whether they rented this property or not. Edward J. Thurston was the son of William and Lilia Corning. For many years he was employed by the Town but for most of his career he was self-employed. The most recent owners have been the Robbins. James C. Robbins was employed as a clerk for E.K. Spinney Ltd. who were whole sale and retail dealers in hardware. Later he worked for the Villa St. Joseph in their business office.

CONTEXTUAL COMMENT:

This house sits on its original site on the South east corner of Alma and Thurston Streets. Narrow lawns and hedge surround the buildings.

PRESENT OWNER: Alice C. Robbins

ADDRESS: 37 Alma Street Yarmouth, N.S.

ORIGINAL OWNER: Ebenezer Scott

OCCUPATION: Master Mariner

BUILDER: James G. Baker

ORIGINAL USE: Residential

PRESENT USE: Residential

HISTORY OF BUILDING
OWNER	FROM:	TO:	OCCUPATION	BOOK-PAGE
Ebenezer Scott	Apr. 25 1885	May 11 1901	Master Mariner	BL 639
James & Eva Jenkins	May 11 1901	Oct. 6 1906	Clerk	CI 793
Edward L. & Annie E. Thurston	Oct. 6 1906	Apr. 1 1908	Truckman	CR 924
James M. & Maggie M. Pendrigh	Apr. 1 1908	June 29 1928	Engineer	CU 195
Edward L. & Annie E. Thurston	June 29 1928	Feb. 8 1944	Truckman	DZ 481
Paul J. Thurston (etal.)	Feb. 8 1944	Apr. 1 1944	Heirs of Edward Thurston	Will #5531
Annie L. Dane	Apr. 1 1944	Sept. 23 1947	Widow	ET 197
James C. & Alice C. Robbins	Sept. 23 1947	June 13 1986	Clerk	EY 449
Alice C. Robbins	June 13 1986	N/A	Medical Secretary	N/A

COMMENTS ON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:

On April 1, 1944, this property was purchased by the recently widowed Annie Laurie Dane, whose husband had drowned on March 1, age 41, after his boat was swamped in a tide-rip in the Tusket Islands. Fred Dane was well known as a lobster producer-operator and had run and extensive business at Ellenwood Island for several years. At the time of his death, the family had resided in a larger house on William Street, but Annie and her three children moved here within a few weeks after her husband's untimely death. Yarmouth Times, Jan. 1, 1890: "Building in 1889" (a list of buildings constructed in the previous year) "Capt. Eben Scott, house on Alma Street, J.G. Baker, builder."

SOURCES: Registry of Deeds (Yarmouth) Yarmouth Directories (1890)(1895) Yarmouth Directory (1949) Interview with Mrs. Alice Robbins (Oct. 23, 1991) Yarmouth Times, Jan. 1, 1890

blue house in winter

The Town of Yarmouth and our residents share responsibility for clearing away snow and keeping our streets and sidewalks safe.

Snow is loaded and hauled away at intersections throughout the town when the snow banks impede the vision of vehicular traffic. Our team also removes snow from crosswalks in the immediate vicinity of schools within the town to ensure that pedestrians can see (and be seen)!

The town also removes snow from the front of retail businesses on Main Street, running from Parade Street to Argyle Street. Snow will be removed from Main Street once the snow banks have reached a height of 24" above the adjacent sidewalk, and the clear walking width of sidewalks has been reduced to 1.5 meters or less.

For the downtown business district on Main Street between Parade Street and Forest Street, we normally remove snow at night between 12:00 a.m. and 7 a.m., Monday to Friday, as time permits. This is done after storm cleanup operations have been completed on roads, sidewalks and parking lots. Besides Main Street, this service also includes:

Collins Street
John Street (Main Street to Second Street)
Cliff Street (Main Street to Kirk Street)

As for the front of retail businesses located on Main Street between Forest and Argyle Streets, snow removal is normally done during regular working hours, Monday to Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Your Responsibilities

Except for the areas that we outlined earlier, you are responsible for removing all snow and ice:

from any sidewalk which abuts any side of your property
from any pathway leading from a sidewalk abutting your property to the roadway
between any sidewalk abutting your property and a crosswalk

You’re also responsible for laying down salt or sand when needed, as well as clearing out potentially dangerous icicles. For more details on your responsibilities, see our pdf Streets and Sidewalks By-law (174 KB) .

Fire Hydrants

Whenever snow begins to accumulate to levels where the operation of hydrants becomes difficult or they are buried entirely, they will be shovelled out. This normally occurs once clean-up after a storm has been completed.

Snow Dumps

There are four locations within the Town of Yarmouth where snow is taken for disposal after removal:

Clements Avenue (off Starrs Road)
Adjacent to Terry's Rentals (off Forest Street)
Clements Avenue (off Parade Street)
Old Sweeney's slipway (adjacent to Lobster Rock Wharf)

blue house in winter

Winter is a challenging time of year when our team works hard to keep Yarmouth's streets and sidewalks reasonably clear of snow. On this page, we'll take a look at our plowing operations, and what they mean for you.

After the plow goes by, driveways are generally filled with snow. We take no responsibility for removing snow from any driveway due to snow clearing operations. Similarly, we take no responsibility for repairing fences, hedges, mailboxes, lawns, etc. which are damaged as a result of plowing streets and sidewalks if they've been erected too close to the sidewalk or street (i.e. within the public right-of-way width). We encourage homeowners to keep that portion of their lawn (and the walkway adjacent to the sidewalk) at the same level as the sidewalk.

Winter Parking

The Traffic Authority for the Town establishes temporary winter parking regulations between December 1st and March 31st (inclusive of the following year). Any vehicle interfering with snow removal or winter maintenance activities is subject to ticketing and/or removal. Any associated costs are the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle. The Traffic Authority may authorize towing of those vehicles for the Town of Yarmouth, which assumes no responsibility for damages to vehicles left within the public right-of-way during winter snow clearing operations.

For guidelines on parking your car in the winter, check out the PDF attachment at the bottom of this page. Be sure to look for updated signage around town in the winter, and drive safe!

When Does Plowing Start?

Plowing of the streets begins after an accumulation of 10 cm of snow, depending upon the conditions (i.e. wet snow, drifting, and at the discretion of the Public Works Department). It will continue until the storm has subsided. Under ideal circumstances, we will wait until after a storm has subsided before plowing, normally in the early morning hours. For blizzards or high-wind storms, plowing will not commence until the storm has subsided.

Sidewalks

After the streets have been plowed, our team focuses on clearing the sidewalks. This generally starts only after a storm has abated, and sidewalks are not plowed if blustering or drifting conditions exist. Sidewalks on main thoroughfares and around schools, the hospital, and other institutions are typically completed before we start working on side streets. After they've been plowed, the sidewalks may be sanded as required due to slippery conditions. However, not all sidewalks are cleared by the town! For more information, go to Snow Removal.

Keep It Clean!

Any private contractors who are plowing snow onto and across public streets and/or sidewalks from private driveways and parking lots (and which causes an obstruction or encumbrance to the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic) shall be warned once. Any further offences will result in a summary offence ticket under our pdf Streets and Sidewalk By-law (174 KB) .

pdf Winter Parking Regulations (92 KB)

construction

From sheds and decks to large structures, any development within the Town of Yarmouth requires a municipal development permit. You can find the application form for development permits on our Permits, Applications, and Licences page, along with checklists that show how to get things moving!

If the Development Officer declines to issue a permit, you have the right to appeal to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Any subdivision of land requires approval, including any additions or deletions of any area of land from a lot. Learn more at Subdivision Services.

Zoning Confirmation

The Development Officer will provide a signed zoning confirmation letter certifying the zoning for any identified parcel of land. It's important to note that these letters only relate the property to the pdf Land Use By-Law (14.48 MB) at a specified period in time. As the Land Use By-law is subject to change, these letters only represent a snapshot of a particular moment in time. Be sure to check with the Planning and Development Office prior to any development project.

Variance Applications

If you've applied for a Development Permit for an addition or new building, but aren't able to meet the setback requirements as specified in the pdf Land Use By-Law (14.48 MB) , you may qualify for a variance. You'll need to fill out a pdf variance application (1.35 MB) .

The variance application costs $50 and does not expire. If the variance is approved, letters are sent to adjacent property owners within 30 meters of the subject property to notify them of the variance. Property owners who receive notice have 14 days, from the day of receiving the notice, to appeal to Town Council. If refused, the variance applicant has 7 days from the day of receiving the refusal to appeal to Town Council. pdf Variance Process (116 KB) .

Legislative Authority

Here are the laws that underpin our Development Services policies:

pdf Land Use By-law (14.48 MB)
pdf Municipal Planning Strategy (4.50 MB) , Town of Yarmouth
Municipal Government Act, Chapter 18, Acts of 1998

Keep in mind that the National Building Code is only a minimum set of standards. Our inspections are not a substitute for the care you would normally take if you were doing the work for yourself or when hiring a contractor to complete your project.