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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-003-19Clarftwn Planning Services Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: Joint General Government and Planning and Development Committees Date of Meeting: January 7, 2019 Report Number: PSD -003-19 Resolution: JC -024-19 File Numbers: PLN 37.1.1, 37.2.1, 37.3.1, 37.4.1 By-law Number: N/A Report Subject: Community Improvement Annual Report for 2018 Recommendations: 1. That Report PSD -003-19 be received for information; and 2. That all interested parties listed in Report PSD -003-19 and any delegations be advised of this information report. Municipality of Clarington Report PSD -003-19 Report Overview Page 2 The Bowmanville, Orono, and Newcastle grant programs under the Community Improvement Plans continue to be effective incentives for renewal of the downtowns. The Courtice Community Improvement Plan adopted in the fall of 2016 is a tool to encourage high quality higher density development along Highway 2 in Courtice. The focus during 2018 has been implementation of the changes approved in January 2018 from the renewal of the three downtown Community Improvement Plans (CIPs). 1. Background 1.1 Council adopted Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) for Bowmanville and Orono in 2005 and Newcastle in 2008 all of which were reviewed and renewed during 2017 with Council approving amendments in January of 2018. The Courtice Community Improvement Plan was adopted in late 2016, its grant program has been targeted to new development rather than revitalization. 1.2 The Community Improvement Plans allow the Municipality to provide incentives to business and property owners within a specific geographical area with specific grant programs in each urban area in accordance with its Plan. The Orono, Newcastle and Bowmanville CIPs focus on grants for existing buildings to enhance the downtown streetscape and shopping experience. The Courtice CIP focuses on grants that will encourage development and redevelopment of a Regional Corridor, Highway 2. The business and property owners of the different Community Improvement Plan areas are notified via the municipal website, pre -consultations, staff outreach, front counter inquiries and through word of mouth of the Community Improvement Plan programs. CIP Renewal 1.3 The three historic downtown Community Improvement Plans (Orono, Newcastle and Bowmanville) have liaison groups which meet on a quarterly basis. The liaison groups are apprised of issues arising in the area, assist staff in spreading the word about the grant programs and help identify issues to be addressed. The liaison groups provide feedback to staff on the effectiveness of the grant programs and identify concerns of business and property owners who are looking to use the grant programs. 1.4 As part of the review and renewal the liaison groups raised the issue of accessibility and whether grants geared towards merchants rather than property owners could be developed. Accessibility grants were added to the suite of grants as part of the amendments in Report PSD -001-18. Further changes included an increase to the grant values, the ability to obtain grants for a second time (after 10 years has elapsed) and other adjustments to grant values and programs. During 2018 there were numerous inquiries and applications due to pent-up demand. Municipality of Clarington Report PSD -003-19 Page 3 1.5 Developing programs geared to merchants rather than property owners is difficult as public funding is typically provided for physical improvements. Some owners perceive incentives to merchants as an excuse to abdicate responsibility for maintaining their property; most merchants are not willing to make an investment in building refurbishment for properties they do not own. It should be noted signage, building permit fee, upgrade to building code and accessibility grants are available to commercial merchants with the consent of the building owner. 1.6 As a result of the review, Clarington Board of Trade and the Municipality co -hosted a meeting with commercial real estate agents to review the grants and other incentives with them. This was to broaden the knowledge and understanding of the grant programs and their application for owners and tenants. Information sessions were also held with Engineering Services staff; especially the building division; as often the first point of contact by a property owner is when they are applying for a building permit. 1.7 The CIP liaison groups began meeting jointly on a once annual basis in May 2017 to discuss common issues. This process continued in June of 2018 when a workshop on Accessibility was held for the liaison groups and members of the BIAs. 1.8 During 2018 the CIP liaison groups reviewed and updated their terms or reference. New members were recruited as we bid farewell to members who no longer wished to serve. Staff revised the information available on the Municipal website regarding the grant programs. Brochures of each of the grant programs were created and have been distributed to the liaison committee members, BIAs and CBOT. Community Improvement Plan Activity for 2018 1.9 Details of 2018 Activity can be found in Attachment 1. 1.10 24 grants were applied for in 2018. Staff attribute this to the following factors: x Property owners/merchants were awaiting the results of the review; x Many owners/merchants are interested in the accessibility grant; and x Property owners are planning their works for future years in anticipation that they will receive the grants as outlined in the CIP program. Community Improvement Funding 1.11 To date the Municipality has provided funding of $1,017,730 for grants in the three downtowns. Community Improvement Plan grant monies are matched by the property owners or merchants on a 3:1 or 2:1 basis depending on the grant. Some construction projects greatly exceed this ratio. Direct public benefit is realized from the increased municipal and private investments in the form of signage, building code upgrades (e.g. fire code improvements and accessibility) and fagade improvements for aging buildings in our central business areas. In many cases the grants are a minor portion of the overall redevelopment and or reconstruction. It is conservatively estimated that the impact of providing grants to date has spurred well over $3.5 million in investment in the Municipality of Clarington Report PSD -003-19 Page 4 downtowns. Any funds not earmarked for grants in prior years are carried over to the following year. Each CIP has a small amount of carry-over funding from prior years that can be allocated in 2019 in addition to the funding requested in the Planning Services current budget. 1.12 The Courtice Community Improvement Plan will result in much higher grant amounts because of the focus on prompting significant private investment. Grants will be provided for new development and redevelopment of multi-million dollar projects providing new property assessment. The tax increment grants are related to assessment value increases the Municipality would forego for a period of time. The development charge grants are budgeted for annually to meet the anticipated demand for development charges incentives and held in a reserve fund. Given the site plans currently being reviewed by Planning Services Staff the demand for development charge grants will exceed the funding accumulated to date and thus we have budgeted to continue building this reserve. 2. Concurrence Not Applicable. 3. Conclusion There has been good response to the changes made when the CIPs were renewed in January of 2018 and the grant program modifications. Staff updated, revised and created communications materials for all of the CIP areas during 2018. Refresher briefings about the CIP grant programs have been provided for CBOT staff, commercial real estate agents, BIA members, Building and Development Review staff. Advances in social media technology have allowed us to target the CIP areas with specific messaging about the grant programs. Staff have also endeavoured to visit local business operators in their places of business to promote the CIP programs. Submitted by. Faye Langmaid, RPP, FCSLA Acting Director of Planning Services Reviewed by: ZA— Andrew C. Allison, B.Comm, LL.B CAO Staff Contact: Faye Langmaid, Manager of Special Projects x 2407 or flangmaid clarington.net Attachment 1: Community Improvement Plan Summary Report 2018 The following is a list of interested parties to be notified of this report: Bowmanville BIA Liaison groups for Bowmanville, Newcastle and Orono CIPs c/o Faye Langmaid FL/nl Attachment 1 to Report PSD -003-19 Community Improvement Plan Summary Report 2018 Bowmanville The non -capital funding provided to date for implementation of the Bowmanville Community Improvement Plan is $616,000. Just over $455,267 has been expended to date. Eleven grant applications were received in 2018 while none had been received in 2017. Outstanding commitments are $38,205 in grants. Funding of over $122,000 from prior years remains. Many of them have multiple addresses. The grants have been for 33 facades, 16 building code related improvements, 15 building permits, five site plan fees, six reconstruction grants and three accessibility grants. Newcastle The non -capital funding provided to date for implementation of the Newcastle Village Community Improvement Plan is $278,000. Over $207,764 has been expended to date. Nine grant applications have been received in 2018 while one was received in 2017. $33,474 is committed for grants. Funding of over $36,760 from prior years remains. To date 24 properties have been approved for Community Improvement Project grants in the form of 20 facade improvements, 13 signage grants, eight building code grants, three site plan control fee, two accessibility grants and one building permit fee. Many properties have been the benefactors of more than one type of grant Orono The non -capital funding provided to date for implementation of the Orono Community Improvement Plan is $122,000. In addition, funds have been expended on anniversary celebrations, brochures, hall rentals for meetings. Over $99,781 has been paid out in grants. Four grant applications were received in 2018 while one was received in 2017. Over $19,867 is currently committed. Funding of just over $2,350 remains from prior years. To date 24 properties have been approved for the Community Improvement Project grants in the form of 18 facade improvements, 21 signage grants and three building code grants. Some properties have received more than one type of grant. Courtice The non -capital funding provided to date for Courtice is $146,000. The funding has been used for street trees along Highway 2 at Courtice Road, the Tooley Memorial, the lighting at the parkette at Trulls Road and Highway 2 and limited implementation of banners along Highway 2 from Centrefield to Townline Road. Funding of over $109,000 remains from prior years. The Courtice Community Improvement Plan was adopted by Council in late 2016. The grants will focus on providing incentives for increased density and high quality development along Highway 2. There is $190,000 in the reserve to fund DC related grants.