Kincardine’s new draft Community Improvement Plan includes entire municipality

The new draft Community Improvement Plan for the Municipality of Kincardine now includes the entire municipality, not just the Town of Kincardine.

In a presentation to Kincardine council, Wednesday night (Nov. 22), community economic development co-ordinator Cherie Leslie and strategic initiatives manager Lorie Fioze explained their report, pointing out that the new plan also includes a revised downtown area for Ward 1 (Town of Kincardine) and a new area in Ward 3 (Village of Tiverton) which are defined priority project areas and continue to have specific incentives focused on downtown development.

The original Community Improvement Plan, adopted in 2008, focused on downtown Kincardine and supported the implementation of Bruce County’s “Spruce the Bruce” program.

This new plan would replace that one, and builds on a collaboration between the municipality and the county, providing a broader range of incentives that could support more priority areas, including downtown improvements; affordable/attainable housing; industrial, highway commercial and business park development; and the agricultural sector.



Municipality of Kincardine Community Improvement Plan map

Development of the new Community Improvement Plan could help the municipality meet the following objectives:
 

• Focus public attention on local priorities and municipal initiatives
• Target areas in transition or in need of repair, rehabilitation, and redevelopment
• Facilitate and encourage community change in a co-ordinated manner
• Stimulate private sector investment through municipal incentive-based programs

The plan allows municipalities to provide incentives through tax assistance, grants, or loans to assist in the development or rehabilitation of lands and/or buildings within the defined boundaries of a Community Improvement Project Area.

Jeff Loney, economic development manager with the county, has been working with municipal staff to build on the work completed by Pl.ural Consulting and has developed the new Community Improvement Plan that significantly expands the available incentives to provide the municipality with additional programs and tools. It also aligns with the county’s programs.

The major changes in the new plan include:
 

• Incentives are now categorized into three groups based on their common goals.
• The draft plan proposes three areas – downtown Kincardine, downtown Tiverton, and the entire municipality. The downtown Tiverton improvement project area is identified as an additional priority area and will allow, once community branding and façade guidelines are complete, property owners and businesses in downtown Tiverton to become eligible for Spruce the Bruce programs. The improvement project area for the entire municipality will allow the implementation of specific programs in all areas. This change will ensure that businesses outside of the downtown priority areas of Kincardine and Tiverton can access grants intended for tourism, agricultural operations and also support the municipal-led incentives.
• New municipal-led incentives, targeting specific priorities, including downtown improvements, affordable/attainable housing, industrial, highway commercial and business park development.

Downtown Kincardine Community Improvement Plan map



Downtown Tiverton Community Improvement Plan map

The staff recommendation was to seek endorsement from council for the draft Community Improvement Plan which will then go to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for review. A formal public meeting would be required in early 2024 prior to the plan being adopted by council.

“There is a lot to like in this document,” said councillor Mike Hinchberger. “It’s nice to see downtown Tiverton defined as a commercial core. Can that be expanded to highway commercial?”

Leslie said a meeting is slated for Dec. 5 to discuss that designation.

Council directed staff to submit the draft plan to the ministry, and a public meeting will be held in early 2024 prior to the plan coming forward for adoption by council.

To review the draft Community Improvement Plan, click here: pub-kincardine.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=26751