Central Area Community Improvement Plan
The Central Area Community Improvement Plan was approved by Council on their meeting of November 28, 2007 and came into force on January 3, 2008. An amendment came into force on June 16, 2010. This amendment clarified that the Direct Investments/Development Partnerships tool can be used throughout the CIP area, and clarified that several sub-programs can be approved under each main program in the 'toolbox'.
The approved CIP can be found here.
Individual incentive programs are established by way of approval of Implementation Guidelines and corresponding budget.
Development Charges Incentive Program
The Development Charges Incentive Program seeks to support intensification and mixed use development in targeted areas within the Central Area, by providing relief from City Development Charges. The level of DC reduction is established by way of a scoring system. The higher the project scores against the set of criteria (location, preferred type of development, high quality physical environment, community benefit and sustainability) the greater the discount. There is also support for smaller scale adaptive reuse along Queen Street West in the Main Street North area, as well as support for reuse of upper floor space in the historic commercial core. The Implementation Guidelines for the DCIP were approved on November 28, 2007 and came into effect the day the CIP came into force. The guidelines set out the rules, eligibility criteria, process requirements, monitoring and other matters related to the governance of the program.
- The full DCIP Implementation Guidelines are found here.
- A program guide is provided here.
- An application form for the DCIP is available here.
Sign Permit Fee Subsidy Program
The Sign Permit Fee Subsidy Program (SFS) is implemented to support small business owners establishing commercial uses and those wishing to make aesthetic improvements to their businesses in the historic commercial core of the downtown and along Queen Street West and Main Street North. It also seeks to support a general improvement in the quality of signage in the program area. Under the program the permit fee for signs is subsidized for applicants within the program area, provided the signage conforms to the sign by-law and is satisfactory to the City from a design perspective. The rules for the program are found in the Implementation Guidelines.
- The SFS Implementation Guidelines are available here.
- The application form is available here.
Queen Street East Access Management Incentive Program. For information please click here. (This program is currently inactive.)
New Programs
Staff are working on an ongoing basis on preparing new programs under the CIP. City Council has given direction for staff to begin background work on a Real Estate Incentive Program under the Direct Investments/Development Partnership section of the CIP.
Facade Improvement
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