Community invited to provide input on proposed development incentives

The City of Orillia is inviting community members to provide input on a proposed set of financial incentives geared to stimulate development in the City’s core at a workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Orillia City Centre.

“The Downtown Tomorrow Plan recognized the need to increase the number of residents living and working in the city’s core by providing a better range of housing and employment options,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “The financial incentives developed through the Community Improvement Plan will not only attract new development, but will give existing businesses the financial tools they need to expand or improve their current space.”

A Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a tool used by municipalities to offer financial incentives, such as grants and loans to developers, property owners and business tenants in order to encourage downtown, neighbourhood and community revitalization.

A public information session was held in July and garnered input from more than 50 local community and business stakeholders. The project consultant used this feedback to develop design guidelines and financial incentives geared to address Orillia’s unique opportunities and challenges.

“The draft financial incentives reflect the feedback we heard from local business owners, tenants and landlords,” said City of Orillia Senior Planner, Jeff Duggan. “We heard that there is a need for assistance with soft costs associated with development such as feasibility studies, application fees and development charges, as well as support for some types of building improvements.”

There are currently eight different types of financial incentives proposed. The program will be further refined based on feedback received from Council and community stakeholders before returning to Council for final review early in 2016. Within the next revision, the project team will also consider potential budget allocations for implementation of the program.  

Community members interested in learning more about the Downtown Tomorrow CIP are encouraged to attend the second public information session in the Council Chamber at the Orillia City Centre from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. A presentation will begin at 6:15 p.m.  Due to space limitations, registration is required and can be submitted through the project webpage at www.orillia.ca/downtownCIP.

The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.

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Jeff Duggan
Senior Planner
705-325-2171
jduggan@orillia.ca

Dan Landry
Manager of Economic Development
705-325-4884
dlandry@orillia.ca

Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
705-325-8929
705-238-9209 (cell)
jruff@orillia.ca