bjbjàà
9. ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN Plan
d'amélioration communautaire du boulevard St-Joseph |
That Council:
1. Enact
a by-law to designate the area shown as Schedule “A” on Document 1 as the St.
Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan Project Area;
2. Enact
a by-law to adopt the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan as
detailed in Document 2 and 3; and
3. Delegate to the General Manager,
Planning and Growth Management the authority to approve Community Improvement
Plan grant applications for which the total combined grant amount does not
exceed $250,000.00, subject to an annual financial reporting to Council.
1. adopte
un règlement municipal visant à désigner la zone illustrée à l’annexe A du
document 1 comme Zone de projet d’amélioration communautaire du boulevard St‑Joseph;
2.
adopte un règlement municipal visant
à adopter le Plan d’aménagement communautaire du boulevard St-Joseph comme il
est défini dans les documents 2 et 3; et
DOCUMENTATION
1. Deputy City Manager of Infrastructure
Services and Community Sustainability report dated 19 December 2009
(ACS2008-ICS-PLA-0003).
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement
and / et
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
19 December 2008 / le 19 décembre 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy
Schepers, Deputy City Manager
Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability
Services d’infrastructure et
Viabilité des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne-ressource :
Richard Kilstrom, Manager/Gestionnaire, Community Planning and
Design/Aménagement et conception communautaire, Planning and Growth
Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
(613) 580-2424 x22653,
Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
|
|
|
|
OBJET :
|
That the Planning and
Environment Committee and the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee recommend Council:
1.
Enact a by-law to designate the area shown as Schedule
“A” on Document 1 as the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan
Project Area;
2.
Enact a by-law to adopt the St. Joseph Boulevard
Community Improvement Plan as detailed in Document 2 and 3; and
3.
Delegate
to the General Manager, Planning and Growth Management the authority to approve
Community Improvement Plan grant applications for which the total combined
grant amount does not exceed $250,000.00, subject to an annual financial
reporting to Council.
Que le Comité de
l’urbanisme et de l’environnement et le Comité des services organisationnels et
du développement économique recommandent au Conseil :
1. d’adopter un règlement
municipal visant à désigner la zone illustrée à l’annexe A du document 1 comme
Zone de projet d’amélioration communautaire du boulevard St‑Joseph;
2. d’adopter un règlement
municipal visant à adopter le Plan d’aménagement communautaire du boulevard
St-Joseph comme il est défini dans les documents 2 et 3; et
3. de déléguer au directeur
général, Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance, le pouvoir d’approuver les
demandes de subvention relatives au Plan d’amélioration communautaire pour
lesquelles le montant total combiné ne dépassera pas 250 000 $, et
qui devront faire l’objet d’un rapport financier annuel déposé devant le
Conseil.
In 2003, the City approved the St. Joseph Boulevard Corridor Study. This study established a framework to guide the form of development adjacent to the street and suggested improvements to the streetscape. The goal of the Corridor Study was to set the stage for future intensification and beautification enhancing the area as a live/work/shop destination and thereby supporting the economy of the area. It led to a comprehensive change to the zoning for the St. Joseph Boulevard corridor that implements the design recommendations in the study. The Corridor Study recommended a series of strategic initiatives including the preparation of a Community Improvement Plan for the area.
The City commenced preparation of the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan in December 2007. The CIP was drafted under the guidance of a Project Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from the Heart of Orleans Business Improvement Area, the Chamber of Commerce, Action Ottawa-Orleans and representatives from the Councillors offices from Wards 1 and 2. The property owners within the study area and the community-at-large were consulted through two public open house meetings.
The goal of the St. Joseph
Boulevard Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is to bolster the economic viability
of the St. Joseph Boulevard area by stimulating development and redevelopment
of privately held property, encouraging land use intensification and the
provision of affordable housing, supporting the establishment of mixed-use
development, and improving site and built-form aesthetics. This is achieved in the CIP through a program
of grant-based financial incentives to landowners that will partially offset a
range of typical development costs. The
CIP does not contain direction for streetscape (public street right-of-way)
improvements.
Other goals of the CIP include:
a)
Reinforcing the St. Joseph
Boulevard area as a central focus for the community;
b)
Strengthening the St. Joseph
Boulevard area as a live / work / play destination;
c)
Encouraging a range of
higher-density housing types including affordable housing units;
d)
Providing employment
opportunities through intensification of commercial and office uses;
e)
Encouraging infill and
mixed-use development;
f)
Assisting in achieving
improved building architecture, site design and site landscaping; and
g)
Helping to provide for an
attractive, safe and pedestrian friendly environment.
The CIP Project Area covers a length of about 4.0
kilometres along St. Joseph Boulevard, extending approximately from Youville
Drive in the west to Prestone Drive in the east. It is comprised of approximately 75 hectares of land and affects
approximately 150 commercial and residential properties fronting on both the
north and south sides of St. Joseph Boulevard as well as properties fronting on
Jeanne D’Arc Boulevard, Place D’Orleans Drive and within portions of the
Cumberland Town Centre area (see Document 1).
The Planning Act requires that Council approve the
Community Improvement Plan Project Area and the Community Improvement Plan
document at a formal public meeting. A
by-law must first be passed that enacts a Community Improvement Plan Project
Area then immediately following the Community Improvement Plan document can be
adopted by by-law. A statutory appeal
period applies after by-law approval.
Best Practices Review
The Planning Act provides for municipalities to
offer financial incentives in the form of loans and grants within approved
Community Improvement Plan project areas.
Staff contacted several other municipalities in Ontario to determine
successes and failures of their respective CIP’s and to identify emerging
trends and best practices. The cities
of Windsor, London, Hamilton, Oshawa, Barrie, Owen Sound, Quinte West, Sudbury,
Gananoque, Brockville and Kingston were contacted.
Most municipalities have incentive programs tailored to
specific circumstances of their particular CIP project area. Certain of them have grant or loan programs
in order to implement require detailed design guidelines. An example of this would be façade
improvement grants that are paid at specified rates depending on the level of
aesthetic improvement achieved. The St.
Joseph Boulevard Corridor Study (2003) does not provide sufficient design
detail to allow the City to offer such performance-based incentive
programs. Also, loan programs were
reported to be costly to administer in terms of staff time compared to the
benefit received from the program and therefore are not recommended for this
CIP.
City staff also consulted extensively with the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and Housing, Kingston office, on draft versions of the
document to draw from their collective experience in reviewing and approving
municipal CIP’s. As a result of the
best practices review, and based on input received from Municipal Affairs and
Housing as well as through public consultation, a set of four grant programs
are recommended for inclusion in the St. Joseph Boulevard CIP.
Four grant programs are recommended for the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan (Document 3). The recommended grant programs have been structured to cover the progression of typical development projects from inception to completion. The financial incentive amounts within each of the grants have been increased slightly to support the construction of new affordable housing units. Affordable housing is defined as housing, either rental or ownership, for which a low or moderate income household pays no more than 30 per cent of its gross annual income. All grants are paid only after site development is completed, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) has reassessed the property and the first year of taxes have been paid in full.
Grant program duration under the CIP is an initial period of five years with an option to extend for up to another five years. Council can extend or cancel the CIP programs at any time (except any approved grant program payments to owners must continue). Changing the CIP by adding new grant programs or by increasing the grant payment amounts must be approved through a formal amendment to the CIP under the Planning Act.
The recommended CIP grant programs are summarized as follows:
1.
Project Feasibility
Study Grant Program
This grant program provides financial
assistance to partially offset the cost of studies that are undertaken to help
determine if a development project is feasible. Studies in this program include, for example, servicing analysis,
market studies, site design and architectural concept designs. This grant would be beneficial to all types
of development from small projects such as façade and site improvement up to
larger projects such as building demolition and site intensification through
redevelopment.
The total overall grant amount for all eligible feasibility studies combined is 25 per cent up to a total overall maximum grant amount of $2,500. The grant amount is increased to 50 per cent of study costs up to $5,000 combined maximum if three or more new affordable housing units are constructed.
3. Development Incentive
Grant Program
This
grant program provides financial assistance to partially offset the cost of
site and building development. Eligible
costs under this program include, for example, building demolition,
construction, energy efficiency (LEED), building permit fees, hard and soft site
landscaping components and signage.
This grant is paid once annually over a maximum 10-year period to a
total overall maximum grant amount of 70 per cent of the eligible on/off site
construction costs or $1,000,000.00 whichever is lower.
The
annual grant amount is equal to 70 per cent of the increase in the municipal
portion of property taxes (tax increment) resulting from constructed
projects. The annual grant amount is
increased to 85 per cent of eligible on/off site construction costs if three or
more new affordable housing units are to be constructed.
4. Building Permit Fee
Grant Program
This
grant program provides financial assistance to partially offset the cost of
building permit fees. The grant amount
is equivalent to 30 per cent of building permit fees. This cost is then included as an “eligible cost” within an
approved Development Incentive Grant.
Through the Development Incentive Grant up to 70 per cent of the 30 per
cent (maximum 21 per cent of permit cost) may be reimbursed.
The grant maximum percentage is increased to 40 per cent of building permit fees if three or more new affordable housing units are constructed. Through the Development Incentive Grant up to 85 per cent of the 40 per cent (maximum 34 per cent of permit cost) may be reimbursed.
The total combined grant maximum amount per property, for all CIP grants combined, is 70 per cent of the eligible on/off site construction costs or $1,000,000.00, whichever is lower. The total combined maximum grant amount is increased to 85 per cent of the eligible on/off site construction costs or $1,000,000.00 whichever is lower, if three or more new affordable housing units are constructed.
All grant programs are structured such that payment occurs following construction of a project, property reassessment by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation has occurred and the first year of post-reassessment taxes have been paid. Issuing payments after construction ensures that the City, through its investment in the four grant programs, has resulted in an actual project that benefits the community and allows time for project-related tax increment revenues to be received by the City.
The grants are not a direct
rebate of taxes paid. However, in the
case of the Development Incentive Grant, the maximum annual grant amount is
based on a percentage of the increase in the municipal portion of tax payment
(increment) post-development as compared to pre-development. Using
the tax increment amount as a guide provides a reasonably consistent mechanism
of determining grant payment amounts that reflect actual improvements carried
out on a property. This approach also
has the advantage of providing a sliding scale for grant calculations - smaller
projects typically have a lower increase in assessed value, a smaller tax
increment amount, and generally would receive smaller grants. Larger projects have a higher increase in
assessed value, a larger tax increment amount, and would generally receive
larger grants. Sample grant payment
calculations for residential and commercial development projects are set out in
Document 4.
The following summarises the general requirements of the CIP:
· All owners of private properties in the CIP Project Area can apply for grant programs for all types of land use. Only one grant per grant type, per property (including coordinated development projects) is permitted.
· CIP grants may be given for projects resulting in one or more of:
- a building addition,
- façade improvement facing a public road,
- construction of a new building, and
- site works including landscaping and signage.
· All CIP grants are only paid after project construction, property reassessment by MPAC has occurred, and the first year of tax payment is made in full.
· Maximum combined total grant payment amount resulting from all CIP grant programs, including applicable Brownfields CIP grants, cannot exceed 70 per cent (85 per cent if three or more affordable housing units are constructed) of eligible project costs, or $1,000,000.00, whichever is lower.
· In order for a CIP application to be processed and a grant payment made, the projected total overall grant amount per grant type must be at least $1,000.00.
· In order for a CIP grant payment to be made there must be a minimum $10,000.00 increase in post-construction assessed property value. An estimate of the increase in assessed property value must be provided as part of an application for a Development Incentive Grant.
· All CIP grants are subject to an agreement signed by the owner and registered on the title of the property to which they apply. If an applicant has received approval for a Project Feasibility Study Grant and/or a Planning Application Fee Grant, the related requirements and grant payment amounts would form part of the legal agreement prepared for a Development Incentive Grant and Building Permit Fee Grant.
To streamline the approvals process, it is recommended that Council delegate to the General Manager, Planning and Growth Management, approval of grant applications with a total payment amount equal to or less than $250,000.00. All grant applications with a total payment amount greater than $250,000.00 would be brought to Committee and Council for consideration. Final approval of all new grants would be contingent on Council approving the first year of grant payment at the time of annual City budget approval. Note however that once a grant application is approved and an agreement is entered into between the City and the applicant, the City is obliged to continue annual grant payments as set out in the agreement.
As part of the grant capital budget approval process, staff will prepare and bring forward to Council for information an annual monitoring report on the performance of the CIP setting out, for example:
· The number and type of grant applications,
· The increase in assessed value and taxes paid for participating properties,
· Projected and actual grant payment amounts,
· Number of residential units / area of commercial space constructed,
· Estimate of jobs created / maintained.
Ottawa Brownfields Community
Improvement Plan
Council approved the
Brownfields CIP on April 22, 2007. The
Brownfields CIP provides financial assistance for the redevelopment of
contaminated sites. Since approval,
several applications have been processed under this program. The proposed St. Joseph Boulevard CIP is
modelled on the Brownfields CIP in terms of general content and structure, but
its grant programs have been tailored to meet needs specific to the St Joseph
Boulevard community context. Highlights
of the key differences between the Brownfields CIP and the proposed St. Joseph
Boulevard CIP are as follows:
· For the Development Incentive Grant (Rehabilitation Grant in the Brownfields CIP) the annual grant payment amount is 70 per cent rather than 50 per cent of the municipal tax increment (85 per cent where three or more affordable housing units are constructed).
·
The overall combined maximum payment for all grants per
property is 70 per cent rather than 50 per cent of eligible project costs
(85 per cent where three or more affordable housing units are constructed) and
is capped at $1,000,000.00 maximum (including any Brownfields CIP grant
amounts).
· The property must have a minimum increase of $10,000.00 in post-construction assessed value in order for grant payments to be made.
· The projected overall grant payment per grant type must be greater than $1,000.00 in order for a grant application to be processed and paid.
A public open house meeting was held on May 27, 2008 to introduce the proposed project composition and schedule and to present the preliminary Community Improvement Plan project area boundary and preliminary financial incentive programs. A second public open house meeting was held on September 24, 2008 to present a full draft copy of the CIP document including the proposed CIP project area boundary and four financial incentive programs. The meetings were generally well attended and a very positive response to the proposed CIP was received from residents and business owners.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:
Staff will prepare application guidelines and application forms for each of the CIP grants subject to Council approving them by adopting the St. Joseph Boulevard CIP by by-law. A standard agreement will be prepared with the assistance of Legal Services staff. If Council approves the CIP early in 2009 it is anticipated that the first agreements would be registered in 2010 and the first grant payments would be made in 2011 or 2012 (after site development and tax payment).
Grant payments are to be made
following construction and payment in full of the first year of taxes. Grant payments will also not be made unless
the minimum specified increase in assessed value of the property has occurred. These requirements reduce interim financial
pressure on the City, help to ensure that substantive work has been undertaken
on the property and eliminate the risk of grant payments being made that have
not led to actual project construction.
The capital requirement for both the
Development Incentive Grant Program and the Building Permit Fee Grant Program
is to be funded from the city-wide capital reserve fund, calculated at the
rates for each grant program as approved in the CIP (based on the municipal tax
increment resulting from properties participating in the program). The Project Feasibility Study Grant Program
and the Planning Fee Grant Program are also to be funded from the city-wide
capital reserve fund, calculated based on retaining the remaining amount of
the municipal tax increment amount resulting from properties participating in
the Development Incentive Grant Program.
A “St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan Revolving Fund”
capital account (CIP Revolving Fund) will be established as the operating
account for the life of CIP grant programs.
If approved, grant applications equal to
or less than $250,000.00 are to be approved by the General Manager, Planning
and Growth Management. Grant
applications that exceed $250,000.00 will be brought forward to Council for
approval through a staff report to Committee.
All grant program capital requirements will be identified individually
at annual budget time as strategic initiatives and as such will be subject to approval
by Council as part of the usual City budget process. Note
however that once a grant application is approved and an agreement is entered
into between the City and the applicant, the City is obliged to continue annual
grant payments as set out in the agreement.
All approved CIP grants are to be paid
only after project construction, reassessment by the Municipal Property
Assessment Corporation, and the first year post-reassessment taxes are paid in
full. This will ensure that the funds
transferred into the CIP Revolving Fund are directly as a result of the
incremental tax dollars realized from constructed CIP projects. Money transferred to the Revolving Fund
resulting from an approved CIP project may however be used to provide grant
payments to another approved CIP project.
Grant programs may also be funded from seed funding and subsequent
top-up funding as may be brought forward by staff for consideration of
Council.
There are no direct financial
implications as a result of this report.
Requests for funding will be included in the annual budget process or as
separate reports as required. There is
no requirement for additional staff in the Planning and Growth Management
Branch to implement the CIP. However, the Financial
Services Branch has advised that it may require additional staff resources to
respond to increased workload related to community improvement plans as well as
to other project initiatives that are being brought forward by the
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability Department.
Motion 26/37
passed by Council in December 2007 requires that $500,000.00 be allocated to
streetscape corridor improvements identified in the St. Joseph Boulevard CIP
(once approved). Motion 26/38 requires
that Motion 26/37 be referred to Planning and Environment Committee at the time
the CIP comes forward to that Committee.
The CIP now before Committee cannot be used as a basis to implement
Motion 26/37 since the recommended CIP affects only private property and does
not contain provisions for streetscape design improvements.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
Planning and Growth Management staff will receive and administer grant applications and take the lead role in liaison with applicants through the grant review and approval process. Staff will also identify for consideration by Council through a CIP monitoring report, the annual budget requirement for each anticipated CIP grant and will identify the overall anticipated CIP grant amounts in the Long Range Financial Plan.
For the first year of each approved grant, the budget pressure amount will be based on the approved percentage of the estimated tax increment amount as provided by the applicant at the time of initial grant application. The actual grant payment amount in the first year will be based on the lower of the estimated or actual tax increment amounts. In all subsequent years grant amounts will be calculated based on the actual municipal incremental tax amount. The Revenue Division of the Financial Services Branch will take the lead role in reviewing estimates of increase in assessment, calculating annual grant payment amounts and for transferring appropriate funds into the CIP Revolving Fund. Financial Services Unit staff will be responsible for issuing grant payments and for tracking totals paid under each grant program.
Document 1 St. Joseph Boulevard CIP Project Area Draft By-law
Document 2 St. Joseph Boulevard CIP Adoption Draft By-law
Document 3 St. Joseph Boulevard CIP (distributed separately and on file with City Clerk)
Document 4 Sample
CIP Grant Payment Calculations
Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability Department to prepare implementing by-laws and forward to Legal
Services Branch.
Legal Services to forward implementing by-laws to City Council.
Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability Department to implement the Community Improvement Plan.
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability Department to prepare an annual Community Improvement Plan grant monitoring report to Council.
DOCUMENT 1
ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD CIP PROJECT AREA DRAFT BY-LAW
BY-LAW NO. 2009 - ____
A
by-law of the City of Ottawa to
designate a part of the area covered by the Official Plan for the City of
Ottawa as the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Project Area.
WHEREAS pursuant to Section 28 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990. c. P.13, City Council may designate the whole or any part of an area covered by an Official Plan as a community improvement project area;
AND WHEREAS the 2003 St. Joseph Boulevard Corridor Study approved by Council directed the implementation of a Community Improvement Plan for St. Joseph Boulevard;
AND WHEREAS on ________,
2009 Planning and Environment Committee recommended the designation of part of
the area covered by the Official Plan to be a community improvement project
area;
AND WHEREAS on ________, 2009, City Council carried the recommendations of Planning and Environment Committee;
THEREFORE the Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:
1. The following area is designated as the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Project Area:
(1) the land illustrated on Schedule “A” to this by-law is hereby designated as a community improvement project area.
2. This by-law shall come into force in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended.
ENACTED AND PASSED this __ day of ________, 2009.
CITY CLERK MAYOR
DOCUMENT 2
ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD CIP ADOPTION DRAFT BY-LAW
BY-LAW NO. 2009 -
_______
A by-law of the City of Ottawa to adopt the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan.
WHEREAS pursuant to Section 28 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990.
c. P.13,
City Council may, where
it has passed a by-law designating the whole or any part of an area covered by
an Official Plan as a community improvement project area, adopt a plan as a
community improvement plan for the community improvement project area;
AND WHEREAS Council has convened public meetings to consider the
adoption
of the St. Joseph
Boulevard Community Improvement Plan;
AND WHEREAS on __________, 2009 Planning and Environment Committee
recommended the
adoption of the St. Joseph Boulevard Community Improvement Plan;
of Planning and
Environment Committee;
THEREFORE the Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:
1. Attachment 1, being the St. Joseph
Boulevard Community Improvement Plan is hereby adopted.
2. This by-law shall come into force in
accordance with the provisions of the
Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended.
ENACTED AND PASSED this ____th day of ________, 2009.
CITY CLERK MAYOR
SAMPLE CIP
GRANT PAYMENT CALCULATIONS DOCUMENT 4
Development
Type
|
New Retail Store |
Office Expansion |
Multi-Unit Residential (Affordable Housing) |
Feasibility
Study Grant Program |
Maximum
grant = $2,500 |
Maximum
grant = $2,500 |
Maximum
grant = $5,000 |
Planning Application Fee
Grant Program |
Zoning
By-law Amendment: $6,200 Site
Plan Approval: $4,796
$10,996 $10,996 x 25% = $2,749 max. grant |
Minor
Variance: $880 $880
x 25% = $220 max. grant |
Site
Plan Approval: $15,646 Plan
of Condominium: $10,360
$26,006 Upset
grant amount = $10,000 |
Development
Incentive
Grant And
Building
Permit Fee Grant Program |
Total
Eligible Costs $1,792,830 (construction,
permit fees, etc.) Increase
in Assessment: $843,000 Municipal
Tax Increment: $16,848 Maximum
annual grant payment is 70% of tax increment = $11,794 Total
grant over 10 years = $117,940 |
Total
Eligible Costs $140,000 (construction,
permit fees, etc.) Increase
in Assessment: $21,790 Municipal
Tax Increment: $3,114 Maximum
annual grant payment is 70% of tax increment = $2,179 Total
grant over 10 years = $21,790 |
Total
Eligible Costs $2,846,000 (construction,
permit fees, etc.) Increase
in Assessment: $742,480 Municipal
Tax Increment: $87,351 Maximum
annual grant payment is 85% of tax increment = $74,248 Total
grant over 10 years = $742,480 |
Totals
|
Feasibility
Study Grant $2,500 Planning
Fee Grant $2,749 Dev.
Incentive Grant $117,940 Overall Total Grant $123,189
|
Feasibility
Study Grant $2,500 Planning
Fee Grant $ 220 Dev.
Incentive Grant $21,790 Overall Total Grant $24,510
|
Feasibility
Study Grant $5,000 Planning
Fee Grant $10,000 Dev.
Incentive Grant $742,480 Overall Total Grant $757,480
|
Notes |
Dev.
Incentive Grant amount will fluctuate annually with changes in municipal
taxes. All
examples are under the overall maximum grant amount of the lower of 70% / 85%
of Eligible Costs and $1,000,000 All
examples would be paid over a ten-year period. |