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 2009
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:
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OBJET :
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That Planning
and Environment Committee and Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee recommend 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.
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.
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.
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 has 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 has 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:
- a building addition,
- façade improvement facing a public road,
- construction of a new building, and
- site works including landscaping and signage.
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:
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:
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
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.
ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD CIP PROJECT AREA DRAFT BY-LAW DOCUMENT 1
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
ST. JOSEPH BOULEVARD CIP ADOPTION DRAFT BY-LAW DOCUMENT 2
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. |