A study by the Town of Ajax recommends that all large redevelopment projects in its Downtown and Pickering Village Community Improvement Plans (CIP), be discontinued.
It suggests that these be replaced by financial incentives to owners to improve their properties, said a town statement.
Ajax has two Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) – the Downtown Community Improvement Plan (DCIP) that came into effect in 2005, and the Pickering Village Community Improvement Plan (PVCIP), which came into effect in 2013.
Both CIPs were developed to encourage and facilitate appropriate redevelopment projects in their respective CIP areas by offering financial incentives to eligible development projects, said the statement.
Funding concerns
There has been considerable development interest across Ajax, including in both CIP areas, over the last several years. This has led to questions about the necessity of the CIPs for attracting new development and concerns about the level of financial support required from the town to support new developments in the CIP areas, the statement said.
It pointed out that in response, the majority of programs within the DCIP and PVCIP (including all major redevelopment programs) were temporarily suspended in 2019/20 and staff were requested to conduct a fulsome review of the CIPs to consider their future.
In 2023, town staff unveiled a plan to permanently discontinue all large redevelopment programs in both CIPs and replace them with financial incentive programs designed to assist property owners in improving their existing properties, the statement said.
If this new proposal is approved, the DCIP will be equipped with three programs and the PVCIP will be equipped with five programs, as follows:
Downtown CIP
- Municipal Property Acquisition, Investment & Partnership Program
- Commercial Property Accessibility and Beautification Grant Program
- Patio Grant Program
Pickering Village CIP
- Façade Improvement Program
- Sign Grant Program
- Interior Renovation Grant Program
- Patio Grant Program
- Cash-in-Lieu of Parking Equivalency Grant Program
The town has scheduled two Public Open House sessions for those interested in learning more about the proposed amendments. Each session will include a half-hour presentation describing the proposed amendments, followed by a one-hour discussion period. The sessions are scheduled for the following times:
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 2 pm at Ajax Town Hall – River Plate Room – 65 Harwood Avenue South, and at 7 pm the same day at Quaker Meeting House – 457 Kingston Road West.