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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-10-173 - Amendment to the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan OP10/01/COK/TMW REPORT REPORT TO: Development & Technical Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: November 8, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Interim Director of Planning PREPARED BY: Tina Malone-Wright, Senior Planner (519-741-2765) WARD(S) INVOLVED: Wards 1 and 6 DATE OF REPORT: October 29, 2010 REPORT NO.: DTS-10-173 SUBJECT: AN AMENDMENT TO THE ADAPTIVE REUSE COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN OP10/01/COK/TMW RECOMMENDATION: That an amendment to the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan to extend the deadline date for final building permits, be approved, in the form shown in the ‘Proposed By-law’ dated October 15, 2010, attached to Report DTS-10-173 as Appendix “B”; and further That Staff be directed to undertake a review of the City’s development-related incentive programs and Community Improvement Plans prior to the next City of Kitchener Development Charges Study. BACKGROUND: The Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan (CIP) was approved in 2005. The primary purpose of the plan is to provide a financial incentive, through the form of tax increments, for developments that reuse existing buildings within the Central Neighbourhoods portion of the City (approximately 800m from Downtown and not including the Downtown which already has an incentive program). Section 4.10 of the CIP states that no incentives are to be given out for projects receiving building permits after December 31, 2010. The Plan further identifies that City Council, by amendment to the Plan, can extend the date. As a result, this report considers extending the CIP. REPORT: Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan The Adaptive Reuse CIP was approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on August 26, 2005. The purpose of the Plan is to increase the development attractiveness of our historical, industrial and institutional buildings and more specifically; ïî ó ï to stimulate urban intensification; to retain and conserve Kitchener’s historic built form; to foster an urban culture and lifestyle; to enhance neighbourhood character; to provide financial incentives to assist with the conversion of existing derelict or under utilized buildings to a new use; to provide financial incentives outside of, but within a 10 minute walking distance of Downtown Kitchener; to offer municipal financial incentives to kick-start a marketplace for adaptive reuse or loft-style housing; to ensure that projects which receive grants provide additional community benefits such as accessible public art, accessible industrial artifacts, the conservation of historical architectural features, or the provision of affordable housing; and to develop design guidelines and expectations to ensure adaptive reuse projects contribute positively to the existing neighbourhoods and new construction is complimentary to the surrounding built form. The CIP does this by offering Tax Increment-Based (or equivalent) Grants, referred to as Tax Incremental Grants (TIG). A TIG is a grant based on the difference between the current tax level of a property and the future tax level of the property after completion of the improvements. This tax difference, or increment, is used by the municipality as an incentive to assist in all or part of the development cost by forgoing, for a specified time period, the tax increment in future taxation years. Upon the issuance of an occupancy permit, the City of Kitchener will provide a grant in the form of an annual rebate on City taxes, in an amount equal to 100% of the City Tax Increment. The annual grant will continue for a maximum period of 10 years or until $10,000 per residential dwelling unit has been achieved, or 5% of the Eligible Project Costs has been reached for the office and commercial floor space, whichever comes first. This grant may be provided in addition to the TIG offered under the City’s Heritage Tax Grant Fund, but may not be provided in addition to or in conjunction with the TIG offered through the City’s Brownfield Remediation Program. Five years have almost passed since the adoption of the Adaptive Reuse CIP. Only one project has taken advantage of the financial incentives. In November of 2006 the City entered into an Adaptive Reuse Development agreement with Haastown Holdings to provide a TIG Grant to facilitate the redevelopment of the property at 120 Mansion Street with 58 residential dwelling units. The project is a successful example of reusing a former industrial building. Extension One of the criteria for a project to be eligible for a TIG Grant under the Adaptive Reuse CIP is st that the proposed project will obtain a final building permit between January 1, 2005 and st December 31, 2010. With the end of 2010 fast approaching there are different options that could be considered for this program. If the date for final building permits is not amended prior to the end of the year, the Adaptive Reuse CIP would expire and in order to reestablish the benefits of the program it would require that a new Community Improvement Plan process would have to be undertaken and ultimately readopted. Significant effort went into the consideration and adoption of the program. It is part of Kitchener’s EDGE strategy which is contributing to the high level of interest and redevelopment in the central portion of the city. The continuation of the Adaptive Reuse CIP is desirable given its purpose in increasing the development attractiveness of reusing existing buildings. As a result, staff feels it is appropriate to extend the date for final building permits for several years (until the end of 2013). This may ïî ó î allow for additional projects to consider taking advantage of the TIG Grants and allow more time to analyze not only if the program is still beneficial but if we have enough momentum that it is no longer needed. Extending this CIP is appropriate as it would allow for a more comprehensive review of all development-related City incentive programs and community improvement plans. It is recommended that this occur prior to the next Development Charges Study. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There will be limited financial impacts. Any project approved under the program will be eligible to receive their tax increment as a grant payable back to them over 10 years. Although it would then take longer for the municipality to realize the increased assessment, currently an eligible property would likely have a lower rate than this finished project. Therefore, this program is a mechanism to transition a property to yield a higher assessment. COMMUNICATIONS: Notice of the November 8, 2010 statutory public meeting of the Development and Technical Services Committee was advertised in the Record on October 15, 2010. As required, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs was pre-consulted on the proposed amendment and they advised that they do not have any concerns. No other comments or inquiries were received at the time of finalizing this staff report. CONCLUSION: Staff recommends extending the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan from the end of 2010 to the end of 2013. There was considerable effort invested in creating the plan and this program is part of the broader EDGE strategy that incents successful adaptive re-use projects in Kitchener. The extension of the program will allow for a more detailed review of our development-related incentive programs and community improvement plans to occur over the next several years. REVIEWED BY: Brandon Sloan, Interim Manager Long Range & Policy Planning ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager Development and Technical Services Department List of Attachments Appendix “A” - Newspaper Advertisement Appendix “B” - Proposed By-law dated October 15, 2010 ïî ó í Appendix “A” Advertised in The Record – October 15, 2010 (CITY LOGO - AD PAGE HEADER) PLANNING MATTERS: PROPERTY OWNERS AND INTERESTED PARTIES ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE ADPATIVE REUSE COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN UNDER SECTIONS 17 AND 28 OF THE PLANNING ACT Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan The Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan, which was approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing applies to certain areas within the Inner City (approximately 800 metres from the Downtown), but not including the Downtown. An amendment to the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan is proposed to change the deadline date for final building permits from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2013. The effect of this amendment will allow the continuation of this incentive program for an additional 3 years at which time it will be reviewed again to determine the necessity for municipal financial assistance. Development and Technical Services Committee The public meeting will be held by the , a Committee of Council which deals with planning matters on: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. nd COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 2 FLOOR, CITY HALL 200 KING STREET WEST, KITCHENER. Any person may attend the Public Meeting and make written and/or verbal representation either If a person or public body that in support of, or in opposition to, the above noted proposal. files a notice of appeal of a decision, does not make oral submissions at this public meeting or make a written submission prior to approval/refusal of this proposal, the Ontario Municipal Board may dismiss all or part of a subsequent appeal. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION is available by contacting the appropriate staff person noted below, viewing the report contained in the meeting agenda (available online the Friday afternoon prior to the meeting - www.kitchener.ca, Calendar of Events, click on meeting date), th or in person at the Development and Technical Services Department - Planning Division, 6 Floor, City Hall, 200 King Street West, Kitchener between 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday). Tina Malone-Wright , Senior Planner 519-741-2765 (TTY 1-866-969-9994) tina.malonewright@kitchener.ca ïî ó ì Appendix “B” OCTOBER 15, 2010 BY-LAW NUMBER OF THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF KITCHENER (Being a by-law to amend the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan) WHEREAS Sections 28 and 17 of the Planning Act, R.S.O, 1990 Chapter P.13 as amended, provide for the adoption of a Community Improvement Plan; AND WHEREAS the Council of the Corporation of the City of Kitchener has by By-law th 2005-148, passed on the 4 day of July, 2005 designated certain areas within the Inner City (approximately 800 metres from Downtown), but not including the Downtown, as a Community Improvement Project Area for the purposes of preparing and implementing an Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan; AND WHEREAS a Community Improvement Plan, know as the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan was adopted for the said area by By-law 2005-149, passed on th the 4 day of July, 2005, and modified and approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on August 26, 2005; AND WHEREAS it is deemed desirable to amend the Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan and to apply the plan as amended to the Community Improvement Project Area; NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the City of Kitchener enacts as follows: 1. The Adaptive Reuse Community Improvement Plan adopted by By-law 2005-149 be amended by: a) Revising the final date in Section 4.6.4 as follows: 4. The proposed Project has obtained, or will obtain, final building stst permits between January 1 2005 and December 31, 2013. b) Revising the third paragraph of Section 4.10 as follows: “Section 4.6.4 of this CI Plan notes that no incentives are to be given for projects receiving building permits after December 31, 2013. This does not prevent City Council, by amendment to this plan, from extending this date in the future. It is the intent of this plan that this incentive package be reviewed no less than every 5 years, to determine the necessity for municipal financial assistance.” ïî ó ë PASSED at the Council Chambers in the City of Kitchener this day of , A.D. 2010. ______________________________ Mayor ______________________________ Clerk ïî ó ê