Verona chosen for pilot community improvement plan

Jeff Green | Nov 25, 2010

One of the goals that was identified by the Frontenac County Integrated Community Sustainability Plan last year was the improvement of the economic viability of some of the larger population centres in the county.

The Ontario Planning Act makes provisions for Community Improvement Plans (CIP), which, when completed, can enable municipalities to provide financial assistance in a variety of ways to help communities achieve the goals that are identified in the plans.

This past summer, FoTenn Consultants of Ottawa were chosen by Frontenac County to look at the communities in the county, and to recommend one community to have the first plan prepared for it.

“We needed to find one place that had the best chance for success to start off with,” FoTenn’s Mike Keene told Frontenac County Council last week. “Verona had that mix, and it has a fair number of businesses that were responsive when we did our consultations.”

FoTenn considered a number of communities for the pilot project, including Marysville (Wolfe Island) Inverary, Sydenham, Bellrock, Verona, Sharbot Lake, Arden, Parham, Mountain Grove and Plevna.

In the report that accompanied the FoTenn recommendation, all of the communities were analysed, but only Marysville, Harrowsmith, Sydenham, Sharbot Lake and Verona “have the attributes that make them plausible candidates for the pilot project,” according to Frontenac County sustainability planner Joe Gallivan. That is because they have distinct commercial, institutional, public and residential activities.

According to Mike Keene, the other communities that were identified “can still benefit from a CIP, but likely one that is focussed on municipal improvement projects such as unique signage and other infrastructure improvements.

“Verona offers the most diverse and unique commercial base while still being located on a single road. Verona contains the most households and acts as a hub for the surrounding rural area. The Farmers’ Market is unique to Verona, drawing people from the greater community and Verona contains one of the largest employers in the county,” Keene said.

Because Verona is built around one street (Main Street) the Verona plan will be transferable to other communities.

Municipal initiatives that can result from a Community Improvement plan include – street infrastructure and streetscapes, green energy, land assembly, park improvement, and affordable housing. Incentives for private sector projects can also result, in areas such as: façade improvement, feasibility/design sturdy grants, building interior improvements, heritage grants, reduced municipal fees, Brownfield incentives, property tax reductions and tax increment financing.

“I’ll admit that I’m a bit jealous that Verona has been chosen,” said Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski, “but I see from all the analysis that has been done that it is a good fit for a pilot project, and I think it will be very interesting to see how the plan develops and how it can be adapted for other communities.”

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire addressed Mike Keene, saying, “I too think Verona is a good choice. I see that Plevna was rejected as too small and divided, suggesting that a township-wide plan might be more in order. Do you plan to pursue that?”

“There is an entire set of communities that I would classify as small communities that have excellent community support but not a lot of businesses. One of my recommendations as this project continues is to look at plans that take on broader regions,” Keene responded.

South Frontenac Township will have to agree to participate in the plan, and an amendment to the South Frontenac Official Plan will be necessary in order for the Verona CIP to be able to generate municipal funding and/or incentives.