Some Elora residents decry Community Improvement Plan

Progress or preservation?

A proposal for a Centre Wellington Community Improvement Plan (CIP) has drawn the ire of some local residents, while others see it as a much needed step to improve local economic development.

Residents on both sides packed the newly-refurbished council chamber in Elora for a July 21 public meeting on the plan.

Some of the public input received recommended councillors put a halt to the process and go back to the drawing board.

Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj stressed from the outset of the meeting that the CIP “has a very narrow scope.”

“It is not a community improvement plan for the entire community – we have focused on particular areas,” said Ross-Zuj.

She added that a CIP is necessary in order for the municipality to assist investment in the downtown community cores or development areas.

“This process is nowhere near complete,” said Ross-Zuj.

Planner Mariana Iglesias, explained that in August 2013, the township retained Meridian Planning Consultants to develop a CIP. Iglesias said the purpose of the project is to bring several previous community improvement initiatives to completion.

“[The CIP] is primarily an economic development and planning tool which broadly addresses improvements to the urban centres through municipal programs and financial incentives,” Iglesias said.

As such, the plan applies generally “to central business districts, industrial, highway commercial, residential transition and mixed-use areas within the urban centres.”

She added that a public open house and two stakeholder meetings had also been held to get input regarding development of a plan.

Meridian Planning consultant Nancy Reid went through the process, some of the details and the steps towards implementation. She stated the proposed CIP is a strategic and flexible framework for the improvement of public and private property.

It allows the municipality to work with property owners/tenants, developers, investors and entrepreneurs to support a healthy urban centre and to encourage local economic development.

Based on public input, the CIP would be finalized and again presented to council by the end of August.

Reid noted that lands affected by the plan are those within the designated urban centre in the township official plan. She stressed the only way a municipality can provide such grants to private property owners is by having a CIP in place.

If adopted in August, Reid suggested implementation could begin as early as 2015.

Delegations at the July 21 meeting were either strongly opposed to the CIP or in support of the plan.

Elora resident Ian Rankine spoke at length against the CIP, which he says fails to protect the built heritage of Elora.

Rankine did not object to a plan to improve the community, but considered the current proposal too narrow in focus. He said he believes the CIP

should be sent back to staff and the consultants.

Rankine said if the township had followed a policy-driven heritage conservation planning approach with substantive public input, he would not be at the meeting.

“Elora is my home and I or like-minded residents seek to conserve heritage resources,” he said.

Rankine denounced the “closed planning process, an unfriendly senior planning staff and silent councillors … all of which effectively exclude citizens.” He considered it all part of a continuing pattern of failing to keep the public properly and meaningfully informed on important planning matters.

Rankine also took aim at Landmark Development, which is currently in the midst of the Elora Mill redevelopment. He was about to outline objections to the Elora Mill redevelopment proposal, was cut short by the mayor, who reminded him the public meeting was about the CIP – not a specific project.

“There is no specific application in front of council at this time,” Ross-Zuj said.

Rankine contended, “The CIP will target as a priority area, Ross Street, therefore I think I should be permitted to speak on the impact of what is proposed.”

Ross-Zuj said she was not trying to end Rankine’s presentation, “I’m just asking you not to speculate what a specific business is going to do – or not going to do.”

Rankine said he had no plan to do so, but then speculated that the Elora Mill development will result in the demolition of five century-old homes along Ross Street.

He said his objections to the CIP were not a move to delay the Landmark development and he maintained council should instead be looking at “what the honourable thing to do is, and to make it work.”

He contended the priority site targeting approach could have a detrimental effect on Centre Wellington’s heritage areas. Rankine said such targeting creates “an undemocratic, dictatorial, closed mechanism which precludes accountability.”

Elora resident Bob Jackson echoed many of Rankine’s arguments against the CIP.

“I agree with Group of Seven Artist A.J. Casson that Elora is “Ontario’s Most Beautiful Village” and I want to keep it that way,” said Jackson.

He opined that the proposed CIP  poses “a direct and imminent threat to the future of the unique small-town character of Elora.”

He stated the 2012 Culture Matters report revealed that for some of the 800 community citizens surveyed, “preservation of historic and heritage buildings and spaces ranks as the community’s number one cultural priority.”

Jackson added, “But things in Elora are not what they seem; things have changed and not for the better.”

Jackson said the proposed CIP which is not about “improvement” through the protection of heritage landscapes, but rather the “targeting of non-renewable heritage landscapes and their built heritage resources as priority sites for growth, intensification, development and expansion.”

Jackson argued the CIP “is clearly not what its name implies … it really is about is unsustainable, undemocratic and dictatorial growth under the guise of community improvement.”

He said the proposed CIP “is simply unacceptable and the process that is being used to facilitate its approval is equally unacceptable.”

Jackson asked whether the mayor and council intended to “champion this undemocratic [plan] which would create a closed and draconian mechanism for undermining and circumventing our own existing township official plan protection of our heritage resources.”

He asked, “will our mayor and our council do what is right and proper … to ensure that Elora remains ‘Ontario’s most beautiful village’ for the benefit of future generations of citizens and tourists alike?”

Elora resident Daniel Bratton was concerned with the unsettling implications of the CIP and the lack of citizen consultation. He considered this disenfranchising the citizens of Centre Wellington “who are the true stakeholders in the township.”

“We badly need true leadership from the mayor in exploring the substance of the CIP,” said Bratton. He contended the CIP would create a shift in Centre Wellington’s planning process, sidestepping the township’s official plan.

Yet, other segments of the community offered support to the CIP, including members of the business community and Heritage Centre Wellington.

Brian Blackmere, Landmark Group planner/project manager for the Elora Mill project, stated that as a planner, he seen the development of two CIPs, which “gives you great insight into this powerful tool.”

He said the Centre Wellington process is no different than the development of other CIPs.

“The notable difference is the passion and commitment of the stakeholders who were at the meeting,” said Blackmere.

He added the meeting represented members of the public, business owners, heritage-minded people.

“CIPs are a very effective tool and they do act as a catalyst for change” Blackmere said.

“Whether it involves streetscape improvements or sprucing up a facade of a particular building, the effects are very tangible.”

Blackmere suggested that once there is public uptake on the CIP programs, there is a cascade effect with a compounding number of participants taking part.

“It is a very effective tool to rejuvenate a non-performing real estate asset,” he said.

Elora resident Amy Corner said that she and her husband Jackson Burke-Maidlow have read all 72 pages of the CIP and she is very excited about the CIP on a number of levels. She was interested in the potential of buildings looking better on the outside as well as the idea of generating more housing.

“Without question, I am excited about the expansion of our cultural economy,” she said.

She is hearing from fellow residents that there are concerns.

“I don’t know enough about the plans for our heritage buildings as a part of this process,” she said, adding it sounds as if there is not yet a proper plan for those buildings.

Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce president Janet Harrop said as a business organization the chamber supports and has been part of the CIP process since the beginning.

“The chamber recognizes the CIP speaks to barriers to economic growth within the municipality,” she said. “The current economy climate for many of our local businesses is quite dire.”

The chamber recognizes the township has worked quite hard to assist local businesses, she added.

“The CIP is a great starting point and we welcome the CIP,” said Harrop.

She added, “The township of Centre Wellington is demonstrating that it is highly committed to encouraging local investment, job growth and working to support a healthy business environment.”

Area resident George Mochrie spoke on behalf of the Fergus BIA.

“The CIP isn’t new to the Fergus BIA,” he said, adding that a few years ago the BIA started setting money aside for a grant program to match funds from the township to improve facades.

He added the area also has a number of under-utilized second and third stories of heritage buildings.

“For those buildings to remain economically viable and in good condition, the CIP is an important part of preserving our heritage.”

He added “while it may not be a perfect document, it does help small business.”

Kathy Baranski, chair of Heritage Centre Wellington, offered her support of the CIP.

She also considered herself as one of the people working hard over the past decade to preserve the heritage of Centre Wellington – Fergus, Elora and the surrounding township.

“Heritage streetscapes, districts and landscapes help provide a place for our communities,” said Baranski.

She said the business areas of small communities represent their heart and soul and are a reflection of the community’s vitality and heritage.

But she added, “Heritage is not just about  the past. It’s about places, spaces and stories that we value today and want to build on for the future.”

She said the CIP will allow the municipality to provide financial assistance for individuals to renovate or restore significant buildings in the community.

“The heritage committee welcomes this ‘carrot approach’ to ensure our heritage buildings remain in good repair and are not subject to demolition by neglect.”

The CIP should come before council again at its August meeting.

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