Community Improvement Plan (Brownfields)
PLAN DOWNLOAD
Download the brownfields Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for the City's Inner Harbour/North Block and 'Block D' areas.
[PDF 9MB]
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The following is the Introduction to the Community Improvement Plan for brownfields located in Kingston's Inner Harbour and North Block Central Business District and along Ontario Street in the Block D area. The full plan can be downloaded using the link at right.
A Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a tool that allows a municipality to direct funds and implement policy initiatives toward a specifically defined project area. Section 28 of the Planning Act gives municipalities that have enabling policies in their official plans, the ability to prepare Community Improvement Plans. The Community Improvement Plans are intended to encourage rehabilitation initiatives and/or stimulate development. Once implemented, the plan allows municipalities to provide tax assistance, grants or loans to assist in the rehabilitation of lands and/or buildings within the defined Community Improvement Project Area.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this CIP is to facilitate the implementation of the City of Kingston's Brownfields Program, and its key financial components. The Program will provide tax assistance and grants for the rehabilitation of environmentally compromised land and/or buildings through an appropriate Remedial Work Plan.
The City's Brownfields Program (originally presented as the ERASE document) was first approved in principle by City Council on June 10, 2003. The success of the Program depends on the financial incentives, which are to be implemented through a CIP grant program adopted pursuant to Section 28 of the Planning Act.
RATIONALE
At its meeting of June 25, 2002, City Council passed a resolution approving "the formation of a task force to review and develop a strategy for the remediation and redevelopment of lands affected by Brownfields." The membership of the task force included two (2) members of Council, two (2) property owners, and a total of seven (7) representatives drawn from such agencies as Queen's University, the Royal Military College, the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO), the Kingston Environmental Advisory Forum (KEAF), the Downtown BIA Board of Management, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
The Task Force began its work at a meeting held on August 22, 2002, and continued to meet some seventeen (17) times over the course of 2002 and the spring and summer of 2003. The Task Force identified the expanded Community Improvement Area recommended for the Official Plan that was adopted by City Council in 2004. It also discussed potential sites where brownfields might apply, and most importantly, reviewed the City's Brownfields Program elements and components. The Brownfields Program recommended by the Task Force was approved "in principle" by City Council at its meeting of June 10, 2003 and has been incorporated by this Community Improvement Plan.
The City of Kingston Brownfields Task Force adopted a very wide scope for its discussion and defined 'brownfields' very broadly as "abandoned, idle or underused industrial or commercial properties in built-up urban areas where expansion or development is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination, building deterioration/obsolescence, and/or inadequate infrastructure."
The City has a number of properties that have been or may be impacted by former industrial or commercial uses and may be contaminated as a result of these former activities. These properties are either vacant or under-utilized and in some cases may be abandoned. There are concerns over their environmental liability, the stigma attached to the former use, and/or the financial costs for site rehabilitation.
Brownfield sites are often strategically located in the core areas of cities, with access to existing infrastructure and services, and often in close proximity to water and other transportation networks. Left abandoned or vacant, brownfield sites represent lost property tax revenue, lost residential accommodation, and lost employment opportunities. This can trigger a downward spiral in the neighbourhoods in which these properties are located, causing an out-migration of both businesses and residents, thereby further reducing tax revenues. If these businesses and residents move away from the core area out toward undeveloped greenfield lands, there is additional pressure placed on the municipality to extend infrastructure and services.
Vacant and neglected brownfield sites can also present serious health and safety issues related to deteriorating buildings and/or surface debris present on the site.
The implementation of the City of Kingston's Brownfields Program is intended to increase the municipal tax base and to revitalize those areas of the urban core located in the Project Areas containing abandoned or vacant brownfield sites. As key properties are developed, it is anticipated that it will spur development on surrounding properties in the community. This development will be beneficial to the community not only in generating jobs and further expanding the tax base, but also in improving the community and making it a more desirable place for people to live and operate businesses.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The goals and objectives of the CIP for the City of Kingston's Brownfields Program have been formulated in concert with the general direction of the Provincial Policy Statement and the policy goals of the former City of Kingston Official Plan. The specific goals and objectives for the CIP are as follows:
Goals of the Program
- A cleaner, healthier, safer and more livable environment;
- An increase in employment, economic activity and investment;
- The implementation of previous studies;
- The rehabilitation of land for a new use;
- Better use of existing infrastructure, services and facilities;
- The revitalization of the City's waterfront and the downtown;
- Intensification and the creation of new housing;
- The redevelopment of currently underutilized or vacant lands; and,
- The encouragement of the design and construction of environmentally high performance buildings (LEED designation).
Objectives of the Program
- Commence the Brownfields Program;
- Implement the Program;
- Monitor the Program;
- Minimize risk and liability; and,
- Monitor provincial legislation and requirements and respond to any changes.
The goals and objectives are an integral part of the Community Improvement Plan and have been used to guide the development of the Brownfields Program and identify the Project Areas.
