With North Bay council’s committee of the whole adopting a Growth Community Improvement Plan, all that remains is for the full council to formally adopt the blueprint that guides development in the city for the foreseeable future.
Staff clarified some questions from a previous meeting before the GCIP was adopted like do sidewalk patio structures impede pedestrians.
Staff says the answer to this is no.
Although the plan also talks about affordable housing, staff pointed out this issue doesn’t fall under the city’s mandate.
Rather, this is the responsibility of the Nipissing District Social Services Administration Board.
Staff told council the city works with DSSAB to find ways of creating affordable housing.
The GCIP is expected to take effect in 2020 and run for several years.
It provides incentives to the housing, downtown and industrial sectors to help owners improve their properties.
However, the plan does not apply to all sections of the city as was pointed out by councillor Mike Anthony earlier this month and raised again this week.
Anthony reaffirmed his position to see the GCIP include the first five blocks of Lakeshore Drive in West Ferris.
“I really believe in the value of the Community Improvement Plans,” said after the meeting.
“We’ve seen they’ve worked well in other areas of the city. It’s something I campaigned on and something I’ve talked about the last couple of years.”
Anthony says West Ferris is in need of revitalization despite the fact there’s future development coming to the area in the form of a new Community Centre and the proposed casino.
“So maybe you could see the facades of some buildings upgraded or updated to help businesses just like we helped businesses in other areas that might have struggled a bit,” he said.
Anthony acknowledges it’s too late to get staff to include the 100 to 500 block of Lakeshore into the GCIP in time for its implementation next year.
However, he says once council approves the 2020 budget, it’s his intention to get support from his fellow councillors and extend the improvement plan to West Ferris.
