CLARENCE-ROCKLAND Une communauté en plein essor A booming community
A new decade needs a new economic strategy
also indicating "interesting" little side trips that might be worth taking with a guide available for later to help get back on course if necessary. The same holds true for a community’s economic development. A good strategic plan can help steer City Hall onto the right decisions for infrastructure development
and maintenance, with allowance for “out of the box” ideas, and also suggest ways to lure in new investment to help the commu- nity grow. Right now the city is in the midst of re- viewing and revising all of its master plans dealingwith infrastructure, recreation, plan- ning, and other functions. Mayor Marcel Guibord observes that this is all a necessary prelude to creating a new economic devel- opment strategy for Clarence-Rockland. “We need to revise every plan,”Mayor Gui- bord said. “We need to look at every single plan. There is not one plan that is not relat- ed to another.” The last time the City of Clarence-Rock- land did a review of its economic strategy was not long after the start of the new cen- tury. That helped open the way towards encouraging commercial highway develop- ment resulting in ongoing projects like the Rockland Plaza and the SmartCentre mall, both located along County Road 17 and each helping to spur further development,
both commercial and residential, in their surrounding neighbourhoods. Mayor Guibord noted that a revised and more comprehensive economic develop- ment strategy will help the city set its pri- orities for the next few decades of the 21st century. “We will know where we need to start looking, where we need to prepare.” Pierre Tessier, the city’s chief administra- tive officer, observed that creating a com- prehensive economic development strat- egy is a long and involved process, not something that can be or should be rushed. “For a first step, we should be defining what we want to be,” he said. “We need to look at what kind of city do we want. Where are we now, where do we want to be, and how do we get there?” He added that the last economic plan fo- cused on commercial growth. The next one needs a broader viewpoint. “We should be doing an overall plan and looking beyond the commercial and retail sectors. The old plan was useful as a cata- lyst. It helped promote what the city had to offer.” Now, Tessier said, the city’s continuing population growth as a “bedroom commu- nity” to nearby Ottawa will continue to at- tract new businesses to the area. But there is a “threshold point” that some investors need to see an area reach before they will consider it as part of their own marketing and development plans. “This is a part of the natural growth of a community,” said Tessier “and that is part of what we have to address. What do we want? What kind of vision do we have? For example, there are great opportunities for a downtown area that is a people place. But you have to plan for that.”
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Every experienced traveller knows that a good map is invaluable for showing the best route for getting somewhere, and
PROFITEZ D’UN PARTENAIRE EN AFFAIRES! La Cité de Clarence-Rockland est une communauté bilingue où les affaires vont bon train! Notre environnement urbain et rural offre de nombreuses possibilités d’affaires. Notre taux de croissance figure parmi les plus rapides de la région d’Ottawa-Carleton et des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell. Nous soutenons les entreprises locales existantes et encourageons l’établissement de nouvelles entreprises. ENJOY A GREAT BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP! The City of Clarence-Rockland is a bilingual community where business is booming. Our combined urban and rural setting provides numerous business opportunities. Our growth rate is among the highest in the Ottawa-Carleton and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell regions. We support existing local businesses and encourage the establishment of new ones.
1560, rue Laurier Street, Rockland ON K4K 1P7 | T 613 446-6022 | www.clarence-rockland.com
K4K 1L5
Made with FlippingBook HTML5