Site Plan Control - Implemented with Exterior Design Control (Section 41) Exterior Design Control is an essential tool in shaping the character, material choices, and design of new buildings and developments. It allows the Town to implement the recommendations put forth by the Central Area Design Study through a mandatory review and commenting process. When a development proposal is being processed using the suggested Design Checklist, Town Staff will be able to review the appropriateness of a building’s design and determine what amendments, if any, are needed. The current Site Plan Control By-Law should be amended to implement the recommendations of these urban design guidelines and the resulting amended Zoning By-Law and Official Plan. This allows the Town to comment on matters relating to exterior design. Community Improvement Plan (Section 28) To assist in the implementation of these Guidelines, additional tools may be available to proponents and property owners through a Community Improvement Plan approved by the Town of Tillsonburg and/ or County of Oxford. A Community Improvement Plan (or “CIP”) is a planning tool that establishes a long-term and comprehensive strategy for improvements within a defined area of a municipality, based on a defined need or set of needs (which could include implementation of the recommendations of this Design Study). Once a CIP has been adopted by the municipality and comes into effect, the municipality may use the tax assistance powers afforded by the Municipal Act and by Section 28 of the Planning Act. In regard to the latter, the municipality may: 1. acquire, hold, clear, grade or otherwise prepare land for community improvement; 2. construct, repair, rehabilitate or improve buildings on land acquired or held by it in conformity with the community improvement plan; 3. sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any land and buildings acquired or held by it in conformity with the community improvement plan; and
4. make grants or loans, conforming with the CIP, to registered owners, assessed owners, or tenants within the community improvement project area, and to any person to whom such an owner or tenant has assigned the right to receive a grant or loan, to pay for the whole or any part of the CIP’s eligible costs. The Planning Act specifies that for the grants or loans made under a CIP the eligible costs may include costs related to: environmental site assessment and remediation; development or redevelopment; construction and reconstruction of lands and buildings for rehabilitation purposes; and construction and reconstruction of lands and buildings for the provision of energy efficient uses, buildings, structures, works, improvements or facilities. The total value of all grants and loans made under the Planning Act and the tax assistance provided under the Municipal Act respecting the land and buildings cannot exceed the eligible cost of the CIP with respect to those lands and buildings. Community Improvement Programs encourage business and property owners to enhance and promote the downtown’s unique character and identity and help to develop a more coherent, creative and attractive appearance within the downtown. Official Plan Amendments It is recommended that the Official Plan be amended in a timely manner to reflect the relevant recommendations of the Tillsonburg Central Area Design Study in order to establish a long-term design framework for the Central Area. In addition to the detailed study that has been completed for Tillsonburg, the County of Oxford has also initiated a Community Design Strategy that will serve to provide a broad County-wide framework for the implementation of best practices in urban design. It is anticipated that the broader County strategy, together with the detailed Tillsonburg Central Area Design Study, will provide a foundation of key design considerations that will be integrated into the land use planning policies for Tillsonburg.
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Tillsonburg Central Area Design Study
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