210209 Development MINThe Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg
Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting
February 9, 2021
7:30 a.m.
Electronic Meeting MINUTES
Present: Andrew Burns, Jeff VanRybroeck, Mayor Molnar, Councillor Deb Gilvesy,
Suzanne Renken, Jesse Goossens, Lisa Gilvesy, Steve Spanjers, Randy Thornton,
Collette Takacs
Staff: Cephas Panschow, Development Commissioner; Laura Pickersgill, Executive
Assistant; Kyle Pratt, CAO
Regrets: Lindsay Morgan-Jacko, Kirby Heckford
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:34 a.m. 2. Adoption of Agenda
Resolution #1
Moved by: Cedric Tomico
Seconded by: Randy Thornton THAT the Agenda as prepared for the Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting of February 9, 2021, be adopted.
Carried 3. Adoption of Previous Minutes
Resolution #2
Moved by: Councillor Gilvesy Seconded by: Cedric Tomico
THAT the Minutes as prepared for the Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting of January 12, 2021, be adopted.
Carried 4. Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof
There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest declared. 5. Presentations 6. General Business & Reports 6.1 Monthly Projects Update
Cephas provided an overview of the Monthly Projects Update for the Economic
Development Department.
It was noted that the draft version of the Economic Development Strategy has been reviewed by the subcommittee. Staff will send out a list of action items included in the draft for comment from members following this meeting. If required, the Chair
can call a special meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Committee to review this draft further. 6.2 Criteria for Reviewing Development Applications
Chair Goossens presented the Committee’s recommendation to Council at their
meeting held on February 8, 2021 regarding the inclusion of the Committee on various development applications. The recommendation was supported by Council.
Staff will work together to develop a process for getting this initiative started and for ensuring this does not cause any slow down to the processes. Suzanne noted that the Chamber follows the process of having the applications submitted to her and then she circulates the applications for comment with a deadline to the
subcommittee, the subcommittee sends back their comments to her in which she provides a summary of comments to the planning department. Suzanne collects
comments and sends them back as a whole before the deadline. It was suggested that only 3-5 days be given to members to comment on the applications. 6.3 Auto Mayors Action Plan 2021 Update
Opportunity was provided for members to give their comments on this Action Plan. There was concern noted with the amount of focus being put on electric vehicles
whereas there should also be focus placed on sustaining the current industry especially given the fact that auto manufacturers have a shortage of supplies right now and they are having to lay off workers. It was also suggested that the clause
that would ‘require’ developers to have infrastructure for charging stations be rather
‘an incentive’ then a requirement to lessen the burden on developers.
6.4 Economic Development & Marketing Q4 Report
Cephas Panschow provided an overview of the Q4 Report for Economic
Development and Marketing. Staff believe that there have been a higher number of lead files opened due to the fact that Van Norman Innovation Park construction is underway, increased demand in the industrial sector and that advertising has increased with the addition of paid online marketing to increase the Town’s
presence. It was noted that there were almost an equal amount of businesses that opened and businesses that closed in 2020. The Town’s website traffic greatly
increased likely as a result of announcements related to the pandemic.
6.5 Oxford County Development Charges Review Study
Sheena Pawliwec, Director of Finance and Eric Gilbert, Senior Planner joined the meeting and provided an overview of this study.
It was noted that in September 2020 the Province announced that there will be amendments required to the Development Charges By-Laws and that there is a two-year implementation phase to do so. Sheena mentioned that the current
Development Charges By-Law is set to expire in June 2024 unless it is repealed by Council sooner than that.
A highlight of the changes include that there will be a longer period of time required to post notice of a public meeting to discuss Development Charges By-Law updates for a period of at least 60 days before. There will be a removal of a 10% statutory
deduction from previously deemed ‘soft services’ therefore these funds will not need
to be funded through grants, taxation, etc. but rather will be made the responsibility
of the developer. The term ‘Administrative Studies Service’ will change to ‘Growth-Related Studies’ and this will include the cost of undertaking this Development Charge By-Law amendment process. There will be a reallocation of service-specific
studies to eligible services from Administrative Studies Service. There will be no significant change between residential and non-residential funding of weighted averages of service fees for projects. It was mentioned that the Town only collects development charges on residential developments. There will be statutory
exemptions for intensification of housing within existing residential buildings and associated ancillary structures and secondary dwelling units within (or within
structures ancillary to) new residential dwellings. The Development Charges will be determined at the Site Plan Application or Zoning By-Law Amendment application
date. There will be changes to allow for installment payments to be made for rental housing, institutional and non-profit housing developments. The lower-tier municipalities would like to impose an interest charge on Development Charges at Site Plan or Zoning By-Law Amendment application date and allow for installment
payments at a rate equivalent to the Bank of Canada Prime Rate plus 2% set annually on April 1, at the time of indexing Development Charge rates. There is a public meeting scheduled for February 22.
Eric indicated that two new full-time positions will be added to the Planning
Department, beginning in April 2021, with hopes that these positions will alleviate some of the overwhelming workload placed on the current Planning Department. Eric also noted that the Engineering Department for the Town has requested a new
position that will help speed up of transition of documents and speed up development reviews. There is a new automated software being implemented that should increase efficiency and reduce timing of application processing.
Eric and Sheena left the meeting at 8:50 a.m. 6.6 Tillsonburg Hydro Inc.
No updates. Staff will send a status update on this item after the meeting.
6.7 Town Hall Task Force
The Committee is meeting tomorrow afternoon to review various options for the Town Hall project. It was noted that there is not an established timeline at this point
from the Committee to have their recommendations submitted to Council.
6.8 Physician Recruitment & Retention Committee
The February 4th meeting was cancelled and the next meeting is scheduled for May 2021. 6.9 Community Strategic Plan
The Community Strategic Plan update is well underway with Council already having
their first workshop with the consultant. The second Council workshop is scheduled
for February 16 with the consultant.
7. Community Organization Updates 7.1 Downtown Business Improvement Association
There were no questions or comments regarding the report. 7.2 Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce
It was noted that there will be new directors welcomed at tomorrow’s board meeting
whom were elected at the recent AGM. 7.3 Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board 7.3.1 Listings & Statistics
There were no comments or questions about these documents. The question was posed as to where the Town would be placed in comparison to the rest of the Province for high levels of growth. It was also noted that there is very little commercial space available in the Town.
8. Round Table
There was disappointment noted regarding the recent announcements from the
Province regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its lack of support for certain
sectors, including personal service. The TDCC had previously sent a letter to the
Premier’s Office regarding this and asking them to pay more attention to certain sectors.
9. Next Meeting
March 9, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. 10. Adjournment
Resolution #3 Moved by: Andrew Burns
Seconded by: Cedric Tomico THAT the February 9, 2021 Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting be
adjourned at 9:01 a.m. Carried