Brampton, ON, April 1, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
At its March 31st committee meeting, members of Brampton Council passed a motion moved by Regional Councillor Gurpreet Singh Dhillon to consider expanding business opportunities across Brampton instead of focusing primarily on the downtown, through a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Program.
A CIP Program is a unique initiative offered by the provincial government for municipalities, where proposals can be submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to allow for special designation of key economic areas in the city, where businesses can receive potential grants for: development charges, property taxes, development application and building permits, and cash-in-lieu for parklands.
These would be in addition to expedited planning reviews, capital grants, tax breaks, and other business improvement opportunities available.
With only 5% of the city’s business in Wards 9 & 10, Councillor Dhillon has been a strong advocate for greater incentives, tax breaks, and employment opportunities for identified areas across the city and not just limited to the downtown core.
“Currently, only downtown Brampton has had the luxury of this special designation, while areas such as Wards 9 & 10, and other parts of Brampton, have been overlooked,” said Councillor Dhillon. “In order to attract and grow business in our city, all areas of Brampton must be given equal opportunities.”
“Since I took office, increasing employment and the economic prosperity of our residents has been my number one priority.”
City staff have confirmed that, with the implementation of this program, Brampton could potentially see one to two new commercial office developments annually in the city, and would create more of the office and white collar jobs that residents have been demanding.
Staff will immediately commence development of a proposal to bring back to Council in which it will identify key areas and target sectors to submit to the province, along with a market analysis and the justification required.
The final proposal will be submitted to Council by the end of 2021.
