Home | About the Ministry | Newsroom |Job Opportunities
Features
Email this pageMunicipal Tools for Planning and Development InfoSheets
- Planning for Barrier-Free MunicipalitiesA Handbook and Self Assessment
Tool
- Tax Increment-Based FinancingThere are dynamic planning and
financing programs going on in
Ontario and municipalities are
catching on quickly. As local
governments seek means to
revitalize their communities in
value-added ways, they are
evaluating what needs to be
restored and rehabilitated. Old
waterfronts, former manufacturing
and commercial lands, run-down
mainstreets, underused
warehousing districts and heritage
structures are all up for scrutiny.
The goal is to renew the built
environment to capture the
economic, social, environmental
and cultural benefits that will drive
their growth in the 21st century.
But the complexities and expense
of these projects can be daunting.
Municipalities need new, outward-
looking financing means to harness
the experience, creativity and
ingenuity of both the public and
private sectors and to facilitate
economies that can be sustained
now and in the future.
- Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)Municipalities across Ontario are
actively engaged in community
programs to encourage
development that relies on existing
infrastructure and provides for
distinctive, attractive, walkable
neighbourhoods with a strong
sense of place. Street front
retailing, including a range of
entertainment, cultural, and
commercial businesses, has a key
role to play in creating and
sustaining livable communities. A
strong Business Improvement Area
(BIA) is a tool that can improve the
local investment climate and help
street front businesses adapt to
shifting economic trends.
- Affordable Housing
- Wind EnergyWind power is a renewable energy
source with the potential to be a
commercially viable source of
energy in Ontario. Municipalities
across the province are exploring
the economic development
opportunities of wind energy. One
way of preparing for wind energy is
by building community support and
developing clear land use policies.
Within this framework, wind energy
can represent an opportunity for
economic, social and environmental
benefits in many of Ontario's
communities.
- Planning for Railway SafetyPublic safety is a key aspect of
land-use planning and needs to be
considered when making planning
decisions. Planning for community
growth and development should
include consideration of railway
operations and related matters of
public safety. Municipalities can
support public safety through
planning decisions and through
local planning documents, such as
official plans and zoning bylaws. A
variety of standards, guidelines
and legislation, may help direct
municipal land-use decisions on
matters affected by, or affecting
railway operations and facilities.