Grey County's first Upper-tier Community Improvement Plan (CIP) aims to increase affordable housing options and support local development priorities across its member municipalities.
At the recent Grey County council meeting, members voted to approve a recommendation for staff to move forward with the project. The CIP offers a flexible planning tool by allowing municipalities to provide targeted financial incentives to advance strategic community goals. These incentives can include grants, loans, tax reductions, and fee relief. That type of support is otherwise restricted under the municipal bonusing rules of the Municipal Act.
Grey County plans to directly incentivize affordable housing, bridging gaps where traditional market developers, non-profits, and social purpose organizations struggle to make projects financially viable. That can include feasibility grants, supporting mixed-affordability developments, and leveraging municipal surplus lands in areas like Durham and Markdale.
Since 2019, the County has supported local lower-tier CIP programs with funding and coordination. However, the top-tier plan will work alongside member municipalities to create a unified framework, with County-level incentives complementing local plans to address housing needs. Ontario's Bill 60 removed the former restriction which made it illegal for upper-tier municipal governments to deliver their own CIP. Now, the county can create designated projects for prescribed priorities, such as affordable housing, and development along transit corridors.
The planning department's ten-year capital budget will include the new Community Improvement Plan, while eligible scoping and design costs will be incorporated into the upcoming Development Charges Background Study. The new plan will be rolled out in phased steps, including comprehensive data analysis, program option designs, financial evaluations, and extensive public and stakeholder consultations. Detailed program proposals will be brought forward to Council before formal implementation.
