{"id":15900,"date":"2016-11-24T12:15:23","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T17:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=15900"},"modified":"2016-11-24T12:15:23","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T17:15:23","slug":"new-plan-intended-to-boost-economic-development-in-aurora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/new-plan-intended-to-boost-economic-development-in-aurora\/","title":{"rendered":"New plan intended to boost economic development in Aurora"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aurora is set to overhaul its economic plans in implementing a new system after a survey found the current model was falling short.
\nCouncil is set to ratify a plan this week that will set in motion a new \u201chybrid\u201d economic development system that will take the Town\u2019s current system and bring in elements of a \u201cnon-profit development corporation\u201d using funding currently allocated for Aurora\u2019s Community Improvement Plan (CIP).
\nIn a recent survey of Aurora\u2019s current Economic Development Model, which provides in-house services \u201cto ensure strong connections between [municipal] departments\u2026to encourage cooperation and enhanced customer service for economic development clients,\u201d was found to be falling short by the majority of respondents.
\nFeedback received through the study showed an apparent \u201cdifficulty\u201d in attracting new business to Aurora, \u201cno clear mandate\u201d for the Town\u2019s current Economic Development Committee, a perception of their being \u201cvery little priority on economic development\u201d and \u201cpersonality conflicts.\u201d
\nThe proposed new system is intended to address those concerns through the creation of an Office of Economic Development.
\n\u201cThere are a number of economic development models that can be employed to drive economic development priorities,\u201d said Anthony Ierullo, Aurora\u2019s Manager of Strategic Planning, in his report that came before Council at last week\u2019s General Committee meeting, noting that a community like Aurora would typically employ a model already in place.
\nThis, he said, is primarily due to the resources needed to operate a non-profit development corporation, which are typically arms-length bodies not bound to the limitations of the Municipal Act regarding bonusing and land acquisition, and are often eligible for funding that municipalities like Aurora are not.
\n\u201cThis is primarily due to the cost of administering a traditional Non-Profit Development corporation, the active role of Regional government in leading investment attraction activities in York Region and the Town\u2019s position as an established community that is approaching build-out,\u201d Mr. Ierullo continued. \u201cHowever, there are a number of opportunities that are unique to non-profit development corporations that align with the planned economic development focus in Aurora.
\n\u201cThey have the ability to provide incentives to business to promote economic development. There are several hundred acres of privately owned employment land that are coming to market in coming years. The Town may benefit from having the ability to offer business incentives to select instances as a potential differentiator for large scale investment in Aurora. In addition, non-profit development corporations have the ability to acquire, manage, redevelop, and sell real estate to advance economic development opportunities. This may be beneficial in the Town leading downtown revitalization activities and actively promoting employment development.\u201d
\nShould Council greenlight the new plan this week, further plans will be presented to Council in the coming weeks that will see plans to expand the Office of Economic Development take shape, which would then be supported by a non-profit development corporation governed by a committee or board that would provide strategy to Council.
\nConcerns around economic development are nothing new around the Council table, or around the existing Economic Development Advisory Committee for that matter where, in the latter instance, members have continually said they have felt they don\u2019t have a clear mandate and their recommendations are not given their proper weight.
\nAdopting the proposed \u201chybrid\u201d model, however, received clear support at last week\u2019s General Committee meeting.
\n\u201cI think it is going to be a progressive move for us,\u201d said Councillor John Abel, who has been a vocal critic of the current setup. \u201cThere is a gap and it is being addressed. I like the idea of interviewing committee members. That is important if they are going to be their own identity rather than an advisory committee. It is good to bring the best forward in such a role and it is a very important part of how we govern. For sustainability and all those other points, I am glad to see this.\u201d
\nTo date, Council has placed $200,000 into a fund for the CIP, which is intended to be an incentive for property owners in Aurora\u2019s historic Downtown Core to improve and maintain their commercial buildings but, according to CAO Doug Nadorozny, the pot has been \u201cunderutilized.
\n\u201cOne of the outcomes of deploying this new model for economic development is we would hopefully create more business related to the CIP and more activity and actually start to use those funds in a proactive way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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