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How does one establish a CID?

A CID is always initiated by a community, and not by the City.

It usually starts with ‘champions’ within a community who feel the necessity to improve the environment within a defined area. Other like-minded property owners are then approached to form a representative “Steering Committee” to first meet with the CID Branch before officially starting the process. This ensures a better understanding of what a CID is and what is expected from the Steering Committee once the establishment process is started. The next step will be to define the boundary of the proposed CID and consult with the community on what the needs are for the area, and with the local Sub-Council in respect of current City services and level & frequency thereof, before compiling a business plan of how the needs will be addressed.

The draft business plan must then be presented to the community at a public meeting. After the meeting, the community will have 30 days to submit comments to the Steering Committee for consideration. A second public meeting must then be arranged to present the final business plan to the community. A further 30 days must be allowed following the second public meeting for additional comments on the final business plan. Should this lead to a material amendment to the final business plan a third public meeting will be required. Following the consultation process on the business plan the Steering Committee will need to obtain a majority percentage of property owners (over 50% for commercial areas, and at least 60% for areas classified as residential) to agree to the business plan and give written consent or object to the establishment. Each registered property has one available “vote”.

Once the required support has been obtained, the Steering Committee has to submit an application to the City by the 31st of October. After the City has confirmed that the application is valid, the community is notified of the lodging of the application and where the application can be inspected. The application, which includes all the comments and objections, is then submitted to Council for consideration.