Elgincentives Review

ELGIN COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) REVIEW AND UPDATE

Welcome to the landing page for the Elgincentives Community Improvement Plan review. On this page you’ll find more information about the project, including ways to get involved and stay informed.

About the Project

Elgin County is updating “Elgincentives”, our county-wide Community Improvement Plan (CIP). First introduced in 2015, this Plan supports community improvement projects and economic development across the County’s seven local municipalities by offering financial incentives that encourage business investment, property improvements, downtown revitalization, and the redevelopment of vacant or underused sites.

Following a background review completed earlier in 2025, the County is now in the early stages of preparing draft updates to the Plan to reflect new community priorities, legislative changes, and shifts in economic conditions. The update will help ensure that the CIP remains effective and relevant for for the next ten years.

What is a Community Improvement Plan?

A CIP is a planning and economic development tool that helps municipalities guide and encourage investment, development, and revitalization in key areas of the community. CIPs typically provide a catalogue of financial incentive programs specially tailored to encourage property or building owners to undertake improvement projects that are aligned with the vision of the plan, such as enhancing main streets, improving public spaces, promoting redevelopment, or encouraging housing options.

Recommendations Brief

Before we start updating the CIP, we need to make sure we’re going in the right direction with changes being considered. To help identify and prioritize key changes and updates for the Plan, a Recommendations Brief has been prepared. This document presents a series of recommendations to help the County test ideas and gather feedback on specific topics before updating the document.

Key topics covered in the Recommendations Brief include:

• Updating the CIPs vision and expanding on the goals and objectives guiding the plan’s implementation and review of funding applications
• Streamlining and updating the grant catalogue, reducing the number of programs from 12 to 8 while introducing new incentives to address housing and sustainability.
• Updating funding structures, including considerations for higher grant maximums and simplified application processes to improve clarity and participation.
• Introducing municipal leadership initiatives, such as streetscape strategies, a land inventory analysis, and climate resiliency investments to be led by the County and local municipal partners.
• Enhancing administration and accessibility, through clearer branding, improved online tools, and easier access to information.

How to Get Involved and Provide Feedback

We’re interested in hearing your thoughts on the recommendations being considered – are we on the mark? Is there anything else we need to consider?

📘 Read the Recommendations Brief
🗣️ Share your feedback below to help shape the future of Elgincentives.