WHEREAS the Province in the past implemented a successful funding program to assist downtown building owners to revitalize the building faade in accordance with downtown design guidelines, which often provided the necessary incentive for owners to participate in the revitalization of their communitys downtown; AND WHEREAS many downtowns are characterized by historic buildings and features which can be particularly costly to maintain or preserve, especially for small business owners, yet can be important to the success of the downtown area: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial downtown building faade revitalization grant program be reinstated to assist building owners with faade improvements that conform to adopted downtown design guidelines.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY RURAL DEVELOPMENT As per the Province of British Columbias Province response in 2007, the Downtown Revitalization Program provided funding for projects at a time when local government had fewer financing tools. In recent years, the Province has created a number of tools that can be used by all local governments to undertake downtown revitalization programs, and with the creation of the Municipal Finance Authority and changes to the Community Charter, local governments now have access to short and long-term capital financing at competitive interest rates. Changes to the Community Charter have also provided local governments with access to an even more flexible and adaptable revitalization tax exemption tool. The enhanced revitalization tool enables councils to promote any type of social, economic or environmental revitalization, such as the upgrade of buildings, with fewer restrictions. In addition, the Community Charter authorizes local governments to provide tax exemptions for protected heritage properties. Since 2007, a number of provincial funding programs designed to assist with downtown revitalization have also been developed. The BC Spirit Squares program is designed to assist communities in creating and enhancing public outdoor meeting spaces, and the Towns for Tomorrow program is designed to provide small communities and towns with cost-shared capital funding for capital infrastructure projects.