FAQs

A Community Improvement Plan (or CIP) is a tool under the Province’s ‘Planning Act’ that permits a municipality to provide financial assistance/incentives to private or not-for profit property owners to achieve specific community improvement objectives in a defined geographic area of the municipality. Once implemented, financial assistance/incentives can be provided in the form of grants, loans or tax assistance to property owners or authorized tenants.

No.  Financial assistance programs are made available at the discretion of City Council.

LEED™ stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a green building rating system was originally developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide a recognized standard for the construction industry to assess the environmental sustainability of building designs. Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) has since adapted the USGBC LEED™ rating system to the specific concerns and requirements of buildings in Canada. LEED™ is a point-based rating system; points are earned for building attributes considered environmentally beneficial.

The purpose of the LEED Grant program found within the Hamilton LEEDing the Way Community Improvement Plan, is for the City to share (50/50) the incremental construction cost (to a maximum per the program terms), consultation, energy modeling and certification fees with the applicant to achieve LEED certification. Grants are calculated on the basis of the rating of official certification under the LEED rating system by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). This program authorizes for each approved grant application, a five year grant, the amount of which is subject to Council approval, in an amount not exceeding the increase in municipal realty taxes as a direct result of the development/redevelopment of the land and/or building. The grant, which may be approved by Council, shall be an amount, which does not exceed 75% of the municipal realty tax increase during the first five (5) years following which the building has been officially certified under the LEED rating system by the CaGBC. The base year for determining pre-development taxes will be the year building permit is issued.

The city undertakes a comprehensive review of its Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) every five years. These reviews are intended to identify any changes that may be needed to ensure that the CIP and its associated financial assistance/incentive programs continue to align with provincial and local policies, are achieving their intended goals, continue to be financially sustainable and that programs align with current community and Council priorities.

No.  This review is solely with respect to the Hamilton LEEDing the Way Community Improvement Plan (LEED CIP) and its associated financial assistance programs. This review does not include other City CIPs such as the Revitalizing Hamilton’s Commercial Districts or ERASE CIPs. Information on these other plans can be found at www.hamilton.ca/cip

Yes. Since the Hamilton LEEDing the Way Community Improvement Plan (LEED CIP) was last reviewed in 2010, many other certification systems are now widely used. The City is currently looking at all other certification systems and evaluating which ones would be appropriate to include in future programs.