Cranbrook – A Welcoming Community
I was thinking about the word
“Welcoming” the other day. To welcome someone means “to greet their arrival with
pleasure or kindly courtesy.” So how do
we do that as a community? Due to space
limitations I’ll break it down into two parts, Welcoming Business, which I’ll
talk about today, and Welcoming People, which I’ll cover in December.
Welcoming Business
One of the comments I hear
from time to time is that Cranbrook is not a welcoming place for business. When I ask “Why do you say that?” there is
either no response or “I heard a rumour that Business X wanted to locate here Y
years ago and the city turned them away.”
While I find it hard to believe that any Mayor or Council would turn
business away, I want to share with you what we are doing today to welcome
business to Cranbrook. We are:
·
working to get industry
into our new airport industrial lands, focussing on aviation based
opportunities.
·
encouraging business
from our Asia Pacific Friendly City partners in China and South Korea to come
to the East Kootenay to understand what great resources we have. A recent visit from a major Import Export
Company from Taicang is hopefully just the start.
·
interested in having
Cranbrook recognized as one of five new Business Technology Centres Premier
Clark announced will be set up by the Province.
·
looking for new
industrial land opportunities in Cranbrook. As some of you know our current
industrial area is full and I know of at least one business looking to expand.
·
seeking to revitalize
downtown through our bylaw which offers a five year 100% city property tax
exemption on new buildings and renovations in our downtown core.
·
keeping our Development
Cost Charges and our Building Permit Fees low compared to most other cities in
British Columbia to encourage construction.
Of the 115 communities that charge DCC’s Cranbrook ranks 13th
lowest in BC for single family residential and industrial fees. Communities that have lower fees are
generally those who have a large industrial base to tax like a major mine (I
have thought about trying to annex one of the Elk Valley Coal mines!!).
·
responding to the
Barriers to Business Report, that I asked the
Chamber to prepare, by:
o
joining “BizPal”, an
on-line platform used throughout BC and across Canada to help entrepreneurs
determine quickly what permits/licenses they require to develop or expand their
business.
o
completing a new
community profile in partnership with the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute. This gives prospective businesses insight
into what we have to offer them.
o
creating a new “Doing
Business in Cranbrook” guide. In
addition the “Guidebook to Relocating to Cranbrook, British Columbia” and the
“Guidebook to Investing in Cranbrook, British Columbia” are being updated.
o
reviewing and updating
our Economic Development Strategy. The
Economic Development Committee will be hosting a series of focus groups this
fall/winter to help set strategic priorities for Cranbrook for the next five
years.
o
working to improve the
development and permitting process with new cleaner and clearer forms to be
introduced when the new Building Bylaw is approved by Council.
o
introducing a new
checklist for every permit, which defines what
is required to move the project forward.
The checklist will be reviewed and signed off by the City
representatives and the proponent. The bottom line is to make sure there are no
surprises.
·
pursuing the concept of
Cranbrook becoming a small inland container port to better utilize our railway
and highway transportation systems and encourage imports and exports into
Cranbrook. This builds on the current economic development strategy to develop
Cranbrook as a multi-modal hub for the region.
·
organizing a workshop
with Economic Practitioners to lay out a clear process for those wanting to set
up a new business in Cranbrook, including who can help them along the way.
·
personally visiting new
businesses when they open their doors in Cranbrook. If you are a new business and I’ve missed you please call and let
me know. I’d like to meet you and say
thanks for believing in Cranbrook!
There is a lot going on to
make Cranbrook a welcoming place for business.
If you have additional ideas I’d love to hear from you!!
Mayor Wayne Stetski
Cranbrook
So what is being done to support existing businesses?
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