Take notice that the Council of The Corporation of the City of Sarnia adopted a Community Improvement Plan on July 20, 2026, through the enactment of By-law 59 of 2026 in accordance with Section 28 of the Planning Act, as amended.

Purpose and Effect

The purpose and effect of the Economic Development Community Improvement Plan (EDCIP) is to enable the City to provide financial incentives in the form of grants to owners of lands and businesses within the City to meet various community improvement objectives including to strengthen the local economy, support business retention, and attract new industrial and tourism development. Key components of the EDCIP include the offering of incentives related to tax increment grants, development charge grants, building permit fee grants, and planning fee grants.

Location

No key map is provided in this notice, as the Economic Development Community Improvement Plan will apply City-wide.

Written and Oral Submissions

The Council of the City of Sarnia held one Public Meeting to receive comments from the Public. Council in making its decision on these matters took into consideration all written and oral comments received on the Community Improvement Plan.

Appeal Information

The City of Sarnia is the approval authority for a Community Improvement Plan. The decision of the council is final if a notice of appeal is not received on or before the last day for filing a notice of appeal.

Any appeal of this adoption shall be completed in accordance with Section 16.1(24) of the Planning Act.

No person or public body shall be added as a party to the hearing of the appeal unless, before the plan was adopted, the person or public body made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council or, in the opinion of the Ontario Land Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

An appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal may be made by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk via the Ontario Land Tribunal e-file service at https://olt.gov.on.ca/e-file-service by selecting Sarnia (City) as the Approval Authority or by mail to 255 Christina Street North, Sarnia ON N7T 7N2 no later than 4:30 p.m. 20 days from the date of this Notice. The filing of an appeal after 4:30 p.m., in person, by mail, or electronically, will be deemed received the next business day. The appeal fee of $1,100 can be paid online through e-file or by certified cheque/money order to the Minister of Finance, Province of Ontario.

If you wish to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) or request a fee reduction for an appeal, forms are available from the OLT website at www.olt.gov.on.ca. If the e-file portal is down, you can submit your appeal to clerks@sarnia.ca.

If filing an appeal through the e-file service for the first time, you may need to register for a My Ontario Account.

Public Access to Information

For more information or to review the adopted EDCIP, review this project page or contact the Economic Development Department, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 255 Christina Street North, Sarnia during business hours (Tel. 519-332-0330); or email kelly.provost@sarnia.ca.

The last day for filing a Notice of Appeal is 4:30 p.m. on August 19, 2026.

Please be advised that a Public Meeting of Sarnia City Council will be held on Monday, June 22, 2026, at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers, Sarnia City Hall, to receive comments regarding the Sarnia Economic Development Community Improvement Plan.

A Community Improvement Plan is a tool that allows a municipality to direct funds and implement policy initiatives within a defined area to encourage and facilitate revitalization and stimulate development and redevelopment. The City of Sarnia has prepared a draft of the new Economic Development Community Improvement Plan (EDCIP) to strengthen the local economy, support business retention, and attract new industrial and tourism development. A public meeting is being held to present information on the proposed EDCIP, the proposed financial incentive programs that would be available, and to provide the opportunity for the public and stakeholders to provide input.

A draft of the EDCIP is available for viewing on Speak Up Sarnia (https://www.speakupsarnia.ca/). No key map is provided in this notice, as the Economic Development Community Improvement Plan would apply City-wide.

How to Participate

You can participate in the public meeting by submitting comments and/or speaking during the public meeting. You may submit comments by email to clerks@sarnia.ca, mail to City of Sarnia, c/o Clerks, 255 Christina Street North, P.O. Box 3018, Sarnia, ON N7T 7N2, or place them in the mail slot on the right-hand side of the Christina Street North entrance to City Hall.

To ensure that your written comments are received by City Council, written comments must be received by 12 p.m. (noon), Friday, June 19, 2026.

Speaking at the Public Meetings:

To participate in the public meeting, we encourage you to pre-register with the Clerk's Department by email to clerks@sarnia.ca or by phone at 519-332-0330 ext. 3320. Instructions for participating in the meeting will be provided upon registration.

Planning Act Appeal Information

If a person or public body would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the City of Sarnia to the Ontario Land Tribunal but the person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Sarnia before the Community Improvement Plan is adopted, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision.

If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Sarnia before the Community Improvement Plan is passed the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.

If you wish to be notified of the decision of the Sarnia City Council on the proposed Community Improvement Plan, you must make a written request to:

City of Sarnia
c/o Clerks
255 Christina Street North
P.O. Box 3018
Sarnia, ON N7T 7N2

Collection of Personal Information

Please be aware that if you are submitting correspondence to the City of Sarnia regarding any of this Application, your name, contact information, and communications will become part of the public record that will be available to the general public, pursuant to the Planning Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. For more information on this collection, please visit www.speakupsarnia.ca.

As we initiate the Partner and Community Engagement phase of the Economic Development CIP project, we are looking to residents and partners such as business owners to provide their insight and input to help inform a draft plan. Both surveys are open until March 6, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

Resident Survey

Follow the link below to take the survey for Sarnia residents.

Economic Development CIP Resident Survey

Partner Survey

Follow the link below to access the survey for partners such as business owners / operators; industry representatives; developers; investors and real estate professionals.

Economic Development CIP Partner Survey