Collingwood, Ontario

COLL INGWOOD , ONTAR IO for a long-term view of the kind of development we allow.” BVM: Is your downtown undergoing revisioning? Saunderson: “We have a centralized, well-defined downtown core with a lot of historic buildings that have potential for upstairs apartments. In terms of densification and sustainability, as our community grows, we want to protect and enhance the quality of life by having a mixed housing inventory – apartments, townhomes, semi-detached, and detached. That diversity allows us to provide housing for different income levels and prevents urban sprawl that would push our boundaries.” Amin: “A challenge for many communities is to preserve their downtown as a vibrant, active entity, and we have been very successful in that. We continue to invest in the core with shops and restaurants, heritage designation, infrastructure, and support for our downtown businesses. We have promoted development outside of our urban core, while at the same time encouraging businesses to locate downtown. We are a very walkable city and we’re expanding our municipal transportation system so that, moving forward, we can be more sustainable and curtail the reliance on cars, locally.” BVM: What is ahead for the future of Collingwood? Amin: “This community is thriving because we have the municipality, the not-for-profit, and the profit sectors working together, sharing this common vision of continuing to make Collingwood a liveable, engaged, entrepreneurial community. Finance is always an issue for municipalities. We have a very limited revenue base, which is mostly residential taxes. So, we make sure we spend every tax dollar we raise, wisely, and that it goes toward improving public service; and that we’re accountable Courtesy of Doug Burlock Photography