Land Policy of Thunder Bay (Overview)
Incorporated in 1970 Thunder Bay,Ont, is a city which is a combination of the cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and the adjoining towns of Neebing and Mclntyre. It is situated in the northwest part of and located on the west coast of the Lake Superior bay. Paleo-Indian hunters were the first settlers of this place and they settled almost 10000 years ago. However, the first European contact was made in the 17th century. As per 2011 census Thunder Bay city had a population of almost 108359. Currently, the city has launched a policy that applies 25% discount to the sale of land to any non-profit organization. This study is going to throw light on that particular policy and it will further expound on the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat that the policy may consist. It will further make an External analysis by using the PESTEL method. Apart from that this study will further focus on the policies of its neighboring cities and will make a comparison between the policies that are implemented.
Currently, the City governing body has launched a policy that will provide a 25% discount on the land sale particularly to the genuine not for profit organizations. However, the governing body of the city has a goal or plan for the city to ultimately lead to the development of the city. The plan contains a number of chapters, which consists of figures, maps that divides the total land mass into several segments which are known as designations. This plan is aimed at creating a city, which will be charming, easily accessible, and well-connected. According to McCoy, Tuck, & McKenzie, (2017), the governing body has implemented a special tool that is known as Zoning By-law to fulfill the ultimate vision. Furthermore, keeping in mind the changing needs of its citizens the Thunder Bay city has revamped their official city plan that was written in 2002. The newly adopted city plan has several segments, which are known as Schedules. General Land use, Natural Heritage System, Rural, Residential, Commercial, and Industrial these topics are covered in this newly adopted city plan. However, this particular policy falls under the General Land Use schedule. However, as stated by Galway, (2018), all the non-profit organizations are bound to undergo a publicly accountable process to prove their genuineness, the policy further states that any discount given will never exceed $25000 or 25% of the land value.
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Strength l The policy of providing 25% discount on the sales of land will undeniably create a good impression of the governing body of the Thunder Bay city. l A discount like this will lead to the establishment of several non-profit organizations in the city. Chin, Lai &Chow (2016), said that such organizations mainly work towards the development of the society, naturally, not only the citizens of the city but also of the entire nation will be benefited by them. l Nonprofit organizations usually attract other philanthropists from different parts of the globe. l Conteh (2017) stated that, this policy will attract non-profit organizations oriented towards the development of handicrafts, which in turn will benefit the economy of the area. l Organizations related to the education system will ultimately lead to the development of the education system. |
Weakness · If any organization fails to prove that it is Non-profit and have no registration, it will not get the discount. · According toFreshwater (2017) there will be a ceiling on any discount given in the policy. It further states that any discount given will not exceed $25,000 or 25% cost of the total land value. Naturally, if any registered organization wants to buy a big land mass they would not be benefitted by this policy. · As stated by Richmond (2018), the governing body of the city has failed to spread the news properly to the people. · All the non-profit organizations are bound to undergo a publicly accountable process. Transparency regarding this process may appear in the minds of the organization owners. · Neither Hope Church nor the Polish Legion met the city’s eligibility yardstick. Moreover, the financial support that the governing body of the city has provided them is exceeds the maximum approved benchmark. · As perGeiger (2017), the organizations are not bound to pay City’s out of pocket expenses such as survey, legal appraisals. This bias towards the non-profit organizations may irk other organizations. |
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Opportunity · Usually NPOs lack operational fund so a policy of discounting 25% on the land value will definitely prove out to be beneficial for them. · According to Lantz, Chang & Pharo (2014), the policy focuses on attracting Non-profit organizations; establishment of such organization will undoubtedly help the governing body of the city in proper distribution of resources. · Chin, Lai & Chow (2016) stated by Chin, Lai & Chow (2016), NPOs usually draw attention from donor agencies and investors, so naturally with the passage of time these organizations can turn out to be stable source of finances. |
Threats · As opined by Lyons, Miller & Mann (2018), one of the biggest threat that the policy possesses is that, there can be possibilities of organizations that are not genuine and do not fulfill the criterions can demand to get the benefits of the policy. · Providing discount to any such forged or fake organization can ultimately lead to a huge amount of monetary loss to the governing body of the city. · Apart from that, failing to maintain proper transparency can create a bad impression of the policy. |
An external analysis mainly focuses on the wider aspects that can affect the sustainability of the implemented policy. However, an internal as well as external analysis provides a complete image of the policy. A comparison between the land revenue policies of other four significant cities of Canada will be presented in this external analysis and it will be conducted using benchmarking/comparison tool.
Greater Sudbury is commonly known as Sudbury, is the largest city located in Ontario, Canada. However, the Zoning-by-law of Greater Sudbury regulates and supervises the use of land and follows the policies of the city’s governing body. According to Thunderbay (2018), the politicalstability has helped it to launch a policy that caters the non-profit organizations of the city. Being a part of Canada it also follows the full democracy with the culture of liberalism. Moreover, the economic condition, which is mainly dominated by mining supply and service sector, is stable. This liberal attitude as well as the economic stability of the governing body has helped it to launch a policy that will be undoubtedly beneficial for the NPO s of the city.
- Similarities:Both the cities follow a Zoning-by-law policy and the cities have launched a policy that is mainly focused to cater the non-profit organizations. Apart from that to get the benefits of the policies the organizations are liable to establish that they are registered and non-profit.
- Dissimilarities: As mentioned by Sudbury (2018), the policy of The Thunder Bay city mainly provides 25% discount on the sales of land to the NPOs. On the other hand, Ball & Pratt (2018) stated by, the policy of Sudbury is mainly concerned about the measurement of the area that they are going to provide the NPOs. Only those organizations that are registered under the Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.C.38 or Charitable Institutions Act, R.S.O, c.C.9 will be considered as non-profit organization. According to the governing body of Sudbury any NPO will not get more than 372-meter square of floor area.
SWOT Analysis
Sault Ste Marie is a city that is located in the US-Canada border and it is mainly known for being the third biggest city in Northern-Ontario. Prairie (2018), opined that, the steel production industry and forestry are the two major contributors of its economic strength. Being a part of Canada this city also follows the full democracy with a culture of Liberalism. The city is governed by Sault Ste Marie federal and provincial electoral district. Like most of the cities of Canada Sault Ste Marie too is economically and politically stable. Naturally, the city has a proper land sales policy that it follows.
- Similarities:Both the cities have particular categories regarding the sales of the lands; the governing bodies have divided the total land mass into certain segments such as Residential, Commercial and Industrial. Maintaining a healthy environment as well as the general development of the city are the two central goals of the land policies of these cities.
- Dissimilarities:According to Minnesota (2018),the land policy of Sault Ste Marie was adopted in 1996 whereas the land policy of The City of Thunder Bay was adopted in 2018. So naturally, the land policy of Fault Ste Marie is essentially more updated and it has addressed the problems of the citizens more effectively. The recent policy that the City of Thunder Bay has launched for the NPOs undoubtedly reflects the liberal attitude of the governing body of the city.
Grand Prairies is located in the Northwest Alberta, Canada and it is mainly known as one of the fastest growing cities between 2001 and 2006 of Canada. Grand prairies have a diversified economy. Oil, gas, forestry and food services are the major contributors of the economy of Grand Prairies.
- Similarities:As mentioned by Yemshanov et al. (2015), acquisition of sites for the development of the city is one of the land related policies of Grand Prairies. The same is applicable for the City of Thunder Bay. So, both the policies are aimed towards the development of the city. Apart from that sustaining a certain degree of healthy environment is one of the biggest concerns of the land policy of these cities. Moreover both the cities follow a zoning-by-law method in land sales.
- Dissimilarities:Being much more economically stable than The City of Thunder Bay the tax rates of Grand Prairies are much lower. Homagain et al. (2016) said that, the incentive policies that the City of Thunder Bay has launched are mainly focused to cater the Non-profit organizations on the other hand; the policy of Grand Prairies is focused towards the development of industries.
Duluth is one of the major port cities of Minnesota and it is the fourth largest city in Minnesota. Duluth is the major transportation centre of coal, steel, cement and limestone. Apart from that,
Tourism is another major contributor of the economy of Duluth.
- Similarities:As stated by Olszewski & Ren (2015), making the City more attractive for the tourists is one of the most important priorities that the governing bodies of the cities have. Naturally, both the cities have madepolicies that are focused in establishing greener and healthier environment. Apart from that, policies that are focused to develop NPOs are also one of the important concerns of the governing bodies of these cities.
- Dissimilarities:However, as the major income source of Duluth, Minnesota is tourism the governing body of the city is more aligned towards making a city that can cater the tourists so naturally their land sales policy also is more aligned towards establishing profit based organizations that can generate fund for the city. On the other hand, as mentioned by Mercer (2016), the main priority of the city of Thunder Bay is overall development of the city. So, their policy is more biased towards catering the citizens which is undoubtedly reflected in their policy that provides a discount of 25% to the NPOs.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded from the research project that, the policy that The City of Thunder Bay has launched will definitely be beneficial for the NPOs of the city. The project has also elaborately described the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the current policy possesses. Apart from that, the project has also presented the differences and similarities between the policies of other major cities of Canada. Finally, it can be concluded from the project that the external aspects like politics, economics, society, technology, environment and legislation plays pivotal role on the policy making of any governing body of any city.
References
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