(Photo by Nathan Shubert)
Owen Sound’s River District Board wants to see if there’s an appetite for expanding its downtown improvement area (DIA) boundaries.
The River District Board of Management passed a motion during its last meeting (May 14) to have staff undertake community consultations about potentially extending the DIA boundaries to include the west side of the river and harbour.
“We’re just going to look at what it looks like,” River District Board member Richard Thomas says. “It’s entirely possible any discussion of expansion could be rejected by the businesses and organizations in the extra area.”
Owen Sound’s River District refers to the city’s downtown core. The defined DIA boundaries are between 1st Avenue East and 3rd Avenue East — the northern cutoff is 11th Street East and the southern end 7th Street East.
The DIA — or River District — boundaries have remained the same since the establishment of the Owen Sound Downtown Improvement Area in 1973, a city staff report explains.
Expansion of the boundaries was recommended in the 2020 River District Action Plan, approved by both council and the board of management.
Owen Sound’s Director of Community Services Pam Coulter told board members the consultation process would include engagement with River District business owners, as well as feedback from people who interact with the downtown core. The process could include both online engagement and open houses.
