Windsor's mayor unveils new vision for downtown revitalization

It's a sweeping plan with a vision for a new downtown Windsor: One with safer streets, less crime and more events. 

But to get the plan going this year, council will soon be asked to take the extraordinary step of re-opening the 2024 budget and adding to the previously approved tax increase. 

The city unveiled its "Strengthen the Core" plan on Tuesday, a seven-point plan targeting everything from mental health and housing to "vibrant spaces."

The price tag is about $3.2 million, and taxes in Windsor will go up 0.7 per cent for the plan if it's approved. 

"Guys, we are firmly behind this. I'm firmly behind this because I know the amount of work that's gone into getting us here today," Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told crowds at a press conference Tuesday. 

"I think you can all appreciate adding more services and doing something like this, it's not free. This is something that we can proactively do, measures that we can proactively take that we think are going to make a significant difference."

The plan tackles themes from a community survey done by the city last fall: property damage and petty crime, limited foot traffic, a lack of consistent attractions and events, vacancies and a "perceived lack of safety in the core," Dilkens said. 

To address those issues, the plan adds new officers dedicated to downtown policing, expands hours at the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub and calling on the province to fund a 24/7 low-barrier transitional care facility among a host of other measures. 

"I think it's fair to say I believe and members of city council believe that people don't wake up one day and say, 'you know what, today I want to have a mental health breakdown. Today I want to become an addict," said Dilkens. "That's not how it works. We want to help those people as well ...but it's also about respecting the people who live downtown, the people who work downtown."

One of the main goals is improving the perception of safety. 

"I do feel that people genuinely, when they talk to us and they talk to the people that work with me, they don't feel safe at times," said Windsor police chief Jason Bellaire. "And if they don't feel safe at times, then perhaps it's there's something we can do."

At their next meeting on May 13, city council will be asked to re-open the 2024 budget to consider the plan. If approved, it'll mean a total increase to taxes of 0.7 per cent, bringing the city's tax rate to 4.61. 

The bulk of the money will be spent on additional police and expanding the house of the homelessness and housing hub. Those measures will cost $1.3 million and $1.4 million respectively, or about 0.62 per cent of the suggested budget increase for the plan. 

Safe streets, 'healthy places' among downtown plan focuses

The downtown plan includes seven key areas of focus: Safe streets, high standards, healthy spaces, place-making, vibrant district, "our downtown" and stronger together. 

Each has a corresponding list of activities and actions.

But notably, the plan includes expanding the Windsor Police Service's city central patrol team to add an additional 12 officers with a dedicated analyst, adding a dedicated bylaw enforcement officer for Ward 3 for 18 months, increasing the financial penalties for unkept properties with the possibility of creating and modifying bylaws to enhance property standards.

The plan also adds incentives for developers to bring housing, new businesses and "anchor tenants" — like a grocery store or restaurants — downtown and expands Project SafeStreets: a pilot introduced last year that added cameras on city streets to deter and help investigate crime, something Bellaire said will make "all the difference in the world" helping police gather evidence and eventually see people prosecuted for crime. 

The plan also identifies bringing health-care leaders to the table to secure provincial funding for a low-barrier transitional care facility downtown for immediate care. 

"We've always had the emergency department for people that need services that are in acute crisis," said David Musyj, the CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital. "If they're not admitted — we can't institutionalized everybody — it's where do they go after that?

"It's how do we have those services available for them that there's somewhere for individuals to go who don't need to be admitted and shouldn't be admitted but need help. So that's what we're talking about here."

Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino says the plan heralds a new era for the downtown. 

"These people ... they all need you. They all need you to believe in our downtown," he said. "We have so many great memories of our downtown, but today all I hear about is how bad our downtown is and how good it used to be.

"We love our history, we love those memories, but today, it's time for our future. It's time to ignite the flame of a new downtown."

Agostino said the plan will take both time and hard work, but will bring a return on investment for the city. 

"No matter where you live in this city, a part of downtown is in you," he said. 

Plan nods to Detroit similarities and differences

Many of the elements in the plan draw from similar programs that have worked in Detroit — the expansion of downtown cameras and purchase of more camera and light units that can be deployed for downtown events. 

But while many point to Detroit as example of downtown revitalization done right, Dilkens says it's not as easy for Windsor. 

"Detroit's a great role model, you know, for success and renaissance and revitalization," he said. "I just wish I had a Dan Gilbert, a Roger Penske and a couple other billionaires who would make the types of investments that you've seen in Detroit happen here as well."

Council faces process for in-year budget change

The plan now goes to council for approval of the spending.

Because this year's budget was the first tabled by Dilkens under newly granted provincial powers, the process for amending the budget will also be different.

Within 21 days, council can propose amendments, which can be accepted or vetoed by the mayor within five days. For another 10 days after that, council — with a two-thirds majority — can override any vetoes if they choose. 

Staff recommend in their report that the 21-day amendment window be shortened — slightly to May 13, the date of the next council meeting. 

Dilkens had previously said the 2024 budget and proposed increase of 3.9 per cent was a "delicate balance of compromises and investments."

"What you'll find here are very sensible, almost pain-free proposals to continue service delivery in 2024 much the same that you've seen in 2023," Dilkens said in January. 

The 2023 budget ultimately included an increase of 4.48 per cent, which 2024 now surpasses if the additional spending for the downtown plan is approved.