Economic Development
Town Council believes that economic development activity is a critical next step in their efforts to grow a commercial tax base and create job opportunities associated with business expansion and development.
In 2014 members of the Centreville Town Council, recognizing the opportunity for beneficial outcomes that might arise from facilitating economic development and expanding the commercial tax base for the town, passed an ordinance to empower a Centreville Economic Development Authority (CEDA) to analyze the situation and develop strategies to guide related growth by choice instead of by chance. As a result, this plan has been created to frame a strategy for future economic development that may occur in and around the Town of Centreville.
Based on the findings and recommendations contained in the Centreville Economic Development Plan and the Main Street Market Study, CEDA has formally committed to undertake the following concurrent and sequential activities:
- Continue to track implementation efforts and call out measures of success and accountability;
- Conduct periodic reviews of real estate regulations and regulations regarding the formation and conduct of businesses to identify, and otherwise mitigate, unnecessary impediments to business development. This should include the review and evaluation of relevant external regulations in collaboration with County and State economic development agencies;
- Address how regulatory streamlining water and sewer allocation fee waivers can be most effectively implemented to attract desirable businesses;
- Maintain a proactive approach to plan for future water/ sewer capacity, particularly as critical masses of new development are brought on line;
- Inventory available business supporting building space and development ready land;
- Clarify and build consensus for intended land uses at the and U.S. Rt. 301/MD Rt. 304 and U.S. Rt. 301/MD Rt. 213 interchange and corridor areas to guide future master planning;
- Recommend pursuing school and workforce development training academy operations;
- Create and maintain a pride of place and build community buy-in for economic development and downtown revitalization initiatives;
- Call for creation of a comprehensive Town-wide marketing plan and brand identity;
- Encourage and support more improvements to Downtown properties;
- Develop and promote façade improvement tax incentives;
- Utilize more stringent code enforcement to proactively address blighted properties;
- Recommend low cost and near term financial and non-financial incentives to improve visual appeal;
- Explore and support the development of tourism experiences that capitalize on existing tourism and visitation on the Eastern Shore and the Town’s cultural and natural assets.
