The municipality is looking to cut down on red tape when it comes to development.
Chatham-Kent will hold an open house on Wednesday, February 13 at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers at the Civic Centre in Chatham (the meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 12, but it was pushed back due to poor weather Tuesday).
"When business succeeds, Chatham-Kent succeeds," said Mayor Darrin Canniff. "So we need to ensure that when a business has an idea, or something they want to do to develop in the community, it's done quickly. We want to have an open for business sign over Chatham-Kent, and this is a big step towards that."
Paperwork can be a big tripping point.
"When you're applying for a building permit, or you're looking for a rezoning of a property, or you're even looking for a special events permit, all of those kinds of things are the types of things that businesses and individuals go through," said John Norton, general manager of community development. "They are looking for use to find ways to reduce red tape, essentially."
Norton said there are a number of things they can do to help.
"Perhaps less paperwork, perhaps we can ask council to address fees, and perhaps we can just make it more simple," said Norton. "We've heard that sometimes people are sent from department to department, to department at city hall, and we want to figure out ways to make us more business friendly, more customer friendly."
Anyone who is unable to make it to the open house can fill out a survey online to voice their opinion.