Canmore’s development industry lobby group believes tourist home tax rates are discriminating and the commercial to residential mill rate split puts too much burden on business.
Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association executive director Ron Remple made the comments at the organization’s annual general meeting March 8.
He said the differential in property taxes between residents and non-residents owning property in a tourist home district is discriminatory when both are using the property in the same way.
“Non-permanent residents are part of the makeup of our town,” Remple said. “We should be encouraging them to come here more often, not putting up roadblocks and barriers and treating them as second-class residents.”
He was specific about referring only to non-permanent residents who do not use their vacation home as an actual tourism home, adding the policy discourages them from buying in Canmore.
When it came to the split in municipal property taxes between commercial and residential properties, Remple said the commercial tax base has been significantly subsidizing the residential side for a number of years.
In 2005, the commercial tax base represented 16 per cent of the total tax base and that has not changed much at all because in 2011 it represented 17 per cent of the tax base.
However, in 2005, 27 per cent of the municipal operating budget was paid for by commercial taxes as opposed to the 43 per cent paid in 2011.
That 43 per cent translated into $6.4 million into Town coffers compared to $2.9 million paid in 2005.
Residential taxes in 2005 totaled $7.9 million, or $1,115 per residential unit, compared to $8.4 million or $1,014 per residential unit last year.
Remple said commercial properties and business owners are paying too large a proportion of the total taxation needed for the Town to operate. He said it is a barrier to growth in the economy for current businesses, or attracting new ones to the community.
“Given the tough eonomic times that our local businesses are facing, we request that council not continue to increase the non-residential tax rate at a faster pace than the residential tax rate so that the trend of increased taxation of Canmore’s commercial sector can be halted,” Remple said.
Remple also questioned the cash in lieu amount of $50,000 the Town is currently charging downtown developments.
He said BOWDA has initiated a review to determine if that cost per parking stall to build a parkade is appropriate as it is an issue that may be a barrier to development.
“What does it really cost to build a parkade downtown in Canmore so we know how much we should be charging?” Remple said.
BOWDA chair Terry Burch raised the issue of several other municipal projects over the past year, including the review and revision of the Sustainability Screening Report.
BOWDA had long been critical of the process’s subjectivity, erosion of legal land rights and lack of appeal. Council amended the bylaw and established an input/offset matrix meant to evaluate proposed projects based on a net benefit to the community.
“The basis of the new SSR process is the SSR matrix and BOWDA will review the process yearly to ensure it is working as intended,” Burch said.
He said BOWDA is also doing a detailed review of the offsite levy model to ensure it is accurate and fair for the development industry.
Offsite levies have dramatically decreased in the last several years with a downturn in development and the economy. Those levies for utilities have gone down so much they resulted in a $1 million deficit in the utility rate model that council chose to fund through taxes this year.
