{"id":33529,"date":"2017-06-27T12:09:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T16:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=33529"},"modified":"2017-06-27T16:34:52","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T20:34:52","slug":"should-property-owners-pay-more-tax-if-their-buildings-are-empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/should-property-owners-pay-more-tax-if-their-buildings-are-empty\/","title":{"rendered":"Should property owners pay more tax if their buildings are empty?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison and Councillor Brian Thompson had their way, all owners of vacant commercial properties would be penalized if their property sits empty for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

The pair were not only suggesting that the existing 30 per cent property tax reduction for vacant commercial and industrial properties be repealed, but that the municipality lobby for the creation of a new tax category making owners of vacant properties pay a higher rate.<\/p>\n

Currently, owners of commercial and\/or industrial properties that are partially or entirely vacant are eligible for a 30 per cent tax rebate<\/a><\/span> if their property has been vacant for more than 90 consecutive days. The space must be rentable and cannot be used for storage. The property owners must apply for the rebate on an annual basis and it does not apply to vacant lands or seasonal businesses.<\/p>\n

Aitchison, speaking at the June 28 council meeting, said the issue had been discussed at a District committee and said provincial legislation has forced municipalities to provide the tax break. \u201cWho knows why,\u201d said the Mayor, adding that discussions will continue at the District level. \u201cIf we want to create a new tax class in Huntsville, the District will have to approve it,\u201d he said, and told Thompson: \u201cWe\u2019re actually taking that issue up because I suggested what you suggested, that there should be penalty, and so we\u2019re working on that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson agreed. \u201cEspecially, Your Worship, when we see buildings that have been vacant for 15, 20 years and we know there\u2019s a need for rental space downtown but there seems to be no big desire for the owner of that building to get it rented for whatever reason, unless maybe it\u2019s a tax write-off,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to be able to say \u2018Yeah, okay, you\u2019re going to leave that building vacant for a year; then you\u2019re going to pay 30 per cent more rather than 30 per cent less.Huntsville Councillor Brian Thompson<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those discussions were prompted by a letter signed by the board of the Downtown BIA, expressing concern with the number of commercial vacancies in the downtown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did an inventory of our downtown space and discovered we have a 25 per cent vacancy rate. To say the least this number was a shocking statistic to our Board of Directors,\u201d states the letter, which goes on to list five properties that have been vacant for more than five years in the downtown. They are: 6 Main Street East (former Canton restaurant); the Empire lot, which it states used to house 10 retail stores; 19 Main Street East (former grocery store); 17 Main Street East; and 15 Main Street East (the old CFBK location).<\/p>\n

The letter goes on to say that the relocation of The Beer Store has also had a negative impact on the \u201cgeneral traffic\u201d of the downtown. \u201cCertainly, this Council is aware of the undesirable result of having empty buildings in Brendale square and the meagre appearance of the parking lot in that area, and the negative consequences it has on our downtown as such a close neighbour.”<\/p>\n

The BIA board has several recommendations it would like council to consider such as the elimination of the 30 per cent property tax reduction granted to property owners of vacant buildings, stricter enforcement of property standards, a review of the Community Improvement Plan and how it is applied to the downtown, and the BIA\u2019s ability to become a voice on the Town\u2019s Economic Development Committee.<\/p>\n

Aitchison opened up the issue for discussion. \u201cMy thought process was that it\u2019s probably time for us to get some community engagement in this topic and engage the BIA and come up with a plan of attack for revitalizing our downtown. It\u2019s been a few years since we\u2019ve done stuff and it\u2019s starting to show its age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councillor Nancy Alcock said she agrees with looking at the existing Community Improvement Plan for the downtown and see what success stories have come about as a result of having the plan in place. \u201cI know that Gravenhurst and Bracebridge both have a downtown improvement plan and they were both going on as to how it\u2019s been really successful. So, I actually would like to know how successful ours has been downtown, so a review of that would be terrific,\u201d said Alcock. She said expanding the plan to the Brendale area \u201cwould make a whole lot of sense.\u201d She also reminded councillors that a group of university students would be embarking on a visioning project for the Brendale area in the fall. \u201cSo somehow that should be tied into whatever we\u2019re doing, but I do think it\u2019s a good idea to start this discussion for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano said she was unsure how effective the existing Community Improvement Plan has been in the downtown, although she noted such plans have been effective in the past. \u201cI really like the BIA\u2019s recommendation that we get a little stronger on our property standards enforcement, especially if our property standards [bylaw] allows us to be stricter,\u201d she said, referring to the possibility as a \u201cshort-term win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aitchison suggested that a working group, which would include the BIA, be organized to look at the whole downtown revitalization issue along with the possibility of providing financial incentives attached to an updated and expanded Community Improvement Plan.<\/p>\n

The issue is expected to make its way to the Town\u2019s General Committee in July for further discussion.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here<\/u>.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison and Councillor Brian Thompson had their way, all owners of vacant commercial properties would be penalized if their property sits empty for an extended period […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[26,1313,406,1314],"class_list":["post-33529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-breaking","tag-downtown-revitalization","tag-huntsville-council","tag-vacant-commercial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShould property owners pay more tax if their buildings are empty? - Huntsville Doppler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If Mayor Aitchison and Councillor Thompson had their way, owners of vacant commercial property would be penalized if their property sits empty over time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/should-property-owners-pay-more-tax-if-their-buildings-are-empty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should property owners pay more tax if their buildings are empty? 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