Editor's note: This story was updated on May 9 at 9:30 am after the city reached out to KelownaNow to clarify that the changes are not "temporary" but are a "one-time" offer and that although "over 400 properties" is technically correct, the city expects it "will be much more than 400."
Earlier this week, city council approved one-time changes that will give some Kelowna properties a break on their 2024 property taxes.
According to the city, the changes are for homeowners and businesses whose assessed property values significantly increased between 2023 and 2024 due to rezoning changes made by the city.
The break will apply to 225 residential properties, five light industrial properties and 190 business properties, which saw an assessment increase of more than 30%. However, a spokesperson for the city told KelownaNow that the amount of properties is expected to "be much more than 400."
A staff report presented to council on Monday said the BC Assessment Authority has valued properties recently rezoned by the city at a rate “beyond normal taxation increases” of properties in one of the city’s five Urban Centre zones.
“It is a highly complex issue not driven by any single cause that continues to evolve with Provincial-driven zoning,” the report said.
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Joe Sass, the city’s divisional director of financial services, told council that there were two recommendations that council could choose from.
“As we look through legislation to try and develop some sort of policy response to this, it’s important to note that for the most part, at least in the short-term, our responses are sort of a blunt instrument,” Sass told council.
“It's very difficult for the city to carve out individual properties within a class and typically require equity within those classes.”
The first recommendation would see a defer late-payment penalties for the light industrial and business properties property taxes to Nov. 1, 2024.
He told council this would give tenants more time to deal with the “state of affairs.”
Sass said this would equate to an “opportunity cost” of about $1.8 million, which Sass said was from invested funds that the city would have received earlier in the year and a portion from funds the city received on behalf of others, like the school tax and other similar funds.
Sass told council that he does not expect this to have any “meaningful impact” on the 2024 budget, which was adopted during the same meeting.
“It's important to note that we have to consider a slightly different alternative for the different classes because we are not legally allowed to provide grants to businesses,” Sass said.
“That’s why there are two recommendations here to deal with the two classes.”
The second recommendation would see the city provide a one-time grant program to the 225 residential properties to decrease the financial burden based on criteria that would be approved by council.
Sass’ report explained that the criteria would take into consideration properties within one of the five Urban Centres, property assessment class, principal use and the assessed value increase.
This option would be provided to not-for-profits, housing societies, housing co-ops and other similar housing projects that provide some sort of “social benefit” for residents.
Kelowna City Council agreed to the recommendations and directed staff to bring back more details on the criteria needed for the grants, which are expected to come forward at a future date for adoption.
