I'm wondering how the new OCPs will change property valuations, and whether the BC Assessment Authority will have to re-think valuing property on what's built, rather than what might be built under zoning.
The Minister has commented that he doesn't anticipate that the upzoning from requiring municipalities to allow a suite and/or laneway will impact valuations much overall, because so many properties are impacted. That seems reasonable.
But taking a single family home and now requiring it to be in a zone that might allow 12 storeys and 4 FAR, or 20 storeys, and 5 FAR would seem to increase the value of that lot quite a bit more. It's possible the Assessment Authority could take the position that until a site is assembled (or sold to a developer) the assessment doesn't change. Otherwise the owners who find themselves in those zones might find their assessed values going up significantly.
There seem to be several side effects of that. There will be a significant group of very pissed homeowners, who aren't going to take kindly to paying much higher taxes. It's not like there will be enough developer interest (or money) to buy up every developable lot in a short time - there will be thousands of properties affected. Ironically, the higher values would make site assembly more expensive, so it doesn't ensure any newly developed homes are as affordable as they might be. It presumably gives owners who do sell, a windfall non-taxable capital gain (as happens on Oak and Cambie, for example). And taxes for the homes outside the station zones should fall, as property taxes are a zero-sum game - if there's more money coming from one group of owners, the others will pay less.
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