Posted Feb 1, 2009, 6:00 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 41,809
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Nice little perk for planting those gardens.... I wonder if there would be any problem changing the designation back?
Quote:
Developer brings in the dirt to save some green
Allen Garr
Vancouver Courier
Friday, January 30, 2009
Talk about unintended consequences. Just when we were feeling all warm and fuzzy about the explosion of community gardens, there is now concern that they could prove to be a serious challenge to the civil liberties of anyone who wants to grow a few tomatoes and a shocking realization they'll increase the tax burden of commercial properties right across the city.
First the civil liberties issue: Consider the temporary gardens created by Onni Group of Companies at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Seymour Street in Yaletown. The property could have been left vacant pooling with water, gathering rubbish or turning into a tent city for the homeless. Instead, Onni hauled in several tonnes of topsoil, set up a water system, built raised beds and surrounded it by a pleasant country-style fence. Total cost $100,000.
It was great publicity for developers wanting to show off their green credentials. The response from area residents interested in getting a plot was overwhelming. There is a lengthy waiting list.
Then one would-be gardener read the fine print of the agreement all were required to sign. He was stunned. Section 2.2 Gardener's Restrictions restrict the actions of gardeners even after they've ceased to be gardeners. The individual can't "oppose" any Onni plans or the plans of its "affiliates," not just on that site but on "any property adjacent to it" or "in the vicinity of the property." That includes lobbying any level of government or community group "making it more difficult for the landlord to proceed."
According to the city's director of planning Brent Toderian, developers have had a "fear" that opening their land on a temporary basis to community gardens would cause them nothing but headaches from people who would oppose the development while they were still using the plot. He admits that tying up people "any time thereafter" they stop gardening is "going too far," and suggests it would be unenforceable. The restrictions are problematic and he might consider scrapping them in the future. Meanwhile, all those now gardening have signed on the dotted line.
The temporary garden of 190 plots was originally planned to stop at the end of this year. But given the economic downturn, it could be four or five years, says Onni.
This brings us to the issue of property taxes.
Onni's intentions aren't entirely altruistic. As a result of installing the garden, Onni got the land reclassified by the B.C. Assessment Authority from Class 6, which is business or commercial, to Class 8, which is recreational or non profit. This means a cut in property tax of more than 70 per cent.
According to the tax records, the seven parcels that make up Onni's community garden have a combined assessed value of $24 million. As of 2009, all are class 8 properties.
According to the city's property tax department, shifting from class 6 to class 8 will save Onni just a tad over $357,000 this year and probably $2 million by the time they begin construction.
By the way, the subsidy comes out to about $1,900 per garden plot per year. It's a figure the city's Queen of Green, Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer, finds "a bit shocking." And she suggests that Onni is "exploiting a loophole."
Toderian explains that the city doesn't lose that money, as it is spread over all other commercial properties across the city.
Though that amount is relatively small, think about the number of developers who are sitting on vacant land with their projects on hold during this downturn. There is nothing, it seems, stopping them from letting 1,000 gardens bloom as they haul in the top soil and split-rail fencing and sign up all those city dwellers eager to get back to the land to questionable contracts.
Meanwhile, millions of dollars in taxes will be shifted to already over-burdened commercial property owners and their tenants unless someone at city hall wakes up and smells the roses.
[email protected]
© Vancouver Courier 2009
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