The Village of Pemberton (VOP) is proposing a two-year permissive tax exemption for Sea to Sky Community Services’ affordable housing build on Harrow Road. The motion was given first three readings at a council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
A zoning amendment to allow permanent housing on the land was also adopted at Tuesday’s meeting. The Harrow Road project is “highly likely” to be completed within five years.
Located at Harrow Road and Highway 99, the 63-unit, five-storey building will feature a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with 30 per cent allocated for market rentals, 50 per cent for “rent geared to income” and 20 per cent for low- income households. The 9,000-square-foot bottom floor will be used for SSCS’ new offices—in which they will run 28 of the 40 programs they offer throughout the Sea to Sky—with the rest of the space slated for commercial uses.
Under the Community Charter, there are two levels of tax exemptions that may be applied to lands within a municipality or regional district, explained Sheena Fraser, manager of administrative services and corporate officer for the VOP.
“A statutory exemption is applied to lands that are held by provincial government, local government,” she said. “It includes under buildings such as libraries, Crown lands held in trust, cemeteries, places of worship, hospitals, schools, etc.”
The second type of exemption—a permissive tax exemption—is the one the Harrow Road project will fall under.
“This type of exemption exempts the [organization] from having to pay the municipal portion of property taxes,” Fraser said. “They can be applied to land owned by charity, philanthropic or non-profit organisations, municipalities, regional districts, other local authorities.”
In 2024, the estimated amount of foregone municipal tax stemming from the Harrow Road project will be $4,691. In 2025, it will be $5,066.
The VOP established a policy for permissive tax exemptions in 2013, Fraser said.
“The purpose of this was to set out the criteria, process and procedure for making applications for an exemption. It was also to make sure the request meets the goals of the village,” she said.
“The Village currently provides seven permissive tax exemptions to seven organizations.”
Those organizations include: Municipal Land and Buildings, BC Conference of Mennonite Brethren, Pemberton Childcare Society, Pemberton Lion's Society, Stewardship Pemberton, Search and Rescue, and the Royal Canadian Legion. The total exemption value for all seven was $9,081 in 2022.
Fraser explained the tax exemptions must be adopted by Oct.31 to be applied the following year. The exemptions can be granted or up to 10 years.
“The village has historically provided a lesser exemption to start, and transitioned to a 10-year period after one or two years,” she said. “This depends on the circumstance of the organization requesting the exemption.”
She stressed the new affordable housing will be of great benefit to the entire community.
“The intention is to construct a building that will have affordable housing rentals, commercial space as well as space for their offices and programming … [SSCS] provides extensive services to the Pemberton community,” Fraser said.
“Based on the criteria set out in the policy, SSCS qualifies to be considered for permissive tax exemption.”
SSCS has requested a three-year permissive tax exemption. However, at this time staff are recommending a two-year exemption to start. The rationale behind this approach is that as the development proceeds, the assessed value of the land will increase over time.
“To ensure transparency on the amount of property tax collection that will be forgone, staff feels it’s important to give the permissive tax exemption in phases,” said Fraser. “This approach also aligns with how the Village has looked at these types of requests in the past. This will help them to achieve their goal of an affordable housing facility.
“It meets with council’s goals to support affordable housing in Pemberton.”
Councillor Ted Craddock raised concerns about the potential permissive tax exemption at the meeting.
“There is going to be a portion of this development that will be commercial,” he said. “I do have some issue with that part of the project then being tax exempt.”
Fraser clarified the commercial portion of the building would not qualify for a tax exemption. Once the building is up and running, the commercial element will be removed from the calculation.
“That is one reason why staff are recommending to start with a two-year exemption,” she said. “It’s going to take another year for construction to get underway. By 2025, we will have a better understanding of what that building is looking like.
“We can deal with it at a year at a time. We would ultimately like to get to a 10-year exemption. A two-year is a good start and we can move forward from there.”
