Exemptions are not for 25 years

Dear editor: A correction is required for your March 9 article, “City urged to increase rental-unit tax break; Kelowna City Staff Say Tax Holiday for Builders of Rental Housing Should Be More Than Doubled — to 25 Years.”

The tax exemption remains at 10 years, while the extension referred to in the report applies to the agreement with the property owner that the building remains a rental property for 25 years. Most other municipalities are moving towards longer commitments like the 25-year commitment being proposed.

Legislatively speaking, municipalities are not permitted to exceed the 10-year tax exemption.

In a letter to the editor prompted by the news story, Ian Royce Sisset takes issue with the tax exemptions (Courier, March 12). These exemptions help add to the community’s rental housing stock, an area of the real estate market that would be even more neglected by developers without these exemptions.

Mr. Sisset also expresses the opinion that some developers receive preferential treatment by staff and council. This is not true and the discrepancies in building plan approvals are influenced by a number of factors.

Development that is consistent with the City’s official community planning, zoning bylaws and development guidelines generally moves more quickly through the city planning review process than development that isn’t.

Also, applicants who provide high quality applications with complete information will see their applications move more quickly through the city’s processes.

While the city’s development application processes are generally similar for developments both big and small, no two development sites are exactly the same, no two developments are exactly the same and the complexities of vary greatly from site to site. Tom Wilson City of Kelowna