Supporting our members in the face of rising property tax
Program Update
The Strathcona BIA noted a dramatic increase in 2019 property values. The SBIA Board of Directors took action to support our members in the face of rising commercial property tax with a SBIA-wide review and appeal approach. Every member of the SBIA benefited from a commercial tax agent�s opinion on their 2019 commercial property assessment. Those properties recommended for appeal were filed collectively by the SBIA. All members were notified in print or by e-mail with next steps and options depending on the results of their appeal recommendation.
34% of all properties in the Strathcona BIA area were recommended for appeal.
Properties Reviewed: 402
Recommended for Appeal: 137
Not Recommended for Appeal: 265
The key factors that supported grounds for an appeal included:
Assessed value is higher than market value
Market sales are analyzed by BC Assessment to determine market value of properties. Due to differences between properties, some are over assessed based on the sales.
55% of recommended properties
Errors in income approach
An appeal may be warranted based on the income approach if the rents or leasable area applied by BC assessment is not reflective of market for the property type.
36% of recommended properties
Physical characteristics misrepresented
An appeal may be warranted if the assessor has misrepresented the size of the building on a property or the lot size itself.
0.7% of recommended properties
Equity
The taxpayer has the right to be assessed at the “lesser of” market value or comparable assessments.
9% of recommended properties
Improper Classification
Classification determines which tax rate applies to your property. If you feel your property has been misclassified this would warrant an appeal.
insufficient information at time of investigation.
Approximately 14% of members recommended for appeal opted to work with our agent to pursue action. Others decided to represent themselves or work with other commercial tax agents. Some property owners withdrew appeals or took no action, resulting in expired appeals.
BC Property Assessment Appeal Process Timeline
We’ve created an appeal process timeline to help you plan for next year.� For detailed information on the BC assessment appeal process visit:
www.bcassessment.ca�(1st level of appeal)
www.assessmentappeal.bc.ca�(2nd level of appeal)
Get in touch with your appeal story.
The SBIA is collecting the neighbourhood wide results for a full report back to the membership in the Fall.
If you would like to share your appeal process story and results with us, please reach out below.
Call Us: (604) 258-2727
Email: theo@strathconabia.com
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Commercial Tax Shift
On April 29th, 2019 Vancouver City Council voted in favour of a 2% tax shift from commercial property tax to residential over the next three years. The tax roll will shift one per cent in 2019 and 0.5 per cent in both 2020 and 2021. Businesses that own or are a tenant in an average commercial property can expect savings of $508 in 2019. Currently, businesses shoulder 42% of the property tax burden while consuming only 23% of City services.
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As part of our ongoing commercial tax advocacy in service to our members, SBIA Executive Director Theo Lamb, along with several other BIA leaders, spoke to Council in person and ultimately made the winning case that led to a majority Vancouver City Councillor vote in favour of this tax shift.
Vancouver has not seen a tax shift since 2012. We see this as a positive first step in addressing the unfair tax burden shouldered by the business community of Vancouver. There are many issues and drivers that contribute to high property taxes, and we look forward to working with stakeholders and the City to advocate for continued solutions and policies that provide relief to our commercial property owners and tenant businesses and organizations.
Read more about this Vancouver City Council decision in The Province and the Vancouver Sun.
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Resources to Support People Experiencing Homelessness
There are many small steps one can take to offer support to those experiencing homelessness in our community. The City of Vancouver has developed a resource page with information on actions you can take in different circumstances. It is always important to check in with the person you are concerned about in a safe and compassionate manner to see if they want help, and from there you can use the resources below to assist.
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To learn more about sanitation-related services offered by the City of Vancouver and the Strathcona BIA check out this blog post.
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Strathcona Tax Empowerment Program
At the beginning of the year, commercial property owners across the city are issued a notice of property assessment. This is the value BC Assessment Authority places on your property based on market value and its highest and best potential use.
The Strathcona BIA has noted a dramatic increase in property values for 2019 and we’re taking action to support our members in the face of rising commercial property tax and its implications. Read on to learn what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and next steps.
Action
After much consideration, the Strathcona BIA Board of Directors has decided to commission a commercial tax agent, Paul Sullivan of Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan & Associates Ltd., to review all SBIA member properties.
This means every member of the SBIA benefits from a professional legal opinion regarding their 2019 commercial property assessment. The agent will then determine if a member has merit or grounds to appeal their assessment ahead of the January 31st deadline. If you are a property recommended for appeal, it will automatically be filed on your behalf. If you’ve already initiated an appeal, our action will not negatively impact it.
Our commercial tax agent, Paul Sullivan, draws from many different data sources and considerable experience to arrive at his recommendations. There is no guarantee our agent will recommend your property for appeal.
Properties with Grounds for Appeal
If an appeal is filed on your behalf, we’ll contact you with the information you need should you wish to proceed with your appeal process after January 31st including:
- The opportunity to learn more about what an appeal could mean for your property, business or organization
- The opportunity to engage Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan & Associates Ltd. or a commercial tax agent of your choice to represent you through the appeal process
- The decision to drop the appeal if it doesn’t serve you
- The decision to take no action therefore allowing the appeal to expire after March 15, 2019
All Members
The SBIA will attempt to reach all members the week of January 28th, in advance of the January 31st appeal deadline, with the results of the SBIA-wide property assessment review. If an appeal is not recommended for your address, and you disagree, you can still file your own appeal by going to bcassessment.ca
Both commercial property owners and commercial property tenants have a right to appeal their assessment.
Benefits
Per the board’s decision, the SBIA is absorbing the cost of $100 per property which includes the benefit of a SBIA-wide review, the agent’s opinion, a final report on Strathcona commercial properties, and the filing of the recommended appeals to the Property Assessment Review Panel. Normally, the cost to initiate a review for an individual property would be higher. However, the SBIA is in a unique position to leverage the scale of our membership for a lower rate, benefiting every business, organization and property across our community.
Next Steps
As members, you will hear from the SBIA regarding this issue and opportunity including:
- An email before January 31st to members containing the results of our commercial tax agent’s final report
- Members with merit or grounds for an appeal will hear more immediately from the SBIA in the coming weeks regarding next steps
- An email and direct mail in Spring, 2019, to all members summarizing our findings and hopefully our success through this collective appeal process
If you’ve never received an email from us before you may not be on our list. To sign up from the SBIA newsletter, please visit our homepage at www.strathconabia.com or email us at info@strathconabia.com.
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Read MoreCreating community-serving retail and micro-enterprises in Chinese society buildings
Creating community-serving retail and micro-enterprises in Chinese society buildings
Increased development in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood creates pressure on existing retail and small businesses. Rising land and rent prices – and the general scarcity of affordable commercial spaces – threaten their sustainability while new commercial functions cater mostly to a far more affluent demographic and are detached from the community’s cultural heritage. This loss of cultural identity is particularly apparent in Chinatown and Strathcona. At the same time, there are many street-facing underutilized buildings in these areas that could provide far greater benefit to the community.
Joji Kumagai of the Strathcona BIA, Wilco van Bemmel of Walas Concepts and June Chow of the Youth Collaborative for Chinatown, have recently taken the initiative for a project to create community-serving retail in underutilized Chinese society buildings. Our project will create opportunities for affordable retail and micro-enterprises that serve the community, strengthen the local culture with functions that fit the community fabric and cultural identity, provide inclusive employment opportunities and improve the public realm by activating storefronts and streets.
The City of Vancouver has awarded a DTES capital grant for phase 1 of our project. In this first phase, we search for potential locations, assess retail and service gaps, build partnerships with Chinese societies
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SBIA Renewal
Successful Renewal
The Strathcona BIA Renewal process has concluded. On March 8, 2017 City Council approved the renewal term of seven years through 2024 and the funding cap.
During the various consultation sessions members identified many key priorities such as beautification initiatives and public perception of the area, as well as wanting to see continued investment in safety, property maintenance and cleaning programs.
Now that the process has wrapped up we can look ahead and begin evaluating and implementing additional programs such as:
- Beautification projects that could include public art pieces like installations, sculptures, murals, upgraded lighting etc.
- Pilot program to address and support members with debris on private property including hazardous material.
- Sustainable transportation advocacy plan that incorporates parking, movement of goods and people and curbside uses.
- Implementation of a Community Policing Centre on East Hastings.
- Strengthen our advocacy work at various government levels.
Thank you to all our members for your ongoing support, especially those who take the time to submit feedback and attend working sessions. Your feedback is what shapes the programming.
We look forward to working with, and on your behalf to build a thriving mixed-use, inclusive, and resilient local economy.
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SBIA Open Letter to Vancouver Coastal Health and City Council – Supervised Injection Sites Consultation Process
The SBIA has penned an open letter to Vancouver Coastal Health and City Council regarding recent public consultations spearheaded by Vancouver Coastal Health with respect to the two new supervised injection sites in our community. A copy of the letter is below or click HERE to view our op-ed published in the Vancouver Sun.
Proposed locations for the sites are:
- The new DTES Mental Health and Substance Use Drop-In-Centre at 528 Powell
- The Heatley Integrated Health Centre at 330 Heatley
An open letter to Vancouver City Council and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
On September 21st, Vancouver Coastal Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer announced the location of two new proposed supervised injection sites for the Downtown Eastside (DTES), both of which are slated to open in early 2017 in Strathcona. As the representative body of 450 businesses, the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA) welcomes the opportunity for meaningful consultation on this important matter, because what our community comprising 9,000 residents and 7,000 employees has been afforded to-date borders on shameful.
With three open houses scheduled in the middle of the work day, during the middle of the week, we gather that “official” consultation on this matter is now considered complete. This raises concern for us, not to mention the broader question as to whether this is the type of process Vancouverites can expect from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) when proposing supervised injection sites in other neighbourhoods.
In a hurry to prepare applications in response to a grave increase in overdose deaths throughout the city, VCH raced through the required process. Only a handful of the business owners and residents we work with were aware of the VCH-led open houses or had an opportunity to attend the sessions and provide input. The session I attended had less than twelve participants present.
The SBIA supports supervised injection sites and recognizes the need for these facilities, but they represent just one pillar of an overarching strategy. What is not clear at this juncture is what additional resources will be provided to support these new sites and ensure the safety of those who will use and work in them, as well as Strathcona residents, customers, and business owners who live, work and play in the community where these sites will soon operate.
As the city?s oldest neighbourhood, Strathcona has deep roots in the business community of modern Vancouver, serving as a gateway to the city for those arriving by road, sea and rail since the mid 1800?s. A “starter neighbourhood” historically, Strathcona remains a vibrant mix of industrial businesses and single family homes despite a noticeable lack of traditional amenities such as grocery stores, parks, neighbourhood pharmacies and walk-in health clinics, express transit service, sports fields, public pools or ice rinks, a community police centre, or even a post office.
Members of the SBIA are proud to be part of the DTES. However, ongoing public health issues like overdose related deaths in the area have prompted the need for renewed and meaningful dialogue with Vancouver?s policy makers on our urgent resourcing needs. Rubber stamping policies that address one issue, albeit a critical one, will not solve the broader problems communities will encounter, and could easily create new ones.
Strathcona business owners already cite safety as a primary concern due to an increase in homelessness, open substance use, and often, misinformation about the issues at hand. Currently, the Vancouver Police Department?s DTES BEAT Patrol ends at Gore Street, the border of Strathcona, but there were no indications at the VCH open houses that additional resources will be directed to the help the VPD extend their patrol into Strathcona, which experiences the same issues that are prevalent a few blocks away.
Supervised injection sites cannot exist in a silo, removed from the broader community fabric, especially amongst the mix of businesses and homes bordering the two new sites. In order to truly move the dial on issues that affect all Vancouver neighbourhoods, we need to work together – government, business, residents and advocates – to develop holistic approaches that address the health challenges we currently face. This begins with up-front, open and collaborative stakeholder engagement to ensure the community understands the importance and impact of supervised injection sites, and continues with a multipronged approach to both harm reduction and safety.
The Strathcona Business Improvement Association welcomes the opportunity to host a working session with members of Vancouver City Council, Vancouver Coastal Health and any business owner, resident, or stakeholder that wishes to build a better city.
We hope you will be in touch.
Sincerely,
Joji Kumagai
Executive Director
Strathcona Business Improvement Association
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Community Benches
As part of the 2016 Hastings Urban Tree Nursery expansion, three beautiful new benches have been added to the Strathcona streetscape. You’ll find them at 649 E Hastings Street, 901 E Hastings Street, and 477 Powell Street. Haeccity Architecture, a small architecture firm located in Strathcona, approached SBIA with a customizable bench design and generously offered to donate the design and their services for the HUTN.
Community Design Workshop
Community members designing benches at the Haeccity workshop
Early design stages of a bench with a communal table
On February 18th, SBIA and Haeccity held a Bench Design Workshop open to all SBIA members and the public. Sixteen people attended and collaboratively customized the Haeccity bench design to suit the desires of the businesses at each location. The finalized bench designs were sent out for multiple quotes for fabrication of the steel and wood portions. SBIA members returned the most favourable quotes and Quest Metal Works and MakerLabs were selected to manufacture the steel chassis and the wood slats, respectively.
Manufacturing and Installation
Staff member at Quest Metal Works welding metal pieces
Team from Maker Labs installing the bench outside of Liquids and Solids
Haeccity donated reclaimed fir beams they had salvaged from the previous MakerLabs location in Mount Pleasant when it was demolished in 2015. The benches were installed in August and September 2016 by MakerLabs. Check out these awesome benches around the neighbourhood and let us know if you have a favourite design!
Completed?Benches
Bench outside of Liquids and Solids, 901 E Hastings Street
Bench outside of Homestead Junction, 649 E Hastings Street
Bench outside of the Uncommon Cafe, 477 Powell Street
Do you think your business is a good candidate for a HUTN tree planter or bench outside your storefront? Contact the SBIA sustainability coordinator, johanna@strathconabia.com, to find out more about participating in the HUTN 2017 expansion.
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AGM and Renewal
We are pleased to announce that at the 2016 Annual General Meeting held on September 28, 2016 at the Pink Pearl Restaurant, members unanimously voted in support of the renewal term of 7 years, the cap of $7.449M and the 17/18 budget. The Board of Directors expresses its thanks and gratitude to the many members for their time and input for face-to-face meetings, survey participation, open house attendance and conversations over the phone to help set the mandate and budget for the next seven years.
The final step of the renewal process will be a letter from the City of Vancouver in late 2016 to officially inform SBIA members of the BIA’s renewal application. Then the renewal application will go to Council in spring 2017 for approval.
At the AGM, we said farewell to two outstanding directors, Toby Barazzuol and Colin Stansfield. Toby served on the Board for over ten years, including three years as the Chair, and was instrumental in spearheading the SBIA’s sustainability work and community-building efforts. This work has allowed the SBIA to represent the interests of its members in a much broader spectrum of community dialogues and to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in external funding to deliver innovative projects. Colin served on the Board for four years and was instrumental in redefining the work of the Community Relations Committee by initiating the Policy & Positions document and advocacy strategic direction and was a key resource to the bring local news back to the Board table. Thank you Toby and Colin for your many years of service to the Strathcona BIA.
Board of Directors 2016-2017
Appointed by acclamation, we welcomed two new directors, Darryl Ray and Anu Kainth, to fill the vacant seats left by Toby and Colin. Darryl Ray is the Partner and General Manager of the Butler Did It Catering and Anu Kainth is a property manager for buildings in the Railway area. Re-elected to the Board were Emma Carscadden (Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects), Tammy Tsang (My Loud Speaker Marketing), Rick Havlak (Homestead Junction) and Jason Gilron (Pacific Restaurant Supply) while Peter Joe (Sunrise Soya Foods), Wayne Nelsen (Patricia Hotel), Amanda Dalla Zanna (Savoury Chef) and Braden Parker (Low Tide Properties) will be serving their second year of the two year term.
The AGM concluded with keynote remarks from David Lewis, Team Lead for the Integrated Graffiti Management Program for the City of Vancouver.
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