Port Moody business landowners are due for a property tax increase next year as the province eyes 16 downtown properties to pull from the city's tax roll to accommodate the Evergreen Line.
The Evergreen Project Team identified the properties for expropriation to the BC Transportation and Finance Authority in preparation for construction of the rapid transit line connecting Burnaby to Coquitlam through Port Moody.
The removal of the lands from the city's tax revenue stream will leave a gap of up to $210,000 in annual revenue that the city will collect from all similarly zoned properties.
According to a July 19 report from the city's corporate services department, the 16 properties dotting Clarke, Columbia, St. Johns, Spring and William streets as well as Electronic Avenue, are a combination of Class 5 (light industry) and split Class 5/6 (light industry/business-other).
According to tax code, the lost revenue from the removal of these properties will be shared by all other Port Moody properties in those categories.
Those other taxpayers total 33 light industrial property owners and 464 owners of other business lands.
The city's corporate services director, Paul Rockwell, said the added tax burden would not be distributed as an even percentage across all properties but would fluctuate depending on many variables, including property value and current property tax assessment.
The $210,000 tax gap is an estimate based on the BC Transportation and Finance Authority developing all of the 16 properties, Rockwell said, with a low-estimate of $132,000 should the province only use half the lands.
According to the report, city staff approached the B.C. government seeking grants-in-lieu to cover the lost property tax revenue in accordance with the Municipal Aid Act but were told properties that are expropriated to be used for transportation purposes are exempt from any grants-in-lieu from the province.
