Whereas the cost to remediate brownfields is quite onerous often costing more than the value of the property resulting in private property owners choosing to leave brownfields vacantdormant to avoid these costs, leaving brownfields and contaminated sites a detriment to development and aesthetics in many communities; And whereas the Provincial and Federal Governments have not provided the funds or the means to local governments to remediate brownfields: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the province to allow local governments to create a municipal taxation structure for brownfields that would allow local governments to increase taxation value on brownfields over time up to the equivalent value of the property in a remediated state to encourage property owners to make efforts to remediate; And be it further resolved that the local governments be required to create a remediation reserve fund from the additional taxes collected for the purposes of remediation of brownfields whether publicly or privately owned.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing The issue of contaminated sitesbrownfields is a province-wide concern, for both rural and urban communities, and one that the Province takes seriously. The cost of remediation for these properties is often prohibitive and can even exceed the market value of the property. As a result, increasing the rate of taxation andor creating a new property class for these properties may have unintended consequences and challenges from the outset such that the property could remain unprofitable and unused which likely is not the outcome communities are needing. As such, both the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Finance believe a separate property class for brownfield sites may not be the best solution. BC Assessment is required to assess properties at their market value. Valuing contaminated sites at their market value takes into account the current state of the property, as well as the remediation required to achieve the intended use of the site and the time frame for any redevelopment. The assessed value must reflect the likely cost of remediation and the time frame required for that remediation, as the market will take those factors into consideration in determining market value. Ministry staff will continue to consider this issue and work with UBCM staff on options including those from an environmentalclimate lens.