Whereas there are a number of properties in the City of Castlegar that contain more than one parcel and will attract more than one parcel tax when one is imposed using section 200 and 201 of the Community Charter: And whereas the provisions of the Community Charter with respect to the definition of a parcel and the creation of a parcel tax assessment roll are inconsistent with the Assessment Act and are unfair to property owners while limiting municipalities from equitably distributing a parcel tax burden: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of British Columbia consider revising the Community Charter to include the provision that is included in the Assessment Act in chapter 20, part 1, section 5: Splitting and Grouping of Parcels If a building or other improvement extends over more than one parcel of land, those parcels, if contiguous, may be treated by the assessor as one parcel and assessed accordingly;
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing The term parcel is defined similarly in the Assessment Act and the Community Charter. In the Community Charter, a parcel means any lot, block or other area in which land is held or into which it is subdivided, but does not include a highway. Providing there is a reasonably equitable and consistent method of entering properties onto the roll, this definition provides sufficient latitude for a municipality to create a parcel tax roll to suit its needs, including using the same parcels as BC Assessment under section 5 of the Assessment Act. However, in accordance with section 1934 of the Community Charter, a municipality cannot divide a legal parcel, as defined under the Assessment Act, for the purposes of a parcel tax roll. Given the above latitude, the Province is not considering any legislative changes at this time.