Calgary council eyes tax incentives to spur housing development

A notice of motion is before Calgary city council on Tuesday that could see the construction of much-needed homes in underused areas of the city.

Calgary city council is exploring the idea of using tax incentives to encourage people to build certain types of housing in specific areas of the city.

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The notice of motion, brought forward by Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, will be discussed during Tuesday’s council meeting.

It calls to create new property tax subclasses to try and spur housing development.

One way to do that is through a tax exemption program for purpose-built rental buildings near transit areas.

Certain developments that meet the criteria would then get a break on their property taxes.

The motion says a similar tax subclass could also be used to encourage multi-residential developments throughout the city.

This mirrors programs from other cities like Canmore and Kelowna, B.C.

The other tax change in the motion looks to create a vacant property tax program to incentivize the development of empty or derelict properties,

It would create a definition for what a derelict property is and then subject them to varying tax rates.

Edmonton was the first municipality in Canada to launch a tax program to address problem properties.

In a report to their city’s council last week, it found 30 per cent of properties assessed as derelict last year were either demolished or remediated, with landowners saying the tax was a major factor.

Following the Tuesday’s discussions, the City of Calgary will then create a report on the feasibility of the tax programs and then present it before council next year.