Unintended Consequences

Governments generally don't get it (obviously) from the point of view of the taxpayer.

Simply put, municipal and regional and city councils decide how much property tax (revenue) they want, and work backwards through their various tax classifications to determine mill rates.

Whether it was a result of the regional district's "growth management plan", or simply (what most acreage owners believe) because residential folks wanted their Coldstream Valley views to always remain the same is, frankly, immaterial.  Whether the council-of-the-day's "support for agriculture" convinced them that too many small--hence unprofitable--acreages would result from continued subdivision  is, frankly, immaterial.  Whether continued subdivision of acreages--some of which had been held in families' investment plans for two generations--would place "too much infrastructure demand" on the community--is, frankly, immaterial.

Growth has stalled in the North Okanagan.
Economic development officers shake their heads.
So the lack of growth obviously wasn't from a lack of economic development officers on the payroll!

Despite recent newspaper stories that the North Okanagan wasn't seeing the expected population growth forecasted, in Coldstream's case it was Coldstream itself that stymied growth in East Coldstream and Lavington with their RU10/RU30 plan!   That plan would limit subdivision of properties to a minimum of 25 acres in the proposed RU10 zone, and a minimum of 75 acres in the proposed RU30 zone.  (RU10 was deleted from the re-re-revised Agriculture Plan's adoption, in part a result of the hue and cry raised by the Coldstream Acreage Owners' Association).

Even the newspaper posed this in their Question of the Day: 

Are municipalities' economic and social policies to blame for stalled population growth in the North Okanagan?  Morning Star

They sure as hell are.
But some municipalities (unlike Coldstream) manage to avoid that.   

At 12,000 residents, Lake Country is the fastest growing municipality in B.C., which makes sense.
The simple answer is because Lake Country is a 15-minute drive from Kelowna and its international airport.
But also because their emphasis on Business is front and center, even on their webpage.

Back to classes of property tax in B.C. 

1	Residential
2	Utilities
3	Supportive Housing
4	Major Industry
5	Light Industry
6	Business Other
7	Managed Forest Land
8	Recreational Property, Non-profit Organization
9	Farm Land

At Coldstream's council meeting held Monday, March 9th, 2015, Coldstream Ranch owner Keith Balcaen appealed to council, concerned with the tax multiplier for the Ranch.  And rightly so.   Pages 3 through 14 here provide both historical and current details.  Pages 5, 6, 7 and 8 are particularly interesting!

"...maybe we should start selling off ?"   Keith Balcaen

But in order to get any relief, Council needs to increase other classes' mill rates (because of the  "required revenue" thingy).

Added to that, Tolko recently repeated its appeal that the Major Industry class should be reduced from its current mill rate.

Lucky Keith.
Why?
Because the Coldstream Ranch has up to 130 land titles, all subdivided many many years ago before the reign of our "pragmatic socialist" mayor.  Even before he was born.  Wiki provides part of the history.
Harbour Publishing has a nice book on it, unfortunately it's out of stock.  And, despite the City of Vernon website including the grey canal in its public trail offerings, Mr. Balcaen has not (and apparently, won't) given permission for the section adjacent to his grazing lands (and north of Highlands Golf property) to open to the public.  Good for him.

And, as Keith Balcaen stated "...might have to start peeling off some of the 130 titles the ranch owns in order to be viable...we're a bigger entity, maybe we should start selling off?", printed the Morning Star in this article. 

So ... advice to Keith (his business acumen assures he doesn't need advice), but here's Kia's take on the subject (conveniently the same as mine):

"Sell the subdivided parcels...start at the gravel pit at Buchanan and Vimy Roads, because it's your business plan for which you are responsible, not Coldstream's," Kia offers.

Just think, Keith...that'd sure end the dust complaints from the gravel pit neighbours.

Just think, Keith...the benefit of land title registrations that precede this and previous councils.

Unintended consequences indeed!

 

Priceless!

 

"Hate bureaucracy and all the nonsense that comes with it. "

 Jack Welch, former Chair General Electric