Carmen Gets It

Not many people understand this stuff, most notably bureaucrats and politicians.

But I'll get to that later.
And I have a solution, which I've used myself...

Carmen Bunnah gets it, as shown by her letter to the editor of Morning Star today.
It concerns the Spallumcheen motoplex speedway which has had considerable noise issues with neighbours, despite having been allowed to be constructed.  After some time, he powers-that-be even implemented limits on the number of races the speedway could hold.

First, Carmen's letter:

Wrong Decision:
"I just wanted to comment on what is happening to our Spallumcheen speedway.
I think the courts made a huge mistake even letting this lawsuit go to court.  The municipality allowed the race track to be built and the person that owns it has invested a substantial amount of money to run this business.  Now that could be in jeopardy.
So what ends up happening there will probably be more lawsuits and eventually it will put these people out of business and gone will be our race track.
It is not like they run races every day.  It is a great way for a family to spend an evening, and I think the few times in the summer that there is noise, people should be able to put up with it.  No one should be able to take someone's livelihood away.
As far as sales being down at Lawrence Heights, sales are down every where because of our economy and I don't think the race track is what is affecting it.
Are we becoming like the U.S. where we sue for everything?  It is a very sad day when a few can ruin things for all."
        Carmen Bunnah

I agree with Carmen.
The community's red tape allowed the facility to be constructed and operated, albeit operations were reduced (the number of events that could be held) some time ago by officials.

While my facility, Highlands Golf, differs from the speedway in that I've never been sued in 15 years of operations, I have a suggestion that Carmen should take to the owners.

Next year (and every year until they succeed) the speedway should appeal their B.C. property tax assessment.

On what grounds?  Prove to the assessor two things:

• that no other racetrack in B.C. has the limits on the number of events that can be held there, affecting their revenue potential.

• that the municipality of Spallumcheen issued a covenant to restrict the number of events annually, after the speedway was permitted to be constructed and open.

The result?
The speedway will win in receiving a lower assessed value.
That means reduced property taxes.

Politicians and bureaucrats, in their omnipotent manner,  don't give a rat's derriere what they do to a business--all in the interests of what the neighbours say during public hearing stage--but politicians and bureaucrats need to see that their own wishy washy, make-a-friend-of-everyone attitude that accedes to the wishes of NIMBYists will cost their municipality money...in lower property taxes!

I did.

Politicians and bureaucrats of the day had a covenant placed on the business to limit my operating hours (and season) to placate neighbours.

It stated something along the lines of "must close two hours after sunset daily, and only be open for the typical golf season, i.e. 6 months a year."

So one year, I appealed my property tax assessment.
The B.C. assessor agreed with me when I told him that no golf courses have that type of restriction on their earning ability (not allowing Christmas parties/New Years banquet room rental, etc.) 

And to have to close two hours after sunset?
The assessor told me that other golf courses don't have that either!
Sheesh. 

But that's OK.

So the Municipality of Coldstream gets less money for property taxes annually because their rule (the legal covenant) restricts my business' ability to earn revenue.

"The only way to make a politician think twice before his Council imposes something onerous on a business is to get him in the general revenue wallet," grins Kia.



Priceless.

Carmen Bunnah should phone the owner of Spallumcheen Motoplex Speedway and tell him.