Policy Statement

1   The City recognizes the significant value that volunteers, volunteer groups and agencies contribute to the spiritual, educational, social, cultural, and physical well-being of the community.

Purposes of this policy

2   (1) Provides clarity, consistency and certainty to the City, the Public and Applicants.

(2) A permissive property tax exemption is a means for Council to support organizations within the community that align with Council's strategic goals and objectives.

Application

3   Applicable to organizations applying for an Exemption.

Interpretation

4   (1) Unless otherwise provided in this Policy, words and phrases used herein have the same meanings as in the Community Charter, S.B.C. 2003, c. 26, Local Government Act [RSBC 2015] c. 1, R.S.B.C. 2015, c. 1, and Interpretation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 238, or as the context and circumstances may require.

(2) A reference to a statute refers to a statute of the Province of British Columbia, and a reference to any statute, regulation or Bylaw refers to that enactment, as amended or replaced from time to time.

(3) Words in the singular include the plural and gender specific terms include both genders and corporations.

(4) Headings in this Policy are for convenience only and must not be construed as defining, or in any way limiting the scope or intent of this Policy.

(5) If any part of this Policy is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid part is severed and the remainder continues to be valid.

Definitions

5   In this Policy, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Applicant" means the corporation or organization applying for an Exemption.

"Application" means a Comprehensive Exemption Application or a Renewal Application.

"Application Cycle" means the multi-year timeline Applicants must adhere to when submitting an Application.

"City" means the City of Abbotsford.

"Comprehensive Exemption Application" means the following:

(a) Comprehensive Permissive Tax Exemption Application Places of Worship or Independent Schools; or

(b) Comprehensive Permissive Tax Exemption Application Charity or Not-for-Profit.

"Community Care Facility" means long-term care facilities for people having difficulty coping with activities of daily living because of health-related problems, disability or a life-threatening illness.

"Council" means the Council of the City.

"Exemption" means a Permissive property tax Exemption.

"Exemption Year" means the year the Exemption applies.

"Finance Department" means the City's Finance Division of the Finance and Procurement Services Department.

"Gifted" means given willingly as a donation or bequest; an exchange without payment.

"Not-for-Profit Organization" means a charitable, philanthropic or other society engaged in not-for-profit activities.

"Registered Charity" means charitable organizations that use their resources for charitable activities; and have charitable purposes that relieve poverty, advance education, advance religion, or other purposes that benefit the community.

"Renewal Application" means an Application to renew a Comprehensive Exemption Application.

"Thrift Store" means a store selling donated, secondhand clothes and other household goods to raise funds for a Not-for-Profit Organization.

Extent and conditions

6   (1) The extent of Exemptions approved is dependent on the annual budget set by Council. Council, at its discretion, may:

(a) cancel any or all Exemptions within a given year; or

(b) place a cap on the dollar value and/or pro-rate Exemptions granted on individual properties, in any one (1) category, or all categories.

(2) Council may designate only a portion or none of the land/improvements as exempted, where the following circumstances exist:

(a) a portion of the land/improvements is used by a for-profit entity and/or the Applicant does not meet Council's Exemption criteria; or

(b) the Applicant already receives grant-in-kind/aid from the City.

(3) Council may impose conditions on the exempted land/improvement with the Applicant, including but not limited to:

(a) registration of a covenant restricting use of the property;

(b) an agreement committing the Applicant to continue a specific service or program;

(c) an agreement committing the Applicant to have fields or facilities open for public use for certain times or a total amount of time;

(d) an agreement committing the Applicant to offer use of the fields or facilities to certain groups free of charge or at reduced rates; or

(e) an agreement committing the Applicant to immediately disclose any substantial increase in the organization’s revenue or anticipated revenue (e.g. receives large operating grant from senior government).

(4) Council may impose penalties on an exempted Applicant for knowingly breaching the conditions of the Exemption, including but not limited to:

(a) revoking the Exemption, with notice;

(b) disqualifying any future Application for an Exemption for a specific time period; or

(c) requiring repayment of monies equal to the foregone tax revenue.

Process

7   (1) Administration

(a) Council will consider Comprehensive Exemption Application from:

(i) Places of Worship and Independent Schools, for a period of up to ten (10) years and subject to an annual Renewal Application; and

(ii) Not-for-Profit Organizations, Community Care Facilities and Athletic or Service Clubs for a period of up to four (4) years and subject to an annual Renewal Application.

(b) Council will consider Renewal Applications annually. The opportunity to apply for renewal of an Exemption will be advertised in the local newspaper twice in the month of June annually. The Renewal Application is confirmation that ownership and use of property has not changed, and will be reviewed and approved before an Exemption is granted.

(c) Late Applications will not be accepted. It is the Applicant's responsibility to monitor the City's website for Application due dates and any changes to this Policy.

(d) The Finance Department will process only complete Applications; and will contact the Applicant where additional information is required. An inter-departmental review may be conducted to determine eligibility, after which the Finance Department will prepare a report and bylaw for presentation to Council for approval and adoption on or before October 31^st annually.

(e) Public notice, in accordance with the Community Charter, will be placed in the local newspaper of the proposed bylaw.

(2) Annual timeline

(3) Application Cycle

Those Applicants approved for an Exemption, based on completion of a Comprehensive Exemption Application, will be exempt for one (1) year. To be considered for future years, a Renewal Application must be submitted on or before June 30th of the preceding year for each year remaining in the Application Cycle. Following completion of an Application Cycle, the Applicant will again be required to submit a Comprehensive Exemption Application.

(i) Application Cycle length

(A) Places of Worship and Independent Schools: ten (10) years; and

(B) Not-for-Profit Organizations, Community Care Facilities and Athletic or Service Clubs: four (4) years.

(ii) New Applications: a Comprehensive Exemption Application must be submitted on or before June 30^th in the year preceding the Exemption Year.

(iii) Renewal Applications: a Renewal Application must be submitted annually on or before June 30^th for each subsequent year following an approved Comprehensive Exemption Application, and within the window of the Application Cycle.

*Comprehensive Exemption Application

**Renewal Application

(4) Additional information

(a) Council may request a presentation from the Applicant

(b) The City may request additional information, as deemed necessary

(c) The City reserves the right to review records and/or property to verify information provided in support of the Application, and to share this information with BC Assessment for the purposes of assigning an Exemption to the property’s assessed value

(d) Successful Applicants will be asked to publicly acknowledge the Exemption

(e) For successful Applicants that lease the subject property, and the lease requires payment of property taxes, the City will deliver a letter to the Applicant to inform them of the value of the Exemption granted on the subject property.

Automatic Exemptions

8   The following organizations will be granted an automatic Exemption. No Application is required.

(a) Veteran services property

(i) Exemptions are granted on those properties used, or occupied, primarily as a clubhouse by persons who served in the armed forces of His Majesty or a branch thereof (i.e. cadets) or an ally in any war as determined by the City.

(b) Local Authorities

(i) Exemptions will be considered at the time the City enters into an agreement with a third party to provide services, on City owned property, that the City might otherwise provide itself.

(c) City owned golf courses will receive a full Exemption, except under circumstances where the Province of British Columbia exercises its rights under the Community Charter.

(d) Gifted property

Under circumstances where land or improvements on City owned property have been Gifted to the City, the Applicant will receive a full Exemption in perpetuity for the Gifted land or improvements. Improvements Gifted in the context of a land lease will not be exempted under this Section.

General eligibility criteria

9   (1) To be eligible for an Exemption, the Applicant must comply with the eligibility criteria as set out in Subsection (4). The Application and supporting documentation are an integral part of this process.

(2) This section does not apply to Applicants receiving an Automatic Exemption as outlined in Section 8.

(3) There is no obligation on the part of Council to grant Exemptions in any given year.

(4) General:

(a) The Applicant must qualify under the Community Charter, as a:

(i) Local authority;

(ii) Independent school;

(iii) Place of Worship;

(iv) Charitable, philanthropic or other not for profit organization;

(v) Athletic or service club or association;

(vi) Community Care Facility;

(b) The Applicant's objective must align with Council's strategic goals and objectives.

(c) The Applicant and registered owner of the subject property, where applicable, must be in compliance with City policies, plans, bylaws, and regulations (e.g. business licensing, zoning).

(d) The Applicant must own or lease the subject property; and, in the case of a lease, the lease requires payment of property taxes by the Applicant.

(e) Improvements, or portions thereof, leased and used exclusively by a separate for-profit entity do not qualify for an Exemption.

Category specific eligibility criteria and limitations

10   (1) An organization may apply for an Exemption under one (1) of the following categories:

(a) Independent School

(i) Council may exempt from taxation land owned by an incorporated institution of learning where the property was partially exempted under the Community Charter, Section 220 (1), (l) [incorporated institution of learning]. This Policy recognizes that land surrounding an institution of learning is also used in support of the organization’s operations.

(ii) Eligibility criteria

(A) The property must receive a statutory exemption (independent schools) for a portion of the land and/or improvements; and

(B) The property is zoned either P2 (Parks, Open Space and Schools), or P3 (Assembly) as set out in the City's Zoning Bylaw, 2014.

(iii) Limitations

(A) The total Exemption, including the statutory exemption, is limited to a maximum of 7.0 acres for institutions offering elementary school education, and 15.0 acres for institutions offering secondary school (includes middle school) education.

(b) Place of Worship

(i) Council may exempt from taxation land or improvements where the property was partially exempted under the Community Charter, Section 220 (1) (h) [buildings for public worship].

(ii) Eligibility criteria

(A) The property must receive a statutory exemption (buildings for public worship) for a portion of the land and/or improvements; and

(B) The Applicant must be either a Registered Charity or Society, and provide proof of good standing.

(iii) Limitations

(A) The land surrounding a building receiving a statutory exemption may be exempted, up to the greater of 5.0 acres or the area used for the purpose of parking;

(B) A hall may be exempted to the extent that Council considers the hall necessary to the exempt building; and

(C) A residence (manse) located on the same property as the building used for public worship, and the land upon which the residence (manse) stands, is not exempt and will be assessed and taxed as a residential property.

(c) Not-for-Profit Organization

(i) Section 224(2)(a) of the Community Charter, permits Council, by Bylaw, to exempt from taxation, land and/or improvements that are owned or held by a charitable, philanthropic organization or other Not-for-Profit organization and the Council considers, they are used for a purpose that is directly related to the purposes of the organization.

(ii) Eligibility Criteria

(A) The Applicant must either be a Registered Charity or Society, and provide proof of good standing; and

(B) The Applicant's services or programs must be equally available to all residents of the City. Any restrictions thereto must be within the framework of the Constitution Act,Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada).

(C) The Applicant's services or programs must not be in competition with other local businesses, with the exception of Thrift Stores. Only the portion of the property used for Not-for-Profit activities will be considered for an Exemption.

(B) The Applicant's services or programs must benefit the residents of the City. In the Application, Applicants will be asked to identify the percentage of total services and programs offered at the subject property that are used or received by residents of the City. The Finance Department may validate submissions by reviewing an itemized listing of services, programs and/or donations dedicated to activities that build community for the greater good of all residents in the City, as provided by the Registered Charity or society. This review may include reference to the Not-for-Profit Organization's most recent fiscal year financial statements and/or charity return published prior to June 30th each year. The maximum Exemption amount is determined based on the following ranges:

(iii) Not-for-Profit organizations that provide housing services, in addition to the above, must meet the criteria in one of the categories below:

(A) Provide short-term housing with length of stay up to a maximum of three years

• Eligible housing types include:

• First Stage Housing: Emergency Shelters, Extreme Weather Emergency Shelters, Youth Safe Houses, First Stage Transition Housing; or
• Second Stage Housing: Transitional Housing, Recovery Homes, Supportive Housing (Homelessness).
• - For First Stage Housing rent is not collected on the residence.

• - For Second Stage Housing rent is collected as a program fee, supported by income assistance.

(B) Provide multi-unit housing intended for youth who are under the care of Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) or Xyolhemeylh, or on a Youth Agreement with MCFD.

(C) Group homes housing providing supportive services to persons with mental/physical/ developmental disabilities.

(iv) Long-term Affordable Housing will not be eligible for exemption, except as otherwise stated under this Policy.

(d) Community Care Facility

(i) Section 224(2)(j) of the Community Charter, permits Council, by Bylaw, to exempt from taxation, land and/or improvements that are owned or held by a person or organization and operated as a private hospital licensed under the Hospital Act or as a licensed community care facility, or registered assisted living residence, under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act.

(ii) Eligibility Criteria

(A) The property is owned or held and operated by a registered Not-for-Profit society, and

(B) Assistance with daily living is provided, and

(C) Eligible housing types include: Community Residential Care Facilities for Persons with Disabilities, Group Homes for Adults with Mental/Physical Challenges or Developmental Disabilities, Hospice Care.

(iii) Residential Care and Assisted Living Facilities for Seniors that do not otherwise meet criteria above, will be not eligible for exemption under this Policy.

(e) Athletic or Service Club Associations

(i) Section 224(2)(i) of the Community Charter, permits Council, by Bylaw, to exempt from taxation, land and/or improvements owned or held by an athletic or service club or association and used as a public park or recreation ground or for public athletic or recreational purposes.

(ii) Eligibility Criteria

(A) The Applicant must be either a Registered Charity or Society, and provide proof of good standing; and

(B) The Applicant's services or programs must be equally available to all residents of the City. Any restrictions thereto must be within the framework of the Constitution Act, 1982, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada); and

(C) For Athletic Clubs or Associations, the services or programs offered by the Applicant must not be widely available within the City.

(iii) Without limiting Council’s authority in other categories, Council at their discretion may cap Exemptions granted on this category at 50% of assessed property value.

Exclusions

13   This Policy does not apply to exemptions for partnering, heritage, riparian, and other special exemption authority, or revitalization tax exemptions.

Prohibitions

14   [N/A]

Related procedures, guidelines and publications

15   [N/A]