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Volume 46, No. 22

B.C. Reg. 370/2003

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

November 4, 2003

B.C. Reg. 370/2003, deposited October 24, 2003, pursuant to the COMMUNITY CHARTER [Sections 198 (2)]. Order in Council 970/2003, approved and ordered October 23, 2003.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that, effective on the date that

section 198 of the

Community Charter comes into force,

(

a) the Prescribed Enactment (Municipal) Regulation, B.C. Reg. 85/93, is repealed,

(

b) the Property Class Regulation (Municipal), B.C. Reg 324/92, is repealed, and

(

c) the attached Assessment Averaging and Phasing Regulation is made. — G. ABBOTT, Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services; C. CLARK, Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

ASSESSMENT AVERAGING AND PHASING REGULATION

Definition

1 In this regulation, "assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw" means a bylaw imposing tax rates under

section 198

[assessment averaging and phasing options] of the Community Charter .

Restriction on property classes

2 An assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw is restricted to property classes 1, 5, 6 and 8.

Assessment averaging option

3 For assessment averaging under

section 198 of the

Community Charter , the tax rates may be imposed on the amount determined in accordance with the following formula:

Amount = averaged land value + assessed improvements value

where

averaged land value = average of the assessed value of the land in the current year and the 2 preceding years;

assessed improvements value = the assessed value of improvements in the current year.

Assessment phasing option

4 For assessment phasing under

section 198 of the

Community Charter , the tax rates may be imposed on the amount determined in accordance with the following formula:

Amount = (assessed land value - phasing reduction) + assessed improvements value

where

assessed land value = the assessed value of the land in the current year;

phasing reduction = the amount determined by multiplying

(

a) the phasing percentage established by the assessment phasing bylaw, being not less than 50% and not more than 66%,

(

b) the difference between

(

i) the increase in the assessed value of the land in the current year from the previous year, and

(ii) the assessed value of the land in the previous year multiplied by the average percentage increase in the assessed value from the previous year to the current year of all land within the municipality included in the same property class;

assessed improvements value = the assessed value of improvements in the current year.

Requirements before bylaw may be adopted

5 The authority to adopt an assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw is subject to the following requirements:

(

a) before January 1 of the year in which the bylaw is to take effect, notice of intent to consider the bylaw must be provided to the inspector and to the assessment commissioner;

(

b) after January 1 of the year in which the bylaw is to take effect and at least 2 weeks before the adoption of the bylaw, a notice that describes the estimated effect of the bylaw on the taxation of sample properties within the municipality must be published in accordance with

section 94 [requirements for public notice] of the Community Charter ;

(

c) the bylaw must be adopted before March 31 in the year in which it is to take effect;

(

d) the bylaw must establish a procedure to allow property owners to complain to the review panel referred to in

section 9 of this regulation about errors made in applying the bylaw to their property.

Variation and modification authority

(1) An assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw may modify the averaging formula in

section 3 of this regulation or the phasing formula in

section 4 of this regulation to

(

a) exempt from the bylaw, or

(

b) govern the application of the bylaw to,

particular types of property within a property class.

(2) The authority under subsection (1) includes authority in relation to property with an assessed value that is different from that on the previous assessment roll because of one or more of the following:

(

a) an error or omission;

(

b) a subdivision or consolidation or a new development to, on or in the land;

(

c) a change in

(

i) physical characteristics,

(ii) zoning,

(iii) the classification of the property under

section 19 (14) of the

Assessment Act , or

(iv) the eligibility of the property for assessment under

section 19 (8), 23 or 24 of the Assessment Act .

Application to taxes for non-municipal purposes

(1) If a council adopts an assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw, the following rules apply:

(

a) the assessed value or the net taxable value must continue to be the basis for determining the amount of money to be raised in the municipality for the purposes of the following:

(i)

section 197 (1) (b) [property taxes for other

bodies] of the Community Charter ;

(ii) sections 119 and 137 of the School Act ;

(iii)

section 17 of the Assessment Authority

Act ;

(iv) sections 15 and 17 of the Municipal Finance Authority

Ac t;

(

v) section 14 of the British Columbia Transit

Act ;

(

b) the value determined under the bylaw, and not the assessed value or the net taxable value referred to in this or any other Act, must be the basis for taxing properties within the property classes specified in the bylaw to raise the money required under the provisions referred to in paragraph (a).

(2) If

(

a) a body other than the council sets a rate under an enactment for calculating property taxes, and

(

b) the council adopts an assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw,

then, despite any other enactment, the council must, by resolution, substitute a rate that is sufficient to raise the same amount of revenue in the municipality for that body from each property class to which the assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw applies as the amount that would have been raised for that body had that bylaw not been adopted.

(3) If the amount of revenue raised in any year for a body under subsection (2) is more or less than the amount that would have been raised had the council not substituted the rate, the difference must be used to adjust the rate for the next year.

Notice of adjusted assessment

(1) If the assessed value of a parcel of land on the assessment roll has been adjusted under an assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw, the tax notice under

section 237 [general tax notices] of the Community Charter for the parcel must include, or have enclosed with it, a statement

(

a) informing the owner that assessed values and tax rates have been adjusted as a result of the bylaw,

(

b) specifying the adjusted value of the land and the value of any improvements on it, and

(

c) describing the procedure for requesting the collector to correct errors and for complaining about errors to the review panel referred to in

section 9 of this regulation.

(2) On the initiative of the collector or on the request of an owner who is notified under subsection (1) of adjustments to the assessed value of the owner's property, the collector may correct errors made in applying the bylaw to any property.

Review panel

(1) If a council adopts an assessment averaging or assessment phasing bylaw, it must establish a review panel in the same manner as a parcel tax roll review panel under

section 204 [parcel tax roll review panel] of the Community Charter .

(2) The review panel may

(

a) adjudicate complaints about errors made in applying the bylaw to the assessed value of any property, and

(

b) direct the collector to make any amendments to the adjusted value of the property that are necessary to give effect to the panel's decision.

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