A Vancouver Island mayor whose municipality is at the centre of a debate over what constitutes a “farm” for municipal tax purposes will lead the province’s review of the bigger issue.
Provincial Revenue Minister Rick Thorpe on Thursday named Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard as one of two co-chairs for the province’s farm status assessment review.
The review, first announced in mid-December, followed protests in November by a number of small-scale farmers in Saanich, following a reassessment of over 200 farm properties there.
Of those properties, many previously classified as farms were reclassified in this reassessment as split between farming and non-farming use, mainly residential.
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A farm property reclassified, in whole or in part, as “residential” would be taxed at a higher rate than a “farm.”
Blair Lekstrom, MLA for the northern riding of Peace River South, the Liberal government’s secretary for rural development and a former mayor of the city of Dawson Creek, was appointed as the other co-chair.
The panel’s members and the terms of reference for this review were supposed to be announced by the end of January. However, a provincial release Thursday said the rest of the panel’s members and its terms of reference will instead be announced sometime this month “due to the volume of interest in the review and to ensure the review fully addresses the needs of the farming community.”
The review panel is expected to include representation from local and provincial government, farmers and the Board of B.C. Assessment, plus other B.C. residents.
