Site for new student housing on southeast corner of Okanagan College Vernon campus. (Vernon Matters photo)

By Pete McIntyre

could set precedent

College housing request could ‘download’ onto tax bill

Feb 27, 2023 | 6:00 AM

A request to help fund the new student housing and childcare project at Okanagan College’s Vernon campus, could force Coldstream homeowners to dig deeper to pay for it.

Representatives of the college and a fundraising committee appeared at Coldstream council’s Feb. 13 meeting, outlining the $15.7 million housing project to create 100 beds of on-campus affordable lodging for students, and a childcare centre for student parents, operated by Maven Lane.

As part of the presentation, a request was made for Coldstream to consider providing a grant of $150,000 to offset the fees and charges levied as part of the project, specifically the building permit fees.

A community fundraiser, led by Mike Tindall, is looking to raise $1.25 million to assist with escalated costs and other aspects of the project.

Trevor Seibel, Coldstream’s chief administrative officer, said building permit fees are collected as part of the process of managing development, and cover the costs associated with projects such as building inspection and report writing.

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“The Building Bylaw does not provide an option to waive fees. Fees are collected on all projects, including our own,” Seibel advised in a report to council. He noted recent projects like the Coldstream Community Hall and Coldstream Station where building permit fees were levied

“Last year, the District collected over $516,000 in building permit fees. These fees fund the operations of the development services department and reduce the taxation requirement for the services provided,” Seibel stated.

The CAO said council could decide not to provide the grant, but if they do approve it, they would have to identify where the funding would come from.

“It would either need to be an allocation from the building permit fees or through taxation. There are no reserve options suitable to fund this request,” Seibel said.

The administrator said providing the funds could set a “concerning precedent” for other organizations to come forward looking for grants to cover similar costs.

“Essentially, Coldstream residents would bear the cost of providing the services to the college (a provincial entity). This could be seen as a form of downloading to the local residents,” he commented.

Seibel added if council chooses to tax for the grant, it would amount to a 2.08 per cent tax increase to cover the cost.

Coldstream property owners are already facing a higher than normal proposed tax hike this year of 8.4 per cent or an extra $122 for the average homeowner.

The grant request will be before council at their meeting tonight (Feb. 27).