Province reopens CRLs for municipalities
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on October 20, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com Communities can apply once again for provincial funding under a revamped Community Revitalization Levy.Andrew Malcolm, urban revitalization manager for the City of Lethbridge, submitted a report on the CRL Wednesday to city council acting in its role as the Economic Standing Policy Committee.
In his report, Malcolm asked the SPC to recommend that council direct administration to proceed with the drafting of a CRL plan with a progress update by April of next year.
Created in 2006, the CRL was closed to new applications in 2013 but following a review, municipalities could begin submitting applications again as of July 4.
The SPC unanimously approved the motion.
Acting mayor and vice-chair of the SPC Jenn Schmidt-Rempel asked her colleagues to support Malcolm’s request.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to take advantage of this. The province of Alberta has reopened the ability for municipalities to apply for CRLs,” adding the city has areas it’s looking at revitalizing, Schmidt-Rempel said.
Malcolm’s report says the CRL is a planning and financial tool that provides alternate ways of funding infrastructure projects to revitalize underdeveloped areas “where private sector development has been difficult due to existing infrastructure and/or condition of the land.”
The report says the CRL is a funding option for public projects that would otherwise not be possible – or at least difficult – to finance through normal channels.
It allows borrowing against future property tax revenues to help pay for development of infrastructure, says the report.
The program works by letting municipalities borrow against future property tax revenues from assessment growth in the area of the CRL. Investment in infrastructure will then spur private development which increases the overall taxable property assessment. Taxes on infrastructure growth in the area go towards paying off the infrastructure.
While a levy is typically in place for 20 years, it could be shorter or longer up to 40 years.
The CRL, says the report, is only to be used in areas where private investment wouldn’t otherwise occur unless barriers to redevelopment were removed.
Criteria include clear evidence of underdevelopment, proof of unsuccessful redevelopment plans and barriers to private investment which would include contaminated lands and/or outdated infrastructure.
CRLs have several benefits including the reduction of urban sprawl through better land use, increased safety for residents, creation of a larger tax base and the addressing of affordable and social housing needs.
CRLs also clean up environmental damage, direct tax dollars to improve the economic viability of neighbourhoods and provide additional funding for investing in new infrastructure projects and municipal development.
The report states there are risks – if a CRL doesn’t generate sufficient revenues to cover all costs of a project, a municipality has to address the shortfall through other means. A plan will require risk mitigation strategies to be utilized for unforeseen events that may cause a shortfall in revenues, says the report. Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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