HERITAGE OTTAWA

At its meeting today at City Hall, Heritage Ottawa president David Jeanes told the City of Ottawa's Finance and Economic Development Committee (FEDCO) that municipal property tax rebates for vacant buildings contribute to demolition by neglect, and are a disincentive to renovation and adaptive re-use of heritage buildings.

Jeanes was speaking in support of a city staff report recommending the elimination of the Vacancy Rebate Program. Currently, the Program allows owners of vacant commercial and industrial properties to apply for a tax rebate of up to 30% for commercial properties, and up to 35% for industrial properties.

Representatives from Sparks Street and Lansdowne Park businesses also spoke out against the Program, saying that vacant properties are bad for business.

In the end, the Committee voted 10-1 to recommend phase out of the Program over a two-year period. The item will now go to Ottawa City Council for a final vote on May 10.

Preventing demolition by neglect is a key focus of Heritage Ottawa's advocacy efforts. Heritage Ottawa is part of the City of Ottawa task force working to develop a strategy to encourage proper maintenance and protection of Ottawa’s heritage buildings.

We believe that removing municipal incentives to keep buildings vacant is a step in the right direction toward helping preserve Ottawa's heritage structures.

UPDATE: At its meeting of May 10, Ottawa City Council approved a plan to phase out municipal property tax rebates for vacant properties within two years. The plan would decrease the vacancy rebate to 15 per cent in 2017 and completely eliminate the discount in 2018.