The policy is designed to induce private investors to develop land for non-residential and industrial use.
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At its February 13, 2023, Regular Council Meeting, Coaldale Town Council voted to adopt a new economic development policy designed specifically to induce private investors to develop land for non-residential and industrial use.
The policy has a three-pronged incentive structure which consists of a construction rebate incentive, an industrial infrastructure incentive, and an off-site levy incentive.
The most impactful prong of the policy is the construction rebate incentive for individual lot owners. This incentive entails providing builders with a cash rebate and/or a credit against future tax payments worth up to 3% of a building’s value. The incentive will support construction in new industrial areas and will help builders offset the cost of land acquisition and construction given recent inflationary pressures.
For developers looking to bring large scale industrial land online, the industrial infrastructure incentive entails entering into cost-sharing agreements with developers who, in order to bring industrial lots to market, must either install new or improve existing municipal infrastructure that will also benefit the broader public. These agreements will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to Council approval.
Finally, the off-site levy incentive provides developers of large-scale industrial areas with potential cash flow assistance by reducing or delaying payment requirements for levies, in line with the Town’s off-site levy Bylaw.
According to Cam Mills, Director of Growth and Investment for the Town of Coaldale, the idea behind the policy is to transfer both the risk and high financial costs associated with developing new industrial land from the public sector to the private sector. “Right now, there is no industrial land available for purchase in Coaldale,” explained Mills. “We’re entirely sold out. So the question before Council was essentially this: if the goal is to expand Coaldale’s industrial tax base, then what’s the most cost-effective and risk averse way of getting that done? This is where incentivizing private investment comes into play. By designing a policy that will attract private investment to develop lands for non-residential use, we can at once spur non-residential assessment growth and keep municipal funds available for core service enhancements and other, more pressing capital projects. If the Town itself were to play the role of developer, it would need to reach into the vast majority of its debt capacity, likely for a decade or more. However, by adopting an economic development policy like this one, the Town will take on a lot less risk to effectively achieve the same long-term result.”
“While developing Council’s 2021-2023 Strategic Plan, it became clear that supporting and promoting investment in the Town of Coaldale was going to be a key priority of ours,” said Town of Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn. “Not only will this policy do just that, it will – in turn – increase our non-residential tax base, which in the long term will benefit our residents by helping to off-set the amount of residential taxes they pay each year.”