Saanich’s recent outreach to employers under a new BusinessCare program has prompted an uncomfortable but important question for council: are municipal land‑use policies and assessment practices unintentionally pushing established businesses out of the municipality?
BusinessCare visits highlight a structural tension
Municipal economic development staff have begun visiting local employers to offer a confidential, 30 to 45‑minute discussion about business challenges, part of a program that aims to reassure firms that "your business matters, and we’re listening." The outreach has been welcomed by some, but a commentary by Greg Fraser, chief executive officer of Industrial Plastics and Paints, argues the consultation risks becoming an empty gesture unless city hall addresses deeper policy choices that are raising costs for operating businesses.
At the heart of the argument is the Uptown Douglas Plan, adopted by Saanich in 2022 as a 20‑ to 30‑year vision for the Uptown Douglas corridor. The plan explicitly promotes "leading growth with residential" through pre‑zoning intended to embed future housing densities and identify the Uptown Core as an area for elevated intensification.
"Saanich does not need another round of consultations to understand the problem. Its land use and property tax policies are making it increasingly difficult for established employers to remain here," Fraser wrote.
How assessment practice and municipal policy interact
Fraser points to how B.C. Assessment determines property value: not solely by the business currently on a parcel but by the land’s "highest and best use as vacant." When an official plan, zoning or pre‑zoning makes higher‑density redevelopment legally permissible and reasonably probable, that potential can be reflected in market — and therefore assessed — value.
That creates a situation in which an operating company can face property tax bills that reflect redevelopment potential rather than its present commercial use, while not receiving the immediate benefits of higher‑density development such as new residential customers, upgraded infrastructure paid for through redevelopment, or direct developer contributions.
- Policy adopted: Uptown Douglas Plan, 2022 — pre‑zoning for residential intensification.
- Assessment rule: B.C. Assessment values land on its highest and best use as vacant.
- Municipal control: Saanich sets official plan and zoning that create development potential; it also sets municipal tax rates applied to assessed values.
| Policy or Practice | Effect on operating businesses |
|---|---|
| Pre‑zoning / Uptown Douglas Plan | Increases redevelopment potential reflected in market value |
| B.C. Assessment valuation | Values land based on highest and best use, raising assessed values |
| Municipal tax setting | Applies tax rates to higher assessed values, increasing tax burden |
Consequences for Saanich’s economic landscape
The result, Fraser contends, is an uneven distribution of costs and benefits. Businesses that occupy centrally located, redevelopment‑ready parcels can find their property tax bills rising, even as the increased value accrues to potential future developers or new owners who will capitalise on densification. That dynamic risks displacing long‑standing employers who provide local jobs and services, potentially hollowing out commercial capacity before residential intensification is realised.
Municipal staff visiting businesses to listen are doing the work council assigned to them, Fraser acknowledged, but he urged council to be prepared for candid responses rather than a steady stream of technical consultations. His central message: policy decisions that enable growth should consider transitional measures to avoid placing disproportionate costs on incumbent businesses.
Officials at Saanich have not yet published a response to Fraser’s commentary in the material provided. The debate illustrates a broader municipal challenge: how to balance long‑term planning for housing and intensification with the short‑term realities facing employers who remain on the land today.
As Saanich moves forward with the Uptown Douglas Plan and its BusinessCare outreach, choices about tax policy, incentives, and transitional supports will shape whether the municipality keeps a mix of jobs and new homes or accelerates turnover in a way that could reshape the local economy.
