Governments on all levels are broke. All of the services they are supposed to provide are totally mismanaged and provide negative returns on investments. At present, housing is the buzz word, so they are doing everything possible to make it look like they are addressing the housing problem, but they are not. They are just throwing more and more of our money at it waiting for the the next buzz word to flood MSM and create a deflection from this problem, only to begin throwing money at the new one. Was it George Carlin who said " Do you really think politicians can solve the mess we are in, when it was politicians who created the mess to begin with"? Soon you will have nothing and will be happy.
Local owners??? I don’t know the current number but before all this expansion of vacation rentals, over 50% of the local tax notices were being mailed out of town. Saying the money stays in Tofino is a bad joke on the town.
To 2:38 I am not a big business kind of person, but you are way off target. Non resident VR operators do nothing for the community. They don't pay for water and sewer at commercial rates, they don't pay taxes at commercial rates, they illegally use residential property for commercial purposes, they put upward pressure on real estate values for folks looking for a home, they force up water consumption so there is nothing available to support new development like rezoning for more housing, they take away what was developed as housing...The housing stock of Tofino available for actual residential use is declining. It is easy to scowl at expensive commercial development and the owners of those businesses but they are not responsible for everything. Historically it was the greed and foolishness and short sightedness of local residents who wanted in on the goldmine and councils agreed and without clear vision, and screwed the future of the community. We need to claw it back.
To 4:35 All legally licensed STR owners in Tofino have to either live on property or in the case of a non resident owner they have to provide an on site monthly tenant resident. So to say non resident legal VR operators do nothing for the community is simply…well fake news. They are providing monthly long term housing for locals in order to have a legal STR license.
To say “they” don’t pay commercial rates for water and sewer or commercial property taxes well no residential property owners in Tofino do.
To generalize and say ALL non resident property owners illegally use their property for commercial use is once again well…fake news..
To say “they” also force up water consumption again…as an absentee property owner they would hope to achieve an annual occupancy rate of their legal VR of say maybe 50 to 60%. That means for 40% - 50% of the time their VR is empty and not using any water other than the owners occasional , and on site tenants use.
As far as declining housing stock your blame should be focused on the Tofino’s planning department for not being more progressive and creative in promoting more housing development especially traditional monthly rental housing. Apartments.
To blame non resident property owners for Tofino’s short supply of housing..again fake news..for example look at Sea Otter place and Yew wood condos. Basically sold out soon after construction was completed purchased virtually all by locals and not absentee owners.
If you think your future in Tofino is screwed….well you can always move on…i hear Tahsis is low on non resident VR owners…
Many rich people have written letters to council asking them to maintain the status quo. They claim to be impoverished locals with only a few million$$ in real estate holdings. Please write to council asking them to opt in to the provincial regulations.
I am a non resident that once was a resident for over 15 years. I own an STR still in Tofino. It is zoned, licenced, and insured as such. The attached suite is rented to people who live and work in the community as well as contribute to the local economy and act as care takers for reduced rent.I understand the frustration of those that want owners to live onsite. I fully support the DOT if they decide to opt into the new provincial program. I will adjust life accordingly to be able to move back and in fact would look forward to it. So the question is were will the tenants go once I move back as I will need to take the suite back to live in to continue to running the STR?
To the writer above @ 6:28 I will write council and ask them to opt in. Please feel free to flame away!!
10:20 fake news that these vrs are mostly empty 50% or so. anywhere near the beach, the beach, and other spots enjoy 99% occupancy. the problem with over consumption of water is that it happens in the summer increasing the probability of the district running out of water......aside from the problem of properties of a licensed vr having additional nightly rental units onsite - up to 2,3,4 on up to 8. the district is often in the situation of liability where those extra units don't have occupancy permits or in some cases building permits. and yes the planning and administration prince and princesses with their acres of red tape and charges do deter competent developers and anybody else from building. all process and no results equals no new housing.....
Gee I thought Tofino's AFFORDABLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING INDUSTRY was going to solve all our problems. Maybe they need a few more tax free perks to stablize their profit picture.
16 comments:
Governments on all levels are broke. All of the services they are supposed to provide are totally mismanaged and provide negative returns on investments. At present, housing is the buzz word, so they are doing everything possible to make it look like they are addressing the housing problem, but they are not. They are just throwing more and more of our money at it waiting for the the next buzz word to flood MSM and create a deflection from this problem, only to begin throwing money at the new one. Was it George Carlin who said " Do you really think politicians can solve the mess we are in, when it was politicians who created the mess to begin with"? Soon you will have nothing and will be happy.
BC Hotels pay commercial tax. Vacation Rentals are commercial enterprises freeloading on the residential tax base.
Local owners???
I don’t know the current number but before all this expansion of vacation rentals, over 50% of the local tax notices were being mailed out of town.
Saying the money stays in Tofino is a bad joke on the town.
Hotels pay three times the tax rate as “ local owners “. They are all freeloaders and screwing the residents of Tofino.
To 2:38 I am not a big business kind of person, but you are way off target. Non resident VR operators do nothing for the community. They don't pay for water and sewer at commercial rates, they don't pay taxes at commercial rates, they illegally use residential property for commercial purposes, they put upward pressure on real estate values for folks looking for a home, they force up water consumption so there is nothing available to support new development like rezoning for more housing, they take away what was developed as housing...The housing stock of Tofino available for actual residential use is declining.
It is easy to scowl at expensive commercial development and the owners of those businesses but they are not responsible for everything. Historically it was the greed and foolishness and short sightedness of local residents who wanted in on the goldmine and councils agreed and without clear vision, and screwed the future of the community. We need to claw it back.
There were 268 STR licenses issued in 2021 and of those properties 121 applied for a homeowner grant. These numbers from District of Tofino.
To your comment, Ralph, there are also some homes that (even though owner-occupied) do not qualify for the grant.
This is true . Privacy issues don’t allow more detailed analysis . My mistake to not note this .
To 4:35 All legally licensed STR owners in Tofino have to either live on property or in the case of a non resident owner they have to provide an on site monthly tenant resident. So to say non resident legal VR operators do nothing for the community is simply…well fake news. They are providing monthly long term housing for locals in order to have a legal STR license.
To say “they” don’t pay commercial rates for water and sewer or commercial property taxes well no residential property owners in Tofino do.
To generalize and say ALL non resident property owners illegally use their property for commercial use is once again well…fake news..
To say “they” also force up water consumption again…as an absentee property owner they would hope to achieve an annual occupancy rate of their legal VR of say maybe 50 to 60%. That means for 40% - 50% of the time their VR is empty and not using any water other than the owners occasional , and on site tenants use.
As far as declining housing stock your blame should be focused on the Tofino’s planning department for not being more progressive and creative in promoting more housing development especially traditional monthly rental housing. Apartments.
To blame non resident property owners for Tofino’s short supply of housing..again fake news..for example look at Sea Otter place and Yew wood condos. Basically sold out soon after construction was completed purchased virtually all by locals and not absentee owners.
If you think your future in Tofino is screwed….well you can always move on…i hear Tahsis is low on non resident VR owners…
"greed, for lack of a better word, is good"
Sea Otter place and Yewwood condos. The last significant rezonings of land for residential use by private developers.....rezoned in 2006
To 10:20 PM wee wee wee wee, mee mee mee mee all the way home.
Many rich people have written letters to council asking them to maintain the status quo. They claim to be impoverished locals with only a few million$$ in real estate holdings. Please write to council asking them to opt in to the provincial regulations.
I am a non resident that once was a resident for over 15 years. I own an STR still in Tofino. It is zoned, licenced, and insured as such. The attached suite is rented to people who live and work in the community as well as contribute to the local economy and act as care takers for reduced rent.I understand the frustration of those that want owners to live onsite. I fully support the DOT if they decide to opt into the new provincial program. I will adjust life accordingly to be able to move back and in fact would look forward to it. So the question is were will the tenants go once I move back as I will need to take the suite back to live in to continue to running the STR?
To the writer above @ 6:28 I will write council and ask them to opt in. Please feel free to flame away!!
10:20 fake news that these vrs are mostly empty 50% or so. anywhere near the beach, the beach, and other spots enjoy 99% occupancy.
the problem with over consumption of water is that it happens in the summer increasing the probability of the district running out of water......aside from the problem of properties of a licensed vr having additional nightly rental units onsite - up to 2,3,4 on up to 8.
the district is often in the situation of liability where those extra units don't have occupancy permits or in some cases building permits.
and yes the planning and administration prince and princesses with their acres of red tape and charges do deter competent developers and anybody else from building. all process and no results equals no new housing.....
Gee I thought Tofino's AFFORDABLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING INDUSTRY was going to solve all our problems. Maybe they need a few more tax free perks to stablize their profit picture.
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