The Town of La Ronge’s deputy CAO presented a multi layered development strategy to Council at its meeting Jan. 13.
Council subsequently voted to adopt the incentive at its Jan. 27 meeting.
The new strategy includes a housing incentive designed to provide people with a cash incentive to construct new housing units, Jeff Long, Deputy CAO for the Town of La Ronge, said in an interview with the Northern Advocate.
“Council is dedicated to addressing development challenges facing the community in a fiscally responsible manner. Deferring tax revenue associated with community growth, offering grants for downtown revitalization projects, and providing cash incentives for new housing construction are ways that Council can partner with the community and encourage needed investment,” Mayor Joe Hordyski said in a news release.
The Housing Incentive program involves four components, Downtown Revitalization; Economic Development; Housing Incentive Program Policy; and Residential Development Tax Abatement Policy, according to a Town of La Ronge news release dated Jan 28.
A main Town challenge is an existing housing shortage and a new 80-bed Long Term Care facility, now under construction and the prospect of expanded RCMP Detachment.
“These projects are anticipated to create jobs, further impact housing needs, and spark business expansion and development. The Town is prepared to service and market lands to assist in meeting these development needs, to provide more direct incentives to jump start development, particularly in housing construction,” Long, who is also the Town’s Manager of Planning and Development, said in the news release.
The Province is also providing a offering a grant up to $35,000 for “new secondary garage and garden suites, through its Saskatchewan Secondary Suite Incentive Grant program,” quoted from the news release.
Downtown Revitalization involves providing grants up to $5,000 to “assist downtown businesses with projects designed to improve the aesthetics associated with buildings and properties.”
Another aspect of the program is an Economic Development Tax Abatement Policy, which involves possible tax reductions for “new developments and major renovation projects to vacant and existing properties and buildings in commercial zoned area, such as Zone C1 – General Commercial; Zone C2 – Highway Commercial; and Zone C3 – Shoreline Commercial Districts,” quoted from the news release.
The third component of the program is covered under a Housing Incentive Program Policy, which allows for “cash payment to property owners who undertake the construction of a new dwelling units on their property.”
Under the plan, someone who increases their property capacity by three dwelling units would be eligible for a $10,000 per unit and four dwelling units or more, the payment would be $15,000 per unit.
And the fourth component involves a Residential Development Tax Abatement Policy, under which the municipality would provide a tax incentive to “property owners who undertake residential developments that create a net increase of residential dwelling units,” also quoted from the news release.
Development projects are not limited to one component of the program, they may qualify in more than one component of the incentive, Long is quoted as saying in the news release.
