The Town of Altona has approved a new tax incentive program designed to encourage multi-family housing in established areas of the community.
At its most recent council meeting, council gave second and third reading to the Multi-Family Residential Tax Incentive By-law, which provides a two-year break on municipal taxes for qualifying new builds.
The program applies to residential developments with more than eight units, located on streets established before 2000 in designated “mature neighbourhoods.” These include properties zoned as commercial corridor, commercial neighbourhood, residential low density, or residential medium density.
Mayor Harv Schroeder said the bylaw was created in response to the growing demand for rental options.
“It seems like rental spaces are getting taken up very quickly, and we felt there was an opportunity for new builds in town,” he said. “We would like to fill some of these other areas that have been empty for a number of years.”
The Town previously offered a similar incentive in 2022, but it was targeted more narrowly at the downtown core. Schroeder said the new bylaw builds on that initiative by broadening the range of eligible properties.
“This incentive will also be part of the downtown corridor, but it will also spread out to other areas of the community,” he explained. “We broadened the bylaw so that it’s not just about downtown but about revitalizing more mature neighbourhoods where the infrastructure is already in place.”
Schroeder said Altona’s earlier program demonstrated the value of tax relief in encouraging development. While there were only a few projects that made use of it, the results were encouraging enough to warrant expanding the approach.
How it works
Under the new program, municipal taxes are frozen for two years, while school taxes must still be paid.
“We allow them the taxes of the municipality will be frozen, but the school taxes they still have to get paid,” Schroeder said. “We’re just trying to do our part to help the cost of the initial build down for the first two years so that developers can fill those spots.”
Town officials emphasized that if no new housing is built, the bylaw carries no cost. If qualifying projects do move forward, Altona will simply wait two years before seeing the natural increase in municipal tax revenue from those properties.
Developers with questions about eligibility are encouraged to contact the Town office. Applications will be processed through the regular building permit and assessment system, with tax rebates provided at year-end.
Development potential
The Town does not yet have an exact estimate of how many properties could qualify. Schroeder acknowledged that while the program covers much of Altona, identifying specific lots would take more work.
“There are a couple of spots downtown that could use this program and some potential in outlying areas,” he said. “We know there are some underutilized lots, and this is about giving developers an added reason to take a closer look.”
The mayor said the bylaw reflects council’s commitment to supporting housing growth while making efficient use of existing infrastructure.
“It’s important that we continue to look at ways to help development, and this was one of the incentives we wanted to bring back,” he said. “We did get some uptake the first time around, but we felt like this is probably an even better incentive. We’ll see what happens in the near future.”
