Municipal Taxes

Many inquiries and comments received during a public consultation on a proposed radiocommunications facility include a discussion on property values, and by extension whether municipal taxes will be adjusted to reflect any change in property value (real or perceived).

Municipal taxes are determined based on a property's assessment value. The property assessment value is determined based on a blending of 5 criteria:

... a recent free sale of the property; recent free sales of identical properties in the same neighbourhood and market;
recent free sales of comparative properties (the comparative sales method);
the price which the revenue-producing possibilities of the property will command (the income-capitalization technique);
and finally, the depreciated replacement cost method.

Stanley M. Makuch, Neil Craik & Signe B. Leisk, Canadian Municipal and Planning Law, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2004) at 66.

Based on these criteria, there have been instances in Canada where property assessed value has been reduced due to reflect their proximity to a communications tower having reduced their free market value.

While this may be the case, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISEDC) does not consider any potential reduction in property market value or property assessment value to be relevant to its determination of whether a radiocommunications site shall be permitted to be constructed. This is based on the Recommendation of the 2004 Townsend Report.