The city of Campbell River intends to remove the Campbell River Art Gallery’s (CRAG) tax exemption, and will not allow the gallery to make a presentation at the October 12 council meeting where the final decision will be made.
At the September 28 meeting, Councillor Ron Kerr moved to have the CRAG’s exemption and that of the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society removed because of their ‘bad behaviour.’
Continue reading Campbell River Art Gallery may be muzzled, but community speaks outAt a time of rising lumber costs and diminishing quality, a little Cortes Island business has been demonstrating how the materials from existing houses can be reused in a variety of ways.
“We call our business Creative Deconstruction. We take apart buildings by hand and sell the building materials that are still in good condition to people who are building. We also try to process whatever can’t be reused in ways that are also healthy,” explained Max Thaysen.
Continue reading Saving Money and retaining quality through Creative Deconstruction
Editor’s note: To what extent are we looking at a province wide trend? Is this spike happening in our area, or is it a more urban phenomenon?
By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The number of landowners in the Tri-Cities using their properties for short-term rentals spiked 45 percent in one year.
In August, sites like Airbnb and Vrbo posted 807 active listings for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, according to data provided by AirDNA, a market research provider.
That’s up from 446 total listings in August 2022. Despite the number of active listings being halved during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall rental growth still jumped 35 percent since 2018.
Continue reading Number of Tri-Cities properties cashing in on short-term rentals spikes 45% in year
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A remote Canadian island is breaking ground on a new way to buffer the negative effects short-term vacation rentals have on the housing crisis facing small, rural tourism-based communities.
B.C.’s Cortes Island is making housing history as the first community in the province to tax short-term holiday rentals and have all the funds directed to affordable housing projects, said Mark Vonesch, the area’s Strathcona Regional District director.
Continue reading A remote Canadian island makes history in fight for affordable housing
On May 16, Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island issued a press release stating, “I’m excited to let you know that the provincial government has approved Cortes Island’s short term rental tax application. Starting on July 1st, tourists will pay an extra 3% on their short term rental bookings and the funds will be collected by the provincial government and sent to the Cortes Housing Society on a monthly basis to contribute to the development of Rainbow Ridge rental housing.”
“This is the first time in BC history that a community is using the tax entirely for housing and the provincial government had to amend their legislation to make it possible.”
Continue reading BC Government approves 3% tax on Cortes Island short term rentals
