– Did Osoyoos miss out on tax millions? –

(OSOYOOS TIMES — March 21, 2007) –

By Lawrence McMahenrnOsoyoos Times

A commercial developer who wanted to build a large big-box retail outlet in Osoyoos says Council was short-sighted two weeks ago when it voted against big-box stores, costing the town hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual property-tax revenue.
And John McDonald, President of Triumph Properties of Vancouver, says that would have paid for many of the amenities that Council wants for local citizens.
Now that revenue may go to another community in the South Okanagan.
McDonald had argued strongly at the final March 5 public hearing before Council passed its Official Community Plan (OCP) that big-box stores should be allowed in Osoyoos “ to provide shopping for local residents and visitors, jobs for local people, and tax dollars for the Town's coffers.
He says he was planning a major retail development for Osoyoos, but when Council voted to limit store sizes to 30,000 square feet, he immediately moved his big-box plans to other communities.
We could have built a 150,000- to 200,000-square-foot centre in Osoyoos which would have employed 300-500 people in town and provided $300,000 to $400,000 in tax revenues to the Town each year, McDonald told the Osoyoos Times last week.
The ramifications are huge. Now the development moves to another community. The next day I started proceeding with another development, he says.
The councillors and mayor know how crushed they are for revenue “ with municipal costs being downloaded from the federal and provincial governments, and with increasing demand from a growing population for more amenities.
Council wants an aquatic centre, they're concerned about the lack of daycare for single moms, they want to attract doctors and need amenities for that “ there are so many positives (from the revenue from a big-box development), McDonald says.
I just don't think it was understood how critical and important a tax revenue this would have been for the town, he adds.
McDonald's company has recently built big-box developments in Taber and Pincher Creek, two small Alberta towns, and he says those communities have welcomed them and will prosper from them. The Taber development has a Wal-Mart, Boston Pizza, Tim Hortons, and a Dollar Giant store. Triumph Properties wants to build a network of retail centres in trade areas with populations of 20,000-50,000 along Highway 3 through B.C. and Alberta, and McDonald says Osoyoos is a desirable spot.
He says the South Okanagan is a growing market area that is large enough to support a big-box development, and he wants to develop in the region.
We feel real confident we can put a large shopping centre in this area, and we are pursuing two strategies. It won't be in Osoyoos, which is too bad because Osoyoos makes the most sense.rnHe says Council's vote to set the low limit on store sizes sent out a message loud and clear to the commercial community.rnHe adds his company may also still proceed with some kind of development in Osoyoos, but it's not going to be big-box.