Protesters took to Hwy. 1 in Nanaimo on Monday, Jan. 10 to voice objections to B.C.'s old growth logging strategy. One letter writer suggested the event posed "imminent and intentional danger" to all involved. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Water Cooler: Property taxes versus assessed value, Fifth St. affordable housing & Hwy. 1 protest

Jan 15, 2022 | 6:00 AM

NANAIMO — The Water Cooler is NanaimoNewsNOW’s letters to the editor-style segment, featuring conversations about the news in Nanaimo and Oceanside.

This week’s feature discusses a spike in assessed value for residential properties, a new affordable housing pitch for Harewood and recent Hwy. 1 protests about old growth logging.

Joe D., Nanaimo: I had a rise of 16% last year and the city collected an approximately 18% rise in dollars which I had to pay. This year my property rose 34%. Average for Nanaimo is 31%. I worry that I may have to pay at least a 34% in dollars to the city. Calculated at the 2021 mil rate of 7.17. The city should lower the mil rate by 34% also. your Thaghts.

NanaimoNewsNOW: The sticker shock which came from the 2022 BC Assessments early in the new year was widespread. Those who looked online after Jan. 1 saw an average 34 per cent increase in Nanaimo with similar (and sometimes worse) outcomes in other Island communities.

It’s important to note a 34 per cent increase in your assessment won’t necessarily mean a 34 per cent increase to your property taxes.

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Changes to your taxes are made up of the City-mandated change which for 2022 is set at 5.9 per cent, along with how your assessed property value changes relative to the average change for your property class.

If you own a typical family home in Nanaimo, which increased in value around the 34 per cent average, your property taxes will only change the city-mandated amount.

BC Assessment provides excellent resources for explaining this further, you can view them by visiting their website.

Changes to your property assessment won’t necessarily result in a penny-for-penny change to your property taxes. (BC Assessment/Canadian Press)

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Shelly S., Nanaimo: I am all good with affordable housing, However not at the expense of a public Field that the children use, also worried it may cause problems with Theft, Tagging, Vandalism ect, as did that trail / walkway you put in thru from 6th street to barsby, which has been NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS – not an improvement to Harewood for the residents that live along that walkway .

NanaimoNewsNOW: A proposed re-development of land on Fifth St. in Harewood is still very much in its infancy. Three properties in the area are set to make way for a new site, offering a minimum of 40 affordable housing units which is something the city desperately needs.

How those units come to be and in what configuration remains to be seen and will be front and centre during public consultation sessions in the weeks to come.

The project, known as Te’tuxwtun, the traditional name of Mount Benson, will see three online community circle conversations take place: on Jan. 15, Jan. 20 and Jan. 23.

Registration is required at: letstalkhousingbc.ca/nanaimo-tetuxwtun.

Use of the field at the corner of Fifth St. and Howard Ave. will certainly be looked at and it’s difficult to see the space be removed completely. The 5.8 acre site is more than big enough for the 40 units along with other residential and recreational options.

Ultimately it will be the local residents and other stakeholders to determine how this project is delivered which shovels get into the ground in years to come.

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Lori M., Ladysmith: Re: Members of Extinction Rebellion Nanaimo gathering on Hwy.1 at Milton St. near the downtown to protest B.C.’s old growth logging practices. Protest is foundational to a healthy democracy. But protests that intentionally spill onto major highways, blocking ramps and lanes, often at peak travel times, present an imminent and intentional danger to the protesters, law enforcement officers and the public at large.

NanaimoNewsNOW: As Lori points out, the right to protest is part of a healthy democracy and Extinction Rebellion’s actions of civil disobedience are elements of that.

The right to protest, the right to free speech and engrained in our society and can’t be stripped away for a matter of convenience. The protest was well publicized in advance, meaning both media and law enforcement were aware.

NanaimoNewsNOW was on scene prior to the scheduled 11 a.m. start time and watched as members of Save Old Growth took to the street, with a handful sitting down on the highway.

RCMP arrived shortly after and continued a respectful dialogue with protesters before ultimately removing two who failed to comply with officer orders to leave the road.

The danger of this type of protest is obvious, a rogue vehicle not paying attention is not expecting people to be seated on a highway. However police were quick to establish a detour past the site and ultimately the two arrests were the only immediate consequence of the event.

For organizers, they’ll hope the message they’re trying to deliver is clear and have suggested they’ll continue to escalate as time moves on.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

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On Twitter: @nanaimonewsnow