Why are some projects not featured in the survey?

    The District of West Vancouver is prioritizing capital projects for 2019 and your feedback is important. The survey asks participants to prioritize projects. 

    Projects that are not on this list, such as Klee Wyck, are undergoing a separate process and will be brought forward at another time. 

    The Arts Facilities Advisory Committee will make recommendations on arts facilities overall when their work is complete. The committee is expected to present to Council in June 2019. 

    What exactly is the Community Amenity Fund?

    The Community Amenity Fund contains funds received from developers, based on the increased value created for them by rezoning, which are to be used to create amenities which will enhance  the public realm. These funds are not used for asset maintenance, which is funded by the asset levy, and is for the basic maintenance of the items such as fire and police equipment, roads, street lights, trails, municipal vehicles, playground equipment, and other assets used to maintain and deliver the existing basic level of service exiting in the community. Community Amenity Funds are for the creation of new or enhanced assets, or the conversion of exiting assets to new uses, and, as such, the level of community support for individual projects is sought though this survey.

    Currently, West Vancouver has $15 million set aside in its Community Amenity Fund. The survey includes all of the projects currently proposed to be funded from the Community Amenity Fund. 


Understanding your property assessment

    Who controls property assessments?

    It’s important to understand that the property assessment system is the creation of the provincial government, not your municipal government. The District of West Vancouver has no control over your property’s assessment. 


    What do 2019 property assessments look like for West Vancouver?

    After an increase in residential property assessment over the last few year, 2019 has seen a general decrease. The average decrease for all residential property, which includes both single-family homes and strata apartments, is just under 9% in 2019. Single-family homes are down 12% on average, while strata apartments are up 6%. 

    How do property assessments affect your property tax?

    Most people believe that a change in their property assessment automatically means a change in their property taxes, but this is not the case. What really affects taxes is whether your property increased or decreased in value more, or less, than others in the same municipality. If your property assessment rose by more than the average, taxes will shift onto your property, and your taxes will go up. If your property assessment rose by less than the average, taxes will shift off of your property, and your taxes will go down.

    Image credit: BC Assessment

    What other factors impact property tax in West Van?

    If the Council decides that a tax increase is needed, this will affect taxes. But the proposed increase for 2019 would impact the average property by about $9 per month. Changes caused by assessment shifts will generally be much larger than this. Also, only about 42% of the taxes collected come to the municipality. The rest is the Provincial School Tax, and levies for TransLink, the regional district and other provincial agencies. West Vancouver collects these and sends them on, but has no control over them. These taxes are also affected by assessment shifts, so this can have a big impact on the tax bill.