BRITISH COLUMBIA TRANSIT ACT (Supplement)

This archived Supplement is current to September 15, 2003 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here.

[Supplement]

BRITISH COLUMBIA TRANSIT ACT

[RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 38

1 Section 3 (1) of the British Columbia Transit Act is amended

(a) by adding ", on its own or through one or more subsidiaries incorporated by it or on its behalf," after "objects of the authority are", and

(b) [Spent]

1993-55-4.

2 Section 14 (1) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, dispense with the tax under paragraph (a) of this subsection or impose a lesser tax than that required under paragraph (a), and apply to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to raise the balance of the prescribed portion in accordance with one or both of

(i) section 16.1, and

(ii) if the government has, on the recommendation of the municipality or otherwise, amended the Motor Fuel Tax Act to provide a tax under that Act for the raising of revenue for municipal purposes under this Act, the tax available under the Motor Fuel Tax Act.

1998-30-68.

3 Section 15 (2) (b) and (c) is amended by adding "or section 16.1 of this Act" after "section 12.1 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act".

1998-30-69.

4 Section 16 is amended

(a) by striking out "15" wherever it appears and substituting "15 or 16.1", and

(b) in subsection (1) by striking out "under that section" and substituting "under either of those sections".

1998-30-70.

5 The following sections are added:

Parking tax

16.1 (1) In this section and sections 16.2 to 16.4 and 32:

"improvements" means improvements as defined in the Assessment Act;

"land" means land as defined in the Assessment Act;

"motor vehicle" means motor vehicle as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act;

"parking site" means, in respect of land located in an area referred to in a bylaw or regulation under subsection (4) (a), the portion of the land and any improvements on the land that is used, available or designed for the parking of motor vehicles and for any purpose that is in any way related or ancillary to that parking, whether or not there is a fee for that parking and whether or not the parking is available to the general public, and includes, without limitation, any portion of the land and the improvements on the land

(a) that provides access to the space used, available or designed for parking, including, without limitation, ramps, driveways, turning areas and places on which motor vehicles may be driven,

(b) that separates or marks parking spaces, lanes for driving and other spaces, whether by way of painted markings or by curbs, walls, columns, pillars or other objects,

(d) on which is erected anything in any way related or ancillary to parking, including, without limitation, lighting for the parking site and machines or devices used, available or designed for one or more of the collection of parking fees, the provision of parking tickets and the insertion of parking cards

but does not include all or any part of any land or improvements in the applicable areas that is exempted by the regulations;

"parking space" means

(a) the portion of a parking site that is marked out, by painted lines or otherwise, as being intended or available for the parking of a single motor vehicle, or

(b) for an unmarked parking site, a portion of it that is prescribed under the regulations to be a parking space;

"residential dwelling unit" means a detached house, cottage or other single family dwelling, a duplex, an apartment building, a strata lot, a townhouse, a rowhouse, a rest home, a nursing home, and includes that part of a multi-use building that is used for the purpose of single family dwellings, but does not include

(a) a hotel,

(b) a motel,

(d) a resort,

(e) a hospital,

(f) any other institutional building, bunk house or camp building used on commercial or construction projects, or

(g) those parts of any building that are used for any purpose other than residential;

"residential parking" means parking on a parking site that is located in or in close proximity to a specific building, by persons who, as a result of being owners or lessees of or tenants in a residential dwelling unit in the building,

(a) have an exclusive right to park on all or any specific part of the parking site, or

(b) in the case of a parking tax imposed or prescribed under subsection (2) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii), have an exclusive right to park on all or any specific parking spaces located in the parking site,

whether or not there is an additional charge for the residential parking over the purchase price, lease payment or rent paid for the residential dwelling unit;

"taxable parking area" means the area, calculated in the prescribed manner, of that portion of a parking site that is not used or available solely for residential parking;

"taxable parking space" means a parking space that is not used or available solely for residential parking;

"unmarked parking site" means a parking site or a portion of a parking site that does not contain parking spaces marked as set out in paragraph (a) of the definition of "parking space".

(2) Subject to subsection (5),

(a) a municipality may, by bylaw, impose a parking tax on

(i) the taxable parking area of parking sites located in the municipality, or

(ii) the taxable parking spaces of parking sites located in the municipality, and

(b) a regional transit commission may, by regulation, prescribe a parking tax on

(i) the taxable parking area of parking sites located in the regional transit service area represented by the commission, or

(ii) the taxable parking spaces of parking sites located in the regional transit service area represented by the commission.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), the tax referred to in subsection (2) must be set at a flat rate per square metre of taxable parking area or, in the case of a parking tax imposed or prescribed under subsection (2) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii), per taxable parking space.

(4) A bylaw or regulation referred to in subsection (2) may, without limitation,

(a) determine the areas of the municipality or regional transit service area to which the tax applies, and

(b) establish the rate for the tax or establish different rates of tax for different areas of the municipality or regional transit service area.

(5) A bylaw or a regulation under this section does not take effect until it has been approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

1992-71-7; 1998-30-71.

Parking tax assessment roll

16.2 (1) In this section and sections 16.3 and 16.4, "named person" means

(a) if the parking site is located in a regional transit service area established under section 25 (1), a person named by the regional transit commission representing that transit service area, or

(b) in any other case, a person named by the council of the municipality in which the parking site is located.

(2) Before a parking tax is imposed on a parking site under section 16.1, an assessor, a municipal collector or a named person must, at the direction of the municipality or regional transit commission that is imposing the tax, prepare a parking tax assessment roll.

(3) The assessor, collector or named person must enter in the parking tax assessment roll for each parking site assessed,

(a) the name of the owner of the parking site or, if the parking site is one to which subsection (5) applies, the name of the holder or occupier of the parking site,

(b) the total parking area of the parking site or, in the case of a parking tax imposed or prescribed under section 16.1 (2) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii), the total number of parking spaces located on the parking site,

(c) the total taxable parking area of the parking site or, in the case of a parking tax imposed or prescribed under section 16.1 (2) (a) (ii) or (b) (ii), the total number of taxable parking spaces located on the parking site, and

(d) any other information required by the regulations.

(4) The assessor, collector or named person must, within 21 days after completing the parking tax assessment roll, mail to the owner of every parking site that is to be taxed under section 16.1, a notice in the appropriate or prescribed form giving the particulars of the total area and the taxable parking area of the parking site as shown on the parking tax assessment roll.

1992-71-7.

Revision of parking tax assessment roll

16.3 (1) The assessor, collector or named person must, at the direction of the municipality or regional transit commission imposing the tax, revise the parking tax assessment roll to

(a) reflect any changes in the size or number of parking sites in the areas that are subject to the tax,

(b) add reference to any parking sites not previously included or subject to the tax,

(c) reflect any changes in the use of any parking sites or of any properties within the areas subject to the tax that, after the completion of the parking tax assessment roll, became, included, ceased to be or ceased to include a parking site, and

(d) make any corrections to the parking tax assessment roll considered necessary by the municipality or commission.

(2) If a revision is to be made to the parking tax assessment roll under subsection (1), the assessor, collector or named person must, within 21 days after completing the revision, mail to the owner of every parking site in respect of which a revision was made, a notice in the appropriate or prescribed form giving the particulars of the proposed revision.

1992-71-7.

Appeal

16.4 (1) A person may appeal to the property assessment appeal board established under the Assessment Act if the person is of the opinion that one or more of the following errors exist in the parking tax assessment roll:

(a) the name of a person has been wrongfully entered on or omitted from the parking tax assessment roll;

(b) land or improvements, or both land and improvements, have been wrongfully entered on or omitted from the parking tax assessment roll;

(d) an exemption has been improperly allowed or disallowed;

(e) an assessor, collector or named person made revisions to the parking tax assessment roll in a manner not authorized by section 16.3 (1) or failed to make revisions to the parking tax assessment roll as required by that section.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5), Parts 5 and 6 of the Assessment Act apply to an appeal under subsection (1).

(3) Without limiting subsection (2), in an appeal under this section, the property assessment appeal board has and may exercise with reference to the parking site in respect of which the appeal is made

(a) the powers referred to in section 57 of the Assessment Act, and

(b) the power to alter the entry that has been or is proposed to be made respecting one or both of the total area and the taxable parking area of the parking site.

(4) The last day for starting an appeal under subsection (1) is,

(a) if the basis of the appeal is that the assessor, collector or named person failed to make a revision to the parking tax assessment roll that ought to have been made, the date that is 30 clear days after the earlier of

(i) the date that the appellant became aware that the revision was not made, and

(ii) the date of the notice referred to in section 19 (3), or

(b) in any other case, the date that is 30 clear days after the date of the notice mailed under section 16.2 (4) or 16.3 (2), as the case may be.

(5) The property assessment appeal board, not later than 45 clear days after the date on which it receives the notice of appeal and fee required under section 50 (3) of the Assessment Act, must send a copy of the notice of appeal to each of the following who is not the appellant:

(a) the owner of the parking site;

(b) the assessor, collector or named person who prepared the parking tax assessment roll or revision;

(c) the regional transit commission representing the regional transit service area, if any, in which the parking site is located;

(d) the municipality in which the parking site is located or, if the parking site is located in a rural area, the Surveyor of Taxes.

1992-71-7; 1998-22-15.

Section Repealed

6 [Repealed 1998-30-72.]

7 Section 19 (1) (a) and (2) is amended by striking out "either of sections 14 and 15" and substituting "any of sections 14, 15 and 16.1".

1998-30-73.

Section Repealed

8 [Repealed 1998-30-73.]

9 Section 25 (12) (c) is amended by striking out "15" and substituting "15 or 16.1".

1998-30-74.

10 Section 32 (2) is amended by adding the following:

(g) respecting the attribution and distribution of revenue coming into the hands of the authority;

(h) exempting any land or improvement from taxation as a parking site under section 16.1;

(i) respecting the manner of calculating the taxable parking area of a parking site under section 16.1;

(j) respecting the manner of identifying and determining the number of parking spaces located on an unmarked parking site;

(k) respecting the information to be included in a parking tax assessment roll under section 16.2;

(l) respecting the form of any notice that may be given under this Act.

1992-71-14 (part); 1993-55-5.

Commencement

11 Sections 1 to 10 come into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

1992-71-15; 1993-55-34 (2).