well as state and condition of buildings which may have been damaged or demolished. Administrations review also seeks confirmation where there is a tax class change that the change in reflected on the returned roll for subsequent years. This process may preclude Administration from being able to present all applications within the prescribed deadline. If no decision is made or the applicant disagrees with the decision rendered, the applicant has the right to appeal to the Assessment Review Board.
Discussion:
Approval of Applications
The applications which have been finalized and included for approval are presented in the attached Appendices A through D for cancellation, reduction or refund of property taxes for the years 2017 to 2019.
General details are outlined in the attached Appendices. Various applications presented within this report relate to properties affected by fire damage, demolition of structures as well as tax class changes from taxable to exempt. They represent properties within various autonomous neighbourhoods throughout the City, some of which have subsequently are in the midst of being redeveloped. As the redevelopment is completed, Administration ensures that the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is made aware of the progress and completion in order that the timely return of new assessment values are provided for purposes of additional tax billings to the property owners.
Further detailed information as to reasons for approval of those applications with significant tax reductions (i.e. greater than $10,000) are described below.
Tax Class Changes
In January 2019, a property in the 1300 block of Assumption St was purchased by an agency that has received an exempt status from MPAC. The exempt status for the property was confirmed as part of the returned assessment for 2020.
In April 2019, a property in the 1200 block of Lauzon Rd was purchased by an agency that is considered to be a non-profit service organization. A change in tax class was confirmed as part of the returned assessment for 2020. As such a change in tax class from commercial to residential was requested to be applied to 2019 through an application.
Demolition
The report includes tax adjustments for 2017 and 2018 for the decrease in assessment value resulting from the demolition of the old Via Rail train station located at 298 Walker Rd. The old station was located on the lot adjacent to the property where the new train station was built. Taxes have been assessed on the new train station for 2017 and subsequent taxation years.