By John Francis,
Bruce Peninsula Press
At 9:00AM on June 28, just as this newspaper is being sent off to press, Northern Bruce Peninsula’s Municipal Council will be holding a Special Meeting on proposed regulations for Short-Term Accommodations (STAs). The Agenda for the Special Meeting includes the draft bylaws and a CAO Report; it is easily found online through MNBP’s website.
Excerpts from the CAO’s Report:
“Based upon a review of other Municipalities, which currently license Short Term Accommodations, the proposed license fees would [be the highest in the province].
“It would be recommended that these costs be lowered to an initial license fee of $500.00 with a renewal fee of $250.00 annually, and that the 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax be implemented as part of the bylaw. The 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax is collected by STA web hosts, such as AirBnB and can be collected by third party.
“The Municipal Accommodation Tax is a new revenue tool that the provincial government has given Ontario municipalities to further promote tourism as an economic driver.”
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“The implementation of a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) allows municipalities across Ontario to apply a mandatory rate on accommodations. The Municipal Accommodation Tax rate will be four per cent and must be applied to accommodations provided for a continuous period of 30 days or less. The MAT is not a tax on local businesses. The tax is applied to the accommodation fee only and not to other fees such as valet parking, laundry service, continental breakfast, etc.”
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“The four per cent tax will not apply to accommodations that are:
• Rented for a period of more than 30 days
• Provided a shelter
• Supplied by employers to their employees in premises operated by the employer”
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“Zoning / Class System
“Based on discussions during public consultations it became very apparent that specific zoning for STAs would be very difficult to manage. It would be recommended that STAs be only designated to Residential Zone 1 (Detached Residential) and Residential Zone 2 (Resort Residential). Properties that are currently functioning as an STA not within these zones would have a Holding provision placed on them. Should the property be sold, the property would cease to operate as a STA.
“Staff are recommending the use of HARMARI STR to assist in address identification, compliance monitoring, online registration, complaint hotline and MAT tax collection.
“This Canadian based company currently works with Grey-Highlands on their STA program and has been very successful with implementation. Other Municipalities who have moved towards a more organizational based operation have hired up to nine full-time staff to implement, online registration, customer service, complaints and monitoring. The proposal for this program is attached for Council review.
“It would be recommended that a Director of Legislative Services, Building and Economic Development and an administrative assistant be hired to oversee this process and manage the implementation and organization of the various departments which would be impacted through STA implementation. Funds through the Municipal Accommodation Tax would fund this position 100% and would not impact the tax levy.”
