Has the City-Rural Tax Base and Land-Use Balance Changed in Alberta? Explorations into the Distribution of Equalized Property Assessments Among Municipality Classes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v11i0.43330Abstract
Alberta ended its regional planning commissions in 1996. They were replaced by voluntary inter-municipal negotiation, but this has raised concerns about adverse effects on land use. Pressure to terminate the commissions came largely from the rural municipalities. Some of them felt the commissions retarded their economic development. They believed that in a less restrictive planning environment, they would be able to attract a greater share of development, especially business. This study assesses the consequences of that change. Alberta’s rapid growth over much of the post-1995 period affords an exceptional opportunity to search for noticeable changes in the urban-rural tax base and land-use patterns and balance.
Municipal tax base is measured, and land use reflected, by property values. Those values are taken to be the provincially determined equalized assessments used for property tax purposes. Fortunately, these provide a reliable and consistent measure of property values across municipalities and over time for properties of different kinds. For the types of properties of prime interest for this analysis, residential and unregulated business property, equalized assessments approximate 100 per cent of market value. Residential property represents over 60 per cent of total provincial equalized assessments and business property about 20 per cent. In cities, the percentages are 70 per cent and 24 per cent; residential and business properties represent almost all the taxable property. The focus of the analysis is whether, during the past two decades, the shares of residential and/or business property have shifted from cities to rural municipalities.
The possibility of shifting city-rural tax base/land-use patterns is explored from four perspectives. This report examines trends in the distribution of residential and business equalized assessments among the types of municipalities in the province. To obtain a better perspective in specific cases, the city-rural split of assessments is reported for the Edmonton and Calgary metropolitan areas and nine cities between 1997 and 2014. Examining the movements in the ratios of business to residential assessments of 31 city and rural municipalities provides further insight. The final approach is to simply review changes in the location of population and dwellings between cities and rural areas.
There has been no notable or general shift of land development away from cities and to rural areas. Despite the rapid growth and the devolved planning environment, the cityversus-rural distribution of tax base and land use has, overall, been remarkably constant although development was definitely not uniform across Alberta cities. If anything, the cities’ shares of residential development may have increased while their shares of business development have been more uneven. For both types of property, however, the development patterns have varied across both city and rural municipalities. Concern that the changed planning environment might have shifted property development towards the rural municipalities does not appear to have been justified. Whether this development met other planning criteria is not explored here. This analysis encourages more detailed investigations using alternative indicators.
References
Agrawal, Sandeep. 2016. “Urban, Suburban and Wet Growth in Alberta.” Alberta Land Institute,
University of Alberta. May. Available at http://www.albertalandinstitute.ca/public/download/
documents/34087
Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
Municipal Attitudes Towards Regional Planning in Alberta. October.
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Equalized Assessment Reports (annual). Available at
http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/mc_property_assessment_and_taxation_reports
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Guide to Equalized Assessment in Alberta. Available at
http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/as/Guide_to_Equalized_Assessment.pdf
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Guide to Property Assessment and Taxation in Alberta. Available at
http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/as/AB_GuidePtyAssmt_finrev.pdf
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Land Use Policies. Available at http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/
documents/ms/landusepoliciesmga.pdf
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Legislative Framework. Available at http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/
documents/ms/THE_LEGISLATIVE_FRAMEWORK_2012-08_Version.pdf
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Maps and Statistics. Available at http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/
mc_maps_statistics
Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2001. Minister’s Guidelines for the Assessment of Farmland, Linear
Property, Machinery and Equipment, Railway. Available at http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/
documents/as/01MinistersGuidelinesAssessmentFLPMR.pdf
Alberta Municipal Affairs, Municipal Financial and Statistical Data. Available at http://www.
municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/municipal_financial_statistical_data.
Alberta Professional Planners Institute. 2014. Municipal Government Act Review: Recommendations for
Proposed Amendment to the Municipal Government Act. June.
Beesley, Kenneth B. 2010. The Rural-Urban Fringe in Canada: Conflict and Controversy. Brandon, MB:
Rural Development Institute, Brandon University.
Calgary Regional Partnership. Available at http://calgaryregion.ca/crp/calgary-regional-partnership/
about/overview.html
Capital Region Board. Available at http://capitalregionboard.ab.ca/
Climenhaga, David J. 1997. “The Death and Life of Regional Planning in the Calgary Area,” Master’s
Thesis, School of Journalism, University of Calgary.
Conger, Brian W., Bev Dahlby and Melville L. McMillan. 2016. Municipal Revenue Generation
and Development in the Calgary and Edmonton Metropolitan Regions, School of Public Policy,
University of Calgary.
Dragushan, Graham N.G. 1979. “Regional Planning in Alberta: The Evolution of Alberta’s System of
Regional Planning Commissions.” Master’s Thesis, School of Community and Regional Planning,
University of British Columbia.
Ghitter, Geoff and Alan Smart. 2009. “Mad Cows, Regional Governance and Urban Sprawl,” Urban
Affairs Review, 44(#5), May: 617-644.
Haarsma, D. and Feng Qiu. 2017. “Assessing Neighbor and Population Growth Influences on Agriculture
Land Conversion,” Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 10(1) March: 21-41.
Haarsma, Darren, Angela Bentley, Claire Doll, Scott Jeffrey, and Feng Qiu. 2014. “Agricultural Land
Conversion and Fragmentation in Alberta: A Review of Land Cover Patterns 2000-2012 and Land
Use Policy.” The Alberta Land Institute, University of Alberta. August. Available at http://www.
albertalandinstitute.ca/public/download/documents/10440
LeSage, Edward C. Jr. and Melville L. McMillan. 2010. “Alberta Municipal Systems Overview Update,”
Information Bulletin 135, Western Centre for Economic Research, University of Alberta. January.
Masson, Jack and Edward C. LeSage Jr. 1994. Alberta’s Local Governments: Politics and Democracy,
Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.
Masuda, Jeffrey R. and Theresa Garvin. 2008. “Whose Heartland?: The Politics of Place in a RuralUrban
Interface,” Journal of Rural Sociology, 24(1), January: 112-123.
McMillan, Melville and Bev Dahlby. 2014. Do Municipal Governments Need More Tax Powers?
A Background Paper on Municipal Finance in Alberta. School of Public Policy, University of
Calgary. November.
Taylor, Zack, Marcy Burchfield, and Anna Kramer. 2014. Alberta Cities at the Crossroads: Urban
Development Challenges and Opportunities in Historical and Comparative Perspective, SPP
Research Papers, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary. May.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
The following is the copyright statement of SPPP.
Copyright © <Author name> <year>. This is an open-access paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC 4.0, which allows non-commercial sharing and redistribution so long as the original author and publisher are credited.
Publication Copyright and Licensing
The following guidelines and information, provided in six sections, are intended for authors (the “Author”) who are invited to write a paper (the “Work”) for The School of Public Policy Publications (the “Publisher”). The rights and responsibilities conveyed in the SPP Author Agreement will only apply once your paper is accepted for publication. At that point in the publication process, you will be asked to download the form and return a signed copy via e-mail to spppublications@ucalgary.ca. Please review the below information to ensure agreement with SPPP policies.
Section 1: Author’s Grant of Rights
In consideration of the Publisher’s agreeing to publish the Work in The School of Public Policy Publications, the Author hereby grants to the Publisher the following:
1.1 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to publish, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform and distribute the Work in perpetuity throughout the world in all means of expression by any method or media now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format;
1.2 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to use the Author’s name and likeness in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials related to the Work; and
1.3 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to license others to do any or all of the above.
Section 2: Prior Publication & Publication by Others
2.1 The Author agrees not to publish the Work, or authorize any third party to publish the Work, either in print or electronically, prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher.
2.2 The Author agrees not to publish the Work in any publication outlet which is substantially similar to The School of Public Policy Publications for a period of six (6) months after publication of the Work in The School of Public Policy Publications. Substantially similar is defined as a non-subscription, open-access publication outlet with a similar mandate/vision and intended audience.
2.3 Should the Author publish or distribute the Work elsewhere at any time or in any alternate format, the Author agrees to contact The School of Public Policy Publications to inform them of the subsequent publication.
2.4 Should the Author publish or distribute the Work elsewhere at any time or in any alternate format, the Author agrees to make reasonable efforts to ensure that any such additional publication cites the publication in The School of Public Policy Publications by author, title, and publisher, through a tagline, author bibliography, or similar means. A sample acknowledgement would be:
“Reprinted with permission from the author. Originally published in the The School of Public Policy Publications, http://www.policyschool.ca/publications/.”
Section 3: Editing and Formatting
The Author authorizes the Publisher to edit the Work and to make such modifications as are technically necessary or desirable to exercise the rights in Section 1 in differing media and formats. The Publisher will make no material modification to the content of the Work without the Author’s consent.
Section 4: Author’s Ownership of Copyright and Reservation of Rights
4.1 Nothing in this agreement constitutes a transfer of the copyright by the Author, and the copyright in the Work is subject to the rights granted by this agreement.
4.2 The Author retains the following rights, including but not limited to, the right:
4.2.1 To reproduce and distribute the Work, and to authorize others to reproduce and distribute the Work, in any format;
4.2.2 To post a version of the Work in an institutional repository or the Author’s personal or departmental web page so long as The School of Public Policy Publications is cited as the source of first publication of the Work (see sample acknowledgement above).
4.2.3 To include the Work, in whole or in part, in another work, subject to Section 2 above and provided that The School of Public Policy Publications is cited as the source of first publication of the Work (see sample acknowledgement above).
4.3 The Editors and Editorial Board of The School of Public Policy Publications requires authors to publish the Work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the Work for noncommercial purposes, and ensures the Author is credited for the original creation. This onward licensing is subject to section 2.4 of this agreement, which further ensures that the original publisher is credited.
Section 5: Author’s Warranties and Undertakings
The Author warrants that:
5.1 The Author is the sole author of the Work, or if a joint author, the Author has identified within the Work the other authors, and holds the copyright, either solely or jointly, and has the power to convey the rights granted in this agreement.
5.2 The Work has not previously been published, in whole or in part, except as follows:
5.3 Any textual, graphic or multimedia material included in the Work that is the property or work of another is either explicitly identified by source and cited in the Work or is otherwise identified as follows:
5.4 To the best of the Author’s knowledge, the Work does not contain matter that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory; it does not violate another’s civil right, right of privacy, right of publicity, or other legal right; and it is otherwise not unlawful.
5.5 To the best of the Author’s knowledge, the Work does not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property or literary rights of another.
5.6 The Author will indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss, damages, expenses, awards, and judgments arising from breach of any such warranties.
Section 6: The Reuse of Third-Party Works
The Publisher requires that the Author determine, prior to publication, whether it is necessary to obtain permissions from any third party who holds rights with respect to any photographs, illustrations, drawings, text, or any other material (“third-party work”) to be published with or in connection with your Work. Copyright permission will not be necessary if the use is determined to be fair dealing, if the work is in the public domain, or if the rights-holder has granted a Creative Commons or other licence. If either the Author or Publisher determines for any reason that permission is required to include any thirdparty work, the Author will obtain written permission from the rightsholder.
