Dear Editor:
If you feel that your property assessment is too high, you still have time – Jan. 31 – to appeal it.
Check out the website bcassessment.ca/Property/AssessmentSearch
Put your address into the site and see what your assessment is for your land and your home.
I want to emphasize that those residents who have property within the Agricultural Land Reserve definitely should check out the amounts your land has been assessed at.
A map at the bottom of the website also allows you to check out your neighbour’s assessment and compare it with your own.
There are huge differences in land assessments used for orcharding and farming everywhere in Summerland. As an example: My cherry block is assessed at $5,714 an acre. My neighbour’s peach and cherry orchard is assessed at $13000 an acre. Nearby, a vineyard is assessed at a mere $1,960 an acre.
Why are these huge discrepancies within a short distance of each other? It makes no sense. I’ve been told that these assessments have been established by some bureaucrats in Victoria.
Most definitely, these assessments have nothing to do, or should have nothing to do with the homes or equipment used for farming.
Perhaps we should think of forming a union, a coalition, or an association of some kind to appeal to Victoria for some kind of uniformity in our assessments.
Frank Martens
Summerland