Empty space in Elements building in Red Deer's greater downtown area. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

37 petition signatures

Property owners in downtown Red Deer threaten to withhold property taxes until plan for shelter is revealed and OPS removed

Jan 26, 2024 | 6:23 PM

Nearly 40 property owners in downtown Red Deer have petitioned to withhold their property taxes until a concrete plan is made public about the permanent homeless shelter and removal of the Overdose Prevention Site (OPS).

“We’re so frustrated and angry and now we’re desperate because of the problems caused,” said Leon Oosterhoff, creator of the petition.

Part-owner of the Century Centre (4807 50 Ave.), his two spaces in the Elements Edge building (5002 55th St.), 400 metres away from the shelter and OPS, are vacant, alongside other empty condos, he says.

He shared that the businesses in the area have had to keep their doors locked at all times due to loitering in the lobbies, stairwells, and front lawns. He says they have had to pay for clean up of human feces on their properties, vandalism, and witnessed drug use on the premises.

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As a result, he says many property owners have had businesses shut down or move and are on the verge of bankruptcy due to empty spaces, leaving them unable to pay their taxes.

“It is a disaster down there. A lot of the people don’t realize how bad it is down there because they don’t have a vested interest,” he said. “But you just drive through downtown Red Deer on the weekend and there’s nothing going on hardly because no one wants to be down there.”

Two empty spaces for rent in downtown Red Deer; reasons for their departure are confirmed. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

He claims the province caused this when they put the OPS in the area in 2015, and the City fuelled it when they expanded the temporary shelter into its current location at Cannery Row due to the pandemic. However, he says after years of advocacy to close the OPS and for an update on the permanent shelter status, he has been left with empty promises and no government accountability.

READ: Shelter gets 15-month extension as wait for permanent site drags into 2024

Oosterhoff started the petition, immediately attracting 37 signatures by word of mouth, and intends to reach at least 100 with door-to-door efforts and the help of Tracy Chabot, another property owner and advocate for downtown businesses. He estimates his signatures are worth around $600,000 in withheld municipal property taxes.

The City confirmed there is a total of 5,638 addresses in the greater downtown area.

While he has sent the petition to council, the City says they notified Oosterhoff that under the Municipal Government Act, property taxation is not something that can be petitioned against.

They confirmed that penalties will be applied to any outstanding account and, following the tax recovery legislation, can result in a tax sale of the property.

Oosterhoff said he has relied on his savings that are beginning to run out.

“The worst thing that could happen, eventually, is they take the property away from me but I’m going to lose it anyway because the bank’s going to take it because I can’t make the mortgage payments because I don’t have tenants. What’s the worst of two evils?” he asked.

Oosterhoff reminisced on his excitement when he was one of the first purchasers in the Elements building roughly a decade ago.

“The Elements building was supposed to be the flagship property of that whole area, including Capstone and Riverlands, but the City and the Province ruined that. As the years went on, then they put the safe injection site in. Within six to 12 months, it was a huge difference in what was going on. We were always having to call the cops,” he said.

One side of the Elements building in Red Deer’s greater downtown area. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

He said he moved his business to the second floor and converted his main floor space into individual office spaces. Once all occupied, he says he now can’t find tenants because people don’t want to invest in the area.

He acknowledged that while city council has put downtown incentives in place like grants for $10,000 in rental subsidies, he calls them a bribe as no one wants to move until the situation is cleaned up.

“City council needs to start sticking up for the people that vote and the people that pay taxes,” he said, challenging council to place the two sites in their own neighbourhoods to see the impacts. “I realize some of these homeless people are truly homeless. But excessive drug use is a big cause of homelessness so why are we enabling these people to do drugs?”

“In what society do we live in where people supervise people doing drugs? Doing illegal activities,” he added, questioning the enforcement of laws.

City officials said in a statement, “The City is committed to supporting businesses downtown and across the community. We are invested in growing our city through economic development. This is not only about new business development but about supporting businesses that are already in our community. We do this in a variety of ways, through grants, investment in infrastructure downtown, event activation, vacant spaces pop up community grant, four season activation grant, but there are many considerations. Businesses themselves have diverse business models, promotional opportunities and products and services, and that is also part of the puzzle. We try to understand this puzzle via business visitations on an ongoing bases in conjunction with the DBA (Downtown Business Association) and our Safe and Healthy Communities Department to provide a targeted approach to support business in the downtown.”

Series of empty spaces in downtown Red Deer, formerly filled with a coffee and barber shop; reasons for departure are confirmed. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

Oosterhoff says the people utilizing the shelter are not good neighbours as they violate the Community Standards Bylaw with property nuisances and receive no punishment, unlike property owners who would be fined for not following the rules.

He credited Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for her position on dismantling encampments where shelter spaces are available and her focus on a recovery-based approach.

READ: Premier Smith issues mandate letter for Minister of Mental Health and Addiction

He says property owners will withhold taxes until an acceptable concrete plan, timeline, and implementation date are presented for the relocation of the shelter and the closure of the current location of the OPS, adding the opening of the new shelter will take years following a chosen site.

While the City will be holding a special public hearing for residents regarding the OPS site on February 15, they stated there are no further updates on the status of the shelter.

READ MORE:

Red Deer city council creates non-statutory public hearing for Overdose Prevention Site topic

Letter to the Editor: In response to downtown property owners threatening to withhold property taxes

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