YORKTON - While the money allotted for the Residential Lot Sales Rebate Program has almost been doled out to new lot owners, Council chose not to add new dollars to the program.
At the most recent regular meeting of Yorkton Council March 24, Michael Eger – Director of Planning, Building & Development, with the city reminded in January of this year, Council renewed its suite of housing incentives, in order to stimulate residential construction and residential lot sales.
Among the four programs the Residential Lot Sales Rebate Program (RLSRP), adopted in 2024, provides a 50 percent rebate of the price off any City-owned residential lot. This policy also has a built-in expiry at the end of every year.
“Since renewal, the City has sold one lot outright (in Riverside Terrace) and received deposits for three additional sales, with two in Riverside Terrace and one in York Landing (Heath Court). One of the sales is to a Contractor, and the Sale of Residential Lots policy allows an extended timeline for payment. We have issued holds for two additional parties, both in Riverside Terrace,” said Eger.
If buyers fully execute the conditions of their existing purchases, the City will have about $43,792 remaining of the $295,000 budgeted for its rebate program, he added.
Full rebate values for the holds are valued at $67,860 and $100,620, respectively and both parties have indicated that they will proceed only if the full 50 percent rebate is available, continued Egers.
“Council would need to make an additional $24,068 available in order to provide 50 percent funding for the first hold, and $124,688 to fully fund both of the holds,” he said.
Egers did note, The Economic Development Committee has prioritized housing incentives and in response to the current funding limitations, recommends that Council increase funding for the rebate program.
However, the question was where additional dollars would come from.
The rebate program is furnished by the City’s self-sustaining Land Fund.
“The Land Fund incurs all costs for land development and recovers them through costs through sale of its assets,” said Egers.
Price discounts/rebates are likely to create losses in the Land Fund and the rebate program had been capped at $295,000 in order to limit said losses.
Negative equity in the Land Fund would lead to a situation where future Land Development will need to be funded out of the tax-funded Capital Budget, which would put it in direct competition with the City’s many other infrastructure needs and our worsening infrastructure deficit, offered Egers.
In the end Council chose not to add new dollars to the program.
