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Jeff Dion’s family has run an industrial signage business for 12 years in the area around Clark Drive and Powell Street, and although they have a good relationship with their landlord, they don’t know how much longer they’ll be able to stay in the building, or the neighbourhood, or the city.

The property’s assessed value has more than doubled year-over-year for two years running, Dion said, and the family worries next year’s property tax bill hike will be the one that forces them to lay off some of their five employees or leave town.

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Like most independent business owners in Vancouver, Dion pays a triple-net lease, in which the tenant’s responsible not only for paying the landlord the rent, but also maintenance fees and property taxes. It’s the last one that’s been the killer in Vancouver lately.

Dion’s wife Melissa said their landlord is sympathetic, but as land values in the area have soared, he has no choice but to pass the property tax on to tenants, or just sell the land from under them.