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Owners of the Blue Chicago, Arlington Apartments and other vacant commercial properties could face punitive taxes under a new rule floated by the province this week.

That’s a win for Edmonton officials, who have been lobbying for the change. It would create what one city lawyer previously called “one of the most powerful tax tools that exist” in the fight to redevelop derelict properties.

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The city has sites that sit vacant, full of weeds and surrounded by fencing, sometimes for decades. Many are in key locations, like the Blue Chicago on Stony Plain Road and 142 Street, or the former Arlington Apartments on 100 Avenue and 106 Street.

They frustrate local residents.

“I don’t understand why they closed Blue Chicago all those years ago and it still stands empty,” said resident Mark Nicoll as the news spread on social media. “We don’t have a neighbourhood pub west of Groat Road.”

“It is tough for the community to create vibrant streets when there are stretches of blocks that are chronically empty,” added Jessie Radies, who lives in Alberta Avenue. “Honestly, if a property sits vacant for several years or decades, perhaps it should become public space and used to incubate businesses or support the arts.”

The new taxes would only apply to vacant non-residential property. The change is part of a new batch of regulations — out for public comment until Sept. 22 — that gives the fine detail before the 2016 amendments to the Municipal Government Act take effect.

City council has been lobbying for the right to increase taxes on vacant land because of the harm it does to business revitalization zones, areas where the city and other businesses have invested to improve the commercial strip.

Photo by Elise Stolte

The investments are the carrot; higher taxes could be the stick, said Coun. Michael Walters. That’s a “good combo,” he said, adding property owners who fail to develop vacant or derelict land are holding neighbourhoods hostage.

Taxes are a powerful tool, said Coun. Mike Nickel. Council could identify where it wants development to happen, then drop taxes on that vacant land for a period of time. When the time ran out, the higher, punitive taxes would kick in, he suggested.

Perhaps developers could avoid the higher tax by turning vacant lots into publicly accessible parks, Nickel suggested. Because a fenced-up site like the Arlington Apartments, he said, “you can’t leave it forever.”