The city introduced a tax exemption bylaw to downtown businesses earlier this year to offer economic incentives to property owners undertaking repairs to their premises.
Properties that are under new construction or substantial renovations are eligible for tax exemptions for terms of up to 10 years, essentially freezing the property at the current set value.
Business owners in the Gulch are included in the tax bylaw, however the terms may not be applicable to some of the rundown properties.
“A lot of the repairs they may do wouldn’t necessarily have an impact in the context of the downtown tax exemption bylaw,” explained David Perehudoff, Trail’s chief administrative officer. “Because this wouldn’t necessarily add value to the business, rather it would bring it back to where it should be. So this may not apply.”