City reviewing business bylaw
Airbnb, e-cigarettes, marijuana sales among issues to be considered
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, March 17, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A city councillor has asked staff to examine whether the municipality can charge a higher fee for businesses selling alcohol to obtain a licence to operate as a means of generating revenue to pay for services to address social issues.
Coun. Niels Konge, left, floated the idea of the city charging a steep fee for a business licence if the business sells alcohol or marijuana. The revenue, he suggested, could fund services that address alcohol and drug issues. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
Coun. Niels Konge floated the idea Monday at a municipal services committee meeting as councillors were told the city is reviewing its business licence bylaw with an eye to adapting to things like e-cigarettes, Airbnb rentals and marijuana sales.
The bylaw, introduced in 1990, sets out the process for obtaining a licence required for businesses to operate in the city.
"I'm thinking about our business licence bylaw and council having the ability to say, you know what, alcohol for example is a problem in our city and in order to help us pay for the cost of alcohol abuse, the business that are selling alcohol, the business licenses now cost 'X' amount of dollars?" Konge said.
He used a hypothetical example of $100,000 as the figure the city could charge with that revenue used to fund social programs. The city's 2017 budget includes a number of new initiatives to address homelessness and addictions.
The Cities Towns and Villages Act is the territorial law governing municipal powers. It states the city can establish a licence bylaw that sets out fees "in the nature of a reasonable tax for the activity authorized or for the purpose of raising revenue."
Konge also pointed to examining a higher fee for any business selling marijuana.
The federal government has committed to introduce legislation to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana this spring.
The law is expected to set out rules around production, distribution and sale of the drug.
Senior administrative officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett indicated the review will address the questions Konge brought up.
"I think you're raising a provocative issue that is going to be part of the entire process of reviewing the entire business bylaw," she told council.
The memo from city staff states the bylaw currently "does not address many of these issues which indicate that there are areas open for interpretation."
It adds that staff are finding it difficult to deal with many of the emerging issues and situations arising that not addressed within the current bylaw.
Faith Embleton, owner of Embleton House Bed and Breakfast, has been vocal about concerns with the regulation of Airbnbs in the city. She said she wasn't aware of the review when reached Wednesday.
"I think it is time they did it," she said of the review.
"I think it's great and they should have done it long ago."
It's unclear how long the review could take.
Bassi-Kellett indicated it would likely be months of work.
The memo given to council states there are approximately 1,800 active business licences, resulting in average $348,150 of revenue over three years from fees for these licences.
