An Incentive for Private Land Conservation
Ontario has a rich and varied natural heritage. However, many significant natural areas are on private property, limiting the government’s ability to maintain and protect the natural heritage values found within them. In July 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) finalized both a policy document and a guide in support of its Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program (CLTIP). This voluntary program, operating since 1998, encourages stewardship by offering 100 per cent property tax relief for the eligible portion of a property to landowners who protect the natural heritage and biodiversity values of that property.
The regulatory basis for the CLTIP is outlined in O. Reg. 282/98, made under the Assessment Act. This regulation describes those conservation lands that are considered exempt for taxation purposes, and describes the steps a landowner must take to apply and qualify for an exemption. Among these provisions, a landowner must undertake “not to engage in activities during the taxation year that are inconsistent with the natural heritage and biodiversity objectives for conserving the land.” The regulation does not specify, however, what activities are prohibited on approved lands. This information is contained in the CLTIP policy that was posted to the Environmental Registry for public comment on April 30, 2010, and that came into effect July 5, 2010. The CLTIP policy provides greater clarity by establishing the framework for evaluating the compatibility of land use activities with the program, and by providing a (non-exhaustive) list of land uses that are permitted or prohibited under the CLTIP.
Since December 10, 2004, one of the land types eligible under the CLTIP is Community Conservation Lands (CCL), which are lands owned by conservation authorities or eligible charitable conservation organizations with a primary objective of natural heritage conservation. In July 2010, MNR also approved the CLTIP Community Conservation Lands Guide (the “CCL Guide”) to assist conservation groups and authorities in determining whether a property is eligible under the CCL category and, if so, in preparing a CLTIP application. The CCL Guide is useful in that it provides timelines on the application/notification process, a description of the documentation required for an application, guidance on invasive species control and information on the native tree species that are appropriate for land restoration.
The CLTIP is one of the most important environmental stewardship programs for private lands in Ontario and is a cost-effective approach to conserving important ecological systems. The ECO is pleased that MNR finally created a policy for this program, which has been operating for over a decade. The ECO is also glad that in posting the CLTIP policy on the Environmental Registry, MNR has finally given the public an opportunity to comment on the CLTIP as a whole; previous Environmental Registry notices precluded public comment or addressed only limited aspects of the program.
The ECO is disappointed, however, that the CLTIP and CCL Guide fail to clearly inform the public that new owners of lands (within an eligible feature or designation) that are currently ineligible because of previous disturbance, including commercial harvesting in the past 10 years, may be eligible for the CLTIP, as long as any necessary restoration efforts have been completed. It is important that conservation authorities and other land conservation organizations know that in acquiring recently disturbed lands, they will not be penalized for the land use activities of previous property owners and may be eligible to participate in the CLTIP once appropriate restoration activities have been completed.
While the CLTIP is a positive initiative that supports conservation in Ontario, the ECO has mentioned before that the province may need to pay attention to and, on occasion, financially assist certain smaller municipalities with limited tax bases and extensive eligible conservation lands (see page 63 of the Supplement to the ECO’s 2005/2006 Annual Report). In response to this issue, the Ministry of Finance explained that although the government does not directly compensate municipalities for revenue losses resulting from tax-exempt conservation lands, when calculating transfer payments to municipalities to assist with social costs, it takes into account that CLTIP properties do not directly generate municipal revenues.
For a more detailed review of this decision, please refer to Section 4.14 of the Supplement to this Annual Report.
| This is an article from the 2010/11 Annual Report to the Legislature from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. |
Citing This Article:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2011. "An Incentive for Private Land Conservation." Engaging Solutions, ECO Annual Report, 2010/11. Toronto: The Queen's Printer for Ontario. 55-56.
cateogry:Ministry of Natural Resources
