A Cambridge organization that provides various services for low-income individuals and families won't have to continue to pay property taxes after an Ontario Superior Court judge agreed the organization fits the criteria for an exemption.
Langs Community Development Corporation (LCDC) filed an application with the court last year to uphold the exemption status it's held since 2018.
The City of Cambridge and the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation both opposed it, arguing the LCDC is "not organized for the relief of the poor," and is not supported in part by public funds.
A decision issued in late March by Justice Sandra Antoniani, however, found the city's assessment invalid and concluded Langs should continue to be exempt from paying property taxes.
The Assessment Act recognizes that certain organizations should be exempt from taxation "in order to allow them to spend more of their limited resources on activities that are of a great benefit to either discrete groups of disadvantaged persons or to society as a whole."
Darcy Edwards, communications and special events coordinator with Langs, said the organization has always paid property taxes and is pleased with the decision.
"This will allow re-investment into community programs and services at Langs," she said, adding that it's typical for community health centres like it to be exempt from paying property taxes due to the nature of the work they provide for marginalized and/or vulnerable populations.
The city did not respond to a request for comment.
Known for years simply as Langs, Langs Farm Village Association was incorporated in 1987 and became a registered charity in 1991.
In 2007, the Langs board of directors created Langs Community Development Corporation for the sole purpose of purchasing the land at 1145 Concession Road to operate a community hub.
The city gave LCDC $200,000 to purchase the property and $3 million for design and construction of the building in 2012.
LCDC currently owns the land and building, and it leases the entire building to Langs at below market rents. Langs then subleases portions of the building to community partners, also at below market rents.
Of the 17 partner programs operating in the community hub, many of them are specifically targeted to lower income residents.
They include the Alzheimer Society, Canadian Mental Health Association, Community Support Connections – Meals on Wheels, Family and Children Services of Waterloo Region, and The M.S. Society.
Citing census data, the city argued Langs shouldn't be exempt from paying property taxes because it is a community centre that provides health, recreational, and informational services to the entire community within its catchment area, "not just the poor."
The judge, however, said the catchment area was irrelevant and the services the organization provides specifically address the needs of the poor.
Langs CEO Deborah Hollahan provided an affidavit to the court stating at least two-thirds of clients who benefit from Langs’ services have incomes below $40,000.
The Hub's clients generally receive their incomes from government programs, with the vast majority being from the Ontario Disability Support Program, she wrote.
Most of the services offered there are specific to low income clients including alternative education, a food pantry, community showers, computer access, health supports for the homeless and a compassionate fund to assist with prescription medication.
Langs began to offer the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program in 2020.
It gives low-income seniors free dental care but requires single clients be 65 or older with an annual net income of $22,200 or less, or senior couples with a combined annual net income of $37,100 or less.
An after school program supports working parents living on a lower income, at a cost of $10 per week.
"I find that the Census and other data supports the proposition that there is a need in the community for services aimed at lower income residents, or put another way, services intended to address the relief of poverty – and that the community hub addresses those needs," Antoniani wrote in her decision.
The judge concluded that the majority of the programming provided by Langs is either directly aimed at assisting the poor or are utilized by lower income clients who attend the hub for other services.
