Digital cameras mounted on a clearly-marked van will soon be on the residential streets of five Okanagan communities as BC Assessment uses innovation to update photos used for property assessment purposes.
Starting mid-August through late-August, the residential photo update initiative will take street front digital photos of approximately 21,000 single family homes in Coldstream, Lake Country, Peachland, Summerland and Penticton.
This technology has already been successfully used in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Vernon as well as throughout much of Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Prince George and the Cariboo-Thompson region.
“As the Crown corporation responsible for accurately valuing all properties in B.C., we are always looking for innovative ways to provide more timely, equitable and fair assessments to all property owners,” said Tracy Wall, deputy-assessor for the Okanagan. “Phase 1 for the Okanagan region was done last summer with over 50,000 properties photographed and now we will be updating five additional communities.”
BC Assessment will only retain photographs of the public street front of a home including the civic (street) address number.
BC Assessment will not retain any personal information related to:
• Any images of people on the property.
• Visible signage on a residence (excluding street address), including business signs, signs with the names of the people living at that property and any other type of signage that may relate to the identity of a person. This includes vehicle license plates.
• The interior of a residence (e.g., images that show the inside of a home through a window or open doorway, or the interior of an enclosed vehicle shelter such as a garage).
Visit our YouTube channel to view a video demonstration of the photo update initiative. Visit www.bcassessment.ca for further information about BC Assessment.
