He also spent nearly $100,000 getting his operation up and running about a decade ago. Ever since, he’s watched as other businesses have got away with not paying for business licences.
The issue was given a higher profile this week with the case of Hillbilly Heaven, the controversial restaurant operating two locations in Hamilton without a licence, due in part says its owner, to having to pay high rezoning fees.
Business licence fees can run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars (for a private taxicab owner for example), depending on the kind of business.
But that’s often just the start. Various planning fees or rezoning fees can escalate the cost of starting a business, depending on what it is and where it’s located.
Home-based businesses (run out of a home office for example) are generally not required to get a licence.
“These entrepreneurs prior to buying a property have to know everything there is to know what it is they can do with that property. It’s up to them,” said Whaling. “Otherwise it’s not fair to the guy who is running his business properly, doing his due diligence and paying his taxes.”
According to the city, there are about 8,000 businesses licensed in Hamilton.
The big question is: How many are out there aren’t?
City officials have indicated they have no idea how many businesses are operating without a licence or in an improperly zoned area.
Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, said the seriousness of the issue came to light a couple of years ago when councillors noticed some ads for businesses such as massage parlours which didn’t have licences.
“We have no way of knowing (how many businesses are in the city). It’s been a hot topic,” he said. “You’ve only got so many resources.”
Whitehead said more bylaw officers were hired to address all compliance issues and staff has been rededicated to take a more proactive approach to correct the problem.
Still, it’s a mammoth task.
A few years ago one of Whaling’s competitors was taken to court twice by the city for setting up a mini-storage business nearby in Mount Hope without proper zoning.
Each time the business was fined, it would start back up again the next day.
“It was a joke,” said Whaling. “The fine was … a slap on the wrist.”
“The word on the street is that in Hamilton, as long as you operate under the radar, maybe move out to the (rural) areas, you’ll get away with running a business out of your home,” he said. “The city hasn’t even figured out how much income it has lost.”
Brenda Johnson, the area’s councillor, said she sympathizes with Whaling.
“Small businesses have the biggest hurdles so when you have a business set up shop without paying for planning approvals, licencing fees and so on, we’ve made it even harder for the other small businesses to succeed,” she said.
She said it’s important for the city to address problem establishments as soon as possible.
“The longer they have been around, the harder it is to uproot them,” she said. “We have to have a level playing field. Mind you, a lot of businesses just don’t understand they need to go through this process.”
Glyn Wide, the city’s manager of municipal law enforcement, said he realigned bylaw officers’ jobs a couple of years ago to cope with the challenge of a spectrum of issues including illegal lodging homes, massage parlours and commercial enterprises operating illegally.
Wide said he has a particular concern over illegal lodging units in the city where staff have discovered “intolerable” living conditions.
“Zoning issues are huge in this city but it’s not just this city,” he said. “A lot of municipalities just don’t look at this. They probably just don’t have the resources.”
Wide said staff have stepped up efforts to curb illegal commercial operations, sometimes conducting search warrants or even enacting a powerful section of the Municipal Act which allows a municipality to hold a property for up to two years if unlawful activity continues on a site.
“You have to be reasonable with people. We start off by serving a notice,” he said.
But he doesn’t hesitate to take property owners to court, particularly if “they’ve snubbed their noses at us,” he said.
Judges used to impose light fines on Municipal Act infractions, but that’s slowly changing, said Wide, pointing to a recent case of a Hamilton man who was convicted for the second time of running an illegal lodging home.
“He was given an $18,250 fine,” said Wide. “That’s unusual. We haven’t seen fines like that for a long time. The judges are listening to us.”
Whaling said he has noticed small, but positive steps forward, thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of Johnson and other councillors, but also to staff who recognize the inequities caused in the marketplace for businesses that pay, and businesses that don’t pay.
“The rules should apply to everybody.”
Original Article
Source: thespec.com
Author: Lisa Grace Marr
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