A Kamloops councillor has questions after the largest development in nearly 20 years was announced a day after council approved a new tax break.

Speaking on the NL Morning News, Denis Walsh says “The Hive” will bring commercial business space that the downtown is lacking, and says he agrees with an incentive for development that the city needs.

But he asked if the tax break was a gift.

“And this engagement working group, I know they met once in September. Four of the eight at-large members are principles of The Hive. To me, I can’t participate in a conversation in a committee if I’m in conflict. I think our rules in committee structures have the same conflict of interest. I could see the people doing a presentation, but to be part of the decision making process. And there’s no other developers represented [in that committee], that I know,” Walsh says.

“Maybe The Hive will be about, $3, $4 million dollars in taxes a year if it was built without that. So we’re foregoing those taxes for 10 years. Would they have built that? They announced it within 24 hours, was it a gift or was it a revite? I don’t have a problem with us partnering or incentivizing buildings that we’re looking for. That’s not the problem, that’s our job.”

The new tax break will apply to all new commercial development downtown and on the North Shore.

Walsh was one of two council members who voted against the new tax break, and says he would prefer if it had more of a focus.

“In the future, we need to be more targeted to a specific type of building. We’re lacking very modern, high-tech buildings in the downtown core. So sure, let’s make a commercial tax exemption for those. But not just a broad, open bylaw for any commercial building.”