§ 485-N — Residential-commercial exemption program

* § 485-n. Residential-commercial exemption program. 1. Definitions.\nAs used in this section, the following terms shall have the following\nmeanings:\n (a) "Applicant" means any person obligated to pay real property taxes\non real property for which an exemption from taxes under this section is\nsought.\n (b) "Benefit area" means the area within a municipality, designated by\nlocal law, to which an exemption, established pursuant to this section,\napplies.\n (c) "Commercial construction work" means the modernization,\nrehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of commercial use\nproperty or the portion of mixed-use property to be used for commercial\npurposes.\n (d) "Commercial purpose or use" means the buying, selling or otherwise\nproviding of goods or services, including hotel services, or other\nlawful business or commercial activities permitted upon mixed-use\nproperty.\n (e) "Commercial use property" means real property on which will exist,\nafter completion of commercial construction work, a building used for\ncommercial purposes or use.\n (f) "Mixed-use property" means real property on which will exist,\nafter completion of residential construction work or a combination of\nresidential construction work and commercial construction work, a\nbuilding or structure used for both residential and commercial purposes.\n (g) "Municipality" means any town, city, village or other taxing\nentity located in a county having a population of not less than\nsixty-five thousand three hundred ninety and not more than sixty-five\nthousand four hundred as determined by the federal decennial census for\nthe year two thousand ten or in a county having a population of not less\nthan ninety-eight thousand nine hundred and not more than ninety-nine\nthousand as determined by the federal decennial census for the year two\nthousand ten.\n (h) "Residential construction work" means the creation, modernization,\nrehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of dwelling units, other\nthan dwelling units in a hotel, in the portion of mixed-use property to\nbe used for residential purposes.\n 2. (a) A municipality, other than a county or school district as\nprovided in this section, may, by local law, provide for the exemption\nof real property in a designated benefit area from taxation as provided\nin this section. Subsequent to the adoption of such a local law, the\ncounty in which such municipality is located may, by local law, and any\nschool district, all or part of which is located in such municipality,\nmay, by resolution, exempt such property from its taxation in the same\nmanner and to the same extent as such municipality has done.\n (b) Such local law shall provide for the appointment of a\ncommercial/mixed use incentive board which shall be responsible for\ndesignating the benefit area to be exempt from taxation as provided in\nthis section. The membership and composition of such board shall be set\nforth in local law. Such board shall present a plan to the local\ngoverning body concerning the various types of commercial and/or\nmixed-use properties which may be granted an exemption pursuant to this\nsection. In addition such plan shall identify designated benefit areas,\nwithin which such exemption may be offered. In developing such plan the\ncommercial/mixed use incentive board shall consider the planning\nobjectives of the municipality and the necessity of the exemption to the\nattraction of commercial and mixed use development as identified by the\nmunicipality and the economic benefit to the area of providing\nexemptions to commercial and mixed-use properties. In instances where a\nmunicipality has previously designed a business district encompassing a\ndefined area which was subject to public input and was approved by and\nreceived funding for economic development purposes from a state agency,\nthe municipality may utilize the defined boundaries of such previously\ndefined area, or a combination of such boundaries subject to review by\nthe commercial/mixed-use incentive board.\n 3. Upon the adoption of such a local law the commercial use property\nor mixed-use property that was converted, created, modernized,\nrehabilitated, expanded or otherwise improved, shall be exempt from\ntaxation and special ad valorem levies as provided for in subdivision\nfour of this section.\n 4. (a) (i) For a period of twelve years following the approval of an\napplication, the increase in assessed value of such property\nattributable to such conversion, creation, modernization,\nrehabilitation, expansion or other improvement shall be exempt as\nprovided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. Such exemption shall be\ncomputed with respect to the "exemption base". The exemption base shall\nbe determined for each year in which there is an increase in assessed\nvalue so attributable from that of the previous year's assessed value.\n (ii) The following shall determine the computation of the tax\nexemption:\nYear of exemption Percentage of exemption\n 1 through 8 100% of exemption base\n 9 80% of exemption base\n 10 60% of exemption base\n 11 40% of exemption base\n 12 20% of exemption base\n (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless:\n (i) such conversion, creation, modernization, rehabilitation,\nexpansion or other improvement was commenced subsequent to the date on\nwhich the municipality's local law took effect; and\n (ii) the cost of such conversion exceeds the sum of ten thousand\ndollars or such greater amount as may be specified by local law.\n (c) For purposes of this section the term "conversion, creation,\nmodernization, rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement" shall not\ninclude ordinary maintenance and repairs.\n (d) No such exemption shall be granted concurrent with or subsequent\nto any other real property tax exemption granted to the same\nimprovements to real property, except, where during the period of such\nprevious exemption, payments in lieu of taxes or other payments were\nmade to the municipality in an amount that would have been equal to or\ngreater than the amount of real property taxes that would have been paid\non such improvements had such property been granted an exemption\npursuant to this section. In such case, an exemption shall be granted\nfor a number of years equal to the twelve year exemption granted\npursuant to this section less the number of years the property would\nhave been previously exempt from real property taxes.\n 5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner\nof real property on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such\napplication shall be filed with the assessor of the municipality or\ncounty having the power to assess property for taxation on or before the\nappropriate taxable status date of such municipality or county.\n 6. If the assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an\nexemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the\napplication and such real property shall thereafter be exempt from\ntaxation and special ad valorem levies as provided in this section\ncommencing with the assessment roll prepared after the taxable status\ndate referred to in subdivision five of this section. The assessed\nvalue of any exemption granted pursuant to this section shall be entered\nby the assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with\nthe amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.\n * NB Repealed September 23, 2027\n