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S01309 Summary:

S01309 Actions:

S01309 Committee Votes:

S01309 Floor Votes:

S01309 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1309
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    January 11, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
        AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation  to  the  certif-
          ication  of certain property complying with the residential-commercial
          urban exemption program and the revocation of benefits of such program
          in certain circumstances; and to amend a chapter of the laws  of  2020
          amending  the  real property tax law relating to the  residential-com-
          mercial urban exemption program,  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills
          numbers  S.  5254-B  and  A.  8091-A, in relation to the effectiveness
          thereof
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 485-a of the real property tax law, as amended by a
     2  chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the real property tax law relating
     3  to  the  residential-commercial  urban exemption program, as proposed in
     4  legislative bills numbers S. 5254-B and A. 8091-A, is amended to read as
     5  follows:
     6    § 485-a. Residential-commercial  urban  exemption  program.  1.  Defi-
     7  nitions.    As  used in this section, the following terms shall have the
     8  following meanings:
     9    (a) "Municipality" means any town, city or village except for  a  city
    10  having more than one million inhabitants.
    11    (b)  "Applicant" means any person obligated to pay real property taxes
    12  on the property for which an exemption from real  property  taxes  under
    13  this section is sought.
    14    (c)  "Commercial construction work" means the modernization, rehabili-
    15  tation, expansion or other improvement of the portion of mixed-use prop-
    16  erty to be used for commercial purposes.
    17    (d) "Commercial purpose or use"  means  (i)  the  buying,  selling  or
    18  otherwise  providing  of  goods  or  services  directly  to the public[,
    19  including hotel services,  retail  stores,  office  space,  restaurants,
    20  bars,  gyms,  theaters, and cafes]; or (ii) a non-residential lawful use
    21  including, but not limited to, an office, hotel, retail store,  brewery,
    22  distillery,  restaurant,  cafe,  bar  or  tavern, gymnasium, theater, or
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07191-01-1
        S. 1309                             2
 
     1  entertainment venue which employs or is anticipated to employ a  minimum
     2  of  five  employees  primarily  at  the  mixed-use property for which an
     3  exemption under this section is sought.
     4    (e)  "Mixed-use  property"  means  property on which will exist, after
     5  completion of residential construction work or a combination of residen-
     6  tial construction work and commercial construction work, a  building  or
     7  structure  used  for both residential and commercial purposes  of which,
     8  at least [fifty] forty percent of the  building  or  structure's  square
     9  footage  is  devoted to residential purposes or use and at least fifteen
    10  percent of the building or structure's  square  footage  is  devoted  to
    11  commercial  purposes  or  use.  [Only square footage existing in a story
    12  above grade shall  be  used  in  the  determination  of  the  building's
    13  percentage  of  residential  purposes  or use and commercial purposes or
    14  use.]
    15    (f) "Person"  means  an  individual,  corporation,  limited  liability
    16  company,  partnership,  association,  agency,  trust, estate, foreign or
    17  domestic government or subdivision thereof, or other entity.
    18    (g) "Residential construction work" means the creation, modernization,
    19  rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of dwelling units,  other
    20  than  dwelling units in a hotel, in the portion of mixed-use property to
    21  be used for residential purposes.
    22    [(h) "Floor area" means the horizontal areas of the several floors  or
    23  any  portion  thereof of a mixed-use property measured from the exterior
    24  faces of exterior walls or from the center line of party  walls,  exclu-
    25  sive of any area existing below-grade.
    26    (i)] (h) "Story above grade" means any story having its finished floor
    27  surface entirely above grade.
    28    [(j)]  (i)  "Grade" shall mean the finished ground level adjoining the
    29  building at all exterior walls.
    30    2. Any municipality may, by local law, provide for  the  exemption  of
    31  real  property  from  taxation  as  provided  in  this section. Upon the
    32  adoption of such a local law, the county in which such  municipality  is
    33  located may, by local law, and any school district, all or part of which
    34  is located in such municipality, may, by resolution, exempt such proper-
    35  ty  from  its taxation in the same manner and to the same extent as such
    36  municipality has done.
    37    3. Upon the adoption of such a local law, non-residential real proper-
    38  ty, upon conversion to mixed-use property, shall be exempt from taxation
    39  and special ad valorem levies as provided for  in  subdivision  four  of
    40  this section. [Land which was vacant prior to the residential or commer-
    41  cial construction work for which a tax exemption is sought, shall not be
    42  eligible to receive benefits pursuant to this section.]
    43    4. (a) (i) For a period of twelve years from the approval of an appli-
    44  cation,  the increase in assessed value of such property attributable to
    45  such conversion shall be exempt as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this
    46  paragraph.  Such  exemption  shall  be  computed  with  respect  to  the
    47  "exemption  base".  The exemption base shall be determined for each year
    48  in which there is an increase in assessed  value  so  attributable  from
    49  that of the previous year's assessed value.
    50    (ii)  The  following table shall illustrate the computation of the tax
    51  exemption:
 
    52        Year of exemption                      Percentage of exemption
 
    53            1 through 8                        100% of exemption base
    54            9                                  80% of exemption base
        S. 1309                             3
 
     1            10                                 60% of exemption base
     2            11                                 40% of exemption base
     3            12                                 20% of exemption base
 
     4    (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless:
     5    (i)  such conversion was commenced subsequent to the date on which the
     6  municipality's local law took effect; and
     7    (ii) the cost of such conversion  exceeds  the  sum  of  ten  thousand
     8  dollars or such greater amount as may be specified by local law[;
     9    (iii) at least seventy-five percent of the floor area of the mixed-use
    10  property consists of the pre-existing building or structure;
    11    (iv)  the  portion  of  the  building  used for commercial purposes is
    12  currently, as demonstrated by documentation submitted by the  applicant,
    13  used as such or is in good faith contemplated].
    14    (c) For purposes of this section the term conversion shall not include
    15  ordinary maintenance and repairs.
    16    (d)  No  such exemption shall be granted concurrent with or subsequent
    17  to any other real property tax exemption granted to  the  same  improve-
    18  ments to real property, except, where during the period of such previous
    19  exemption,  payments in lieu of taxes or other payments were made to the
    20  local government in an amount that would have been equal to  or  greater
    21  than the amount of real property taxes that would have been paid on such
    22  improvements  had  such  property  been granted an exemption pursuant to
    23  this section. In such case, an exemption shall be granted for  a  number
    24  of  years  equal  to  the twelve year exemption granted pursuant to this
    25  section less the number of years the property would have been previously
    26  exempt from real property taxes.
    27    5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the  owner
    28  of  such  real  property  on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such
    29  application shall be filed with the  assessor  of  the  municipality  or
    30  county having the power to assess property for taxation on or before the
    31  appropriate taxable status date of such municipality or county.
    32    6.  If  the assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an
    33  exemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the applica-
    34  tion and such real property shall be exempt from taxation and special ad
    35  valorem levies as in this section provided. The assessed  value  of  any
    36  exemption  granted  pursuant  to  this  section  shall be entered by the
    37  assessor on the assessment roll with  the  taxable  property,  with  the
    38  amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.
    39    7.  (a)  During  the period of exemption pursuant to this section, the
    40  owner shall submit an annual certification  to  the  assessor  attesting
    41  that  the  property complies with the provisions or requirements of this
    42  section and any additional provisions or requirements as may be provided
    43  by local law. Failure to submit such certification shall result in revo-
    44  cation of benefits. Such certification shall include at  a  minimum  the
    45  following:
    46    (i)  the  types  of  residential  use and the total above-grade square
    47  footage and below-grade square footage of such use;
    48    (ii) the types of commercial use  and  the  total  above-grade  square
    49  footage and below-grade square footage of such use;
    50    (iii) attestation that the portion of the building used for commercial
    51  purposes is currently, as demonstrated by documentation submitted by the
    52  applicant,  used  as such or is in good faith contemplated to be used as
    53  such; [and]
    54    (iv) the specific address of the entrance  through  which  the  public
    55  enters the portion of the building used for commercial purposes;
        S. 1309                             4
 
     1    (v)  if the portion of the building intended to be used for commercial
     2  purposes is not currently in active use for such purposes  and  open  to
     3  the  public,  the reasons why it is not currently being used for commer-
     4  cial purposes and open to the public; and
     5    (vi) all such other information required by the municipality.
     6    (b)  If  the  assessor is satisfied that the applicant continues to be
     7  entitled to the exemption pursuant to this section, the  assessor  shall
     8  approve the certification and the real property shall remain exempt from
     9  taxation  and  special ad valorem levies for another year as provided in
    10  this section.
    11    8. (a) The benefits of this section shall be revoked upon a finding by
    12  the assessor that:
    13    (i) the application for benefits hereunder or the annual certification
    14  required hereunder contains a false statement or false information as to
    15  a material matter or omits a material matter; [or]
    16    (ii) the eligible real property fails to comply with one  or  more  of
    17  the  provisions  or  requirements  of  this section or any provisions or
    18  requirements provided by local law; or
    19    (iii) the portion of the property devoted to commercial  purposes  has
    20  not  been  in  active use for commercial purposes and open to the public
    21  for three consecutive years.
    22    (b) Such revocation shall require the repayment of any benefits previ-
    23  ously granted pursuant to this section for any  year  during  which  the
    24  property  was  non-compliant  or the application or annual certification
    25  contained a false statement or false information as to a material matter
    26  or omitted a material matter.
    27    (c) No benefits may be revoked unless the  applicant  has  been  given
    28  thirty  days'  notice  of  such revocation and has been given reasonable
    29  notice to cure any failure to comply with the provisions of requirements
    30  of this section.
    31    9. If the assessor determines that there was a  material  misstatement
    32  in  an  application filed by or on behalf of the owners for an exemption
    33  pursuant to this section and that such misstatement provided  the  basis
    34  for  the  granting  of such exemption, the municipality shall proceed to
    35  impose a penalty on the applicant of one thousand dollars in addition to
    36  recovering the amount of any prior exemption granted.
    37    § 2.  Section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2020,  amending  the  real
    38  property  tax law relating to the residential-commercial urban exemption
    39  program as proposed in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  5254-B  and  A.
    40  8091-A, is amended to read as follows:
    41    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect January 1, 2021 and shall apply to
    42  properties for which the initial application for exemption are  received
    43  on and after such date, provided, however, that this act shall not apply
    44  to  properties  for  which the building permit for construction has been
    45  issued prior to such effective date, or within 180 days of  such  effec-
    46  tive date, provided that such project receives a certificate of occupan-
    47  cy  within  24  months  of  the  issuance of the building permit or such
    48  effective date, whichever occurs later. Days for which a stop work order
    49  is issued due to the COVID-19 state disaster emergency, as  required  by
    50  the  locality and/or executive order or other law, shall not be included
    51  in the calculation of these time periods.
    52    § 3. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    53  manner  as a chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the real property tax
    54  law relating to the residential-commercial urban exemption  program,  as
    55  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers S. 5254-B and A. 8091-A, takes
    56  effect.