STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5186--B
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a
residential-commercial exemption program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 485-n to read as follows:
3 § 485-n. Residential-commercial exemption program. 1. Definitions. As
4 used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
5 ings:
6 (a) "Applicant" means any person obligated to pay real property taxes
7 on real property for which an exemption from taxes under this section is
8 sought.
9 (b) "Benefit area" means the area within a municipality, designated by
10 local law, to which an exemption, established pursuant to this section,
11 applies.
12 (c) "Commercial construction work" means the modernization, rehabili-
13 tation, expansion or other improvement of the commercial use property or
14 of the portion of mixed-use property to be used for commercial purposes.
15 (d) "Commercial purpose or use" means the buying, selling or otherwise
16 providing of goods or services, including hotel services, or other
17 lawful business or commercial activities permitted upon mixed-use prop-
18 erty.
19 (e) "Commercial use property" means real property on which will exist,
20 after completion of commercial construction work, a building used for
21 commercial purposes or use.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11374-05-1
S. 5186--B 2
1 (f) "Mixed-use property" means real property on which will exist,
2 after completion of residential construction work or a combination of
3 residential construction work and commercial construction work, a build-
4 ing or structure used for both residential and commercial purposes.
5 (g) "Municipality" means any town, city, village or other taxing enti-
6 ty, that is not a city or within a city having a population of one
7 million or more.
8 (h) "Residential construction work" means the creation, modernization,
9 rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of dwelling units, other
10 than dwelling units in a hotel, in the portion of mixed-use property to
11 be used for residential purposes.
12 2. (a) A municipality may, by local law, provide for the exemption of
13 real property in a designated benefit area from taxation as provided in
14 this section.
15 (b) The local governing board or council shall establish a plan
16 concerning the various types of residential real property which may be
17 granted eligibility for an exemption pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
18 subdivision. The exemption shall be computed as provided in this
19 section. In addition, such plan shall identify designated benefit areas,
20 within which such exemptions shall be offered. In developing the plan
21 required by this paragraph, the local governing board or council shall
22 consider the planning objectives of the school district which serves
23 such municipality, and the necessity of the exemption to the attraction
24 or retention of home owners and the economic benefit to the area of
25 providing exemptions to home owners.
26 (c) In addition, the local governing board or council may modify its
27 plan to improve the economic climate therein.
28 (d) A local governing board or council may, by local law, restrict
29 real property eligible to receive the exemption to real property
30 constructed for those purposes identified in the plan. Such local law
31 shall restrict the availability of such exemption to the specific
32 geographic areas identified in the plan. Upon the adoption of such a
33 local law, the county in which such municipality is located may, by
34 local law, and any school district, all or part of which is located in
35 such municipality, may, by resolution, exempt such property from its
36 taxation in the same manner and to the same extent as such municipality
37 has done.
38 3. Upon the adoption of such a local law the commercial use property
39 or mixed-use property that was converted, created, modernized, rehabili-
40 tated, expanded or otherwise improved or the commercial use property
41 that was converted, created, modernized, rehabilitated, expanded or
42 otherwise improved, shall be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem
43 levies as provided for in subdivision four of this section.
44 4. (a) (i) For a period of twelve years following the approval of an
45 application, the increase in assessed value of such property attribut-
46 able to such conversion, creation, modernization, rehabilitation, expan-
47 sion or other improvement shall be exempt as provided in subparagraph
48 (ii) of this paragraph. Such exemption shall be computed with respect to
49 the "exemption base". The exemption base shall be determined for each
50 year in which there is an increase in assessed value so attributable
51 from that of the previous year's assessed value.
52 (ii) The following shall determine the computation of the tax
53 exemption:
54 Year of exemptionPercentage of exemption
55 1 through 8100% of exemption base
S. 5186--B 3
1 980% of exemption base
2 1060% of exemption base
3 1140% of exemption base
4 1220% of exemption base
5 (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless:
6 (i) such conversion, creation, modernization, rehabilitation, expan-
7 sion or other improvement was commenced subsequent to the date on which
8 the municipality's local law took effect; and
9 (ii) the cost of such conversion, creation, modernization, rehabili-
10 tation, expansion or other improvement exceeds the sum of ten thousand
11 dollars or such greater amount as may be specified by local law.
12 (c) For purposes of this section the term "conversion, creation,
13 modernization, rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement" shall not
14 include ordinary maintenance and repairs.
15 (d) No such exemption shall be granted concurrent with or subsequent
16 to any other real property tax exemption granted to the same improve-
17 ments to real property, except, where during the period of such previous
18 exemption, payments in lieu of taxes or other payments were made to the
19 municipality in an amount that would have been equal to or greater than
20 the amount of real property taxes that would have been paid on such
21 improvements had such property been granted an exemption pursuant to
22 this section. In such case, an exemption shall be granted for a number
23 of years equal to the twelve year exemption granted pursuant to this
24 section less the number of years the property would have been previously
25 exempt from real property taxes.
26 5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner
27 of real property on a form prescribed by the state board. Such applica-
28 tion shall be filed with the assessor of the municipality or county
29 having the power to assess property for taxation on or before the appro-
30 priate taxable status date of such municipality or county, and with the
31 chief financial officer of the municipality. If a county in which a
32 municipality is located has adopted a local law exempting real property
33 eligible to receive an exemption pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivi-
34 sion two of this section, such application shall also be filed with the
35 county economic development officer. No application shall be approved
36 by any municipality or county that was submitted more than twelve years
37 after the effective date of this section.
38 6. If the chief financial officer of the municipality, in consultation
39 with the municipal assessor, or in counties which have adopted a local
40 law exempting real property eligible to receive an exemption pursuant to
41 paragraph (d) of subdivision two of this section, the county economic
42 development officer, in consultation with the county assessor, is satis-
43 fied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this
44 section, he or she shall approve the application and such real property
45 shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies
46 as provided in this section commencing with the assessment roll prepared
47 after the taxable status date referred to in subdivision five of this
48 section. The assessed value of any exemption granted pursuant to this
49 section shall be entered by the assessor on the assessment roll with the
50 taxable property, with the amount of the exemption shown in a separate
51 column.
52 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
