N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 485-n: Residential-commercial exemption program

* § 485-n. Residential-commercial exemption program. 1. Definitions.

As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following

meanings:

(a) "Applicant" means any person obligated to pay real property taxes

on real property for which an exemption from taxes under this section is

sought.

(b) "Benefit area" means the area within a municipality, designated by

local law, to which an exemption, established pursuant to this section,

applies.

(c) "Commercial construction work" means the modernization,

rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of commercial use

property or the portion of mixed-use property to be used for commercial

purposes.

(d) "Commercial purpose or use" means the buying, selling or otherwise

providing of goods or services, including hotel services, or other

lawful business or commercial activities permitted upon mixed-use

property.

(e) "Commercial use property" means real property on which will exist,

after completion of commercial construction work, a building used for

commercial purposes or use.

(f) "Mixed-use property" means real property on which will exist,

after completion of residential construction work or a combination of

residential construction work and commercial construction work, a

building or structure used for both residential and commercial purposes.

(g) "Municipality" means any town, city, village or other taxing

entity located in a county having a population of not less than

sixty-five thousand three hundred ninety and not more than sixty-five

thousand four hundred as determined by the federal decennial census for

the year two thousand ten or in a county having a population of not less

than ninety-eight thousand nine hundred and not more than ninety-nine

thousand as determined by the federal decennial census for the year two

thousand ten.

(h) "Residential construction work" means the creation, modernization,

rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement of dwelling units, other

than dwelling units in a hotel, in the portion of mixed-use property to

be used for residential purposes.

2. (a) A municipality, other than a county or school district as

provided in this section, may, by local law, provide for the exemption

of real property in a designated benefit area from taxation as provided

in this section. Subsequent to the adoption of such a local law, the

county in which such municipality is located may, by local law, and any

school district, all or part of which is located in such municipality,

may, by resolution, exempt such property from its taxation in the same

manner and to the same extent as such municipality has done.

(b) Such local law shall provide for the appointment of a

commercial/mixed use incentive board which shall be responsible for

designating the benefit area to be exempt from taxation as provided in

this section. The membership and composition of such board shall be set

forth in local law. Such board shall present a plan to the local

governing body concerning the various types of commercial and/or

mixed-use properties which may be granted an exemption pursuant to this

section. In addition such plan shall identify designated benefit areas,

within which such exemption may be offered. In developing such plan the

commercial/mixed use incentive board shall consider the planning

objectives of the municipality and the necessity of the exemption to the

attraction of commercial and mixed use development as identified by the

municipality and the economic benefit to the area of providing

exemptions to commercial and mixed-use properties. In instances where a

municipality has previously designed a business district encompassing a

defined area which was subject to public input and was approved by and

received funding for economic development purposes from a state agency,

the municipality may utilize the defined boundaries of such previously

defined area, or a combination of such boundaries subject to review by

the commercial/mixed-use incentive board.

3. Upon the adoption of such a local law the commercial use property

or mixed-use property that was converted, created, modernized,

rehabilitated, expanded or otherwise improved, shall be exempt from

taxation and special ad valorem levies as provided for in subdivision

four of this section.

4. (a) (i) For a period of twelve years following the approval of an

application, the increase in assessed value of such property

attributable to such conversion, creation, modernization,

rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement shall be exempt as

provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. Such exemption shall be

computed with respect to the "exemption base". The exemption base shall

be determined for each year in which there is an increase in assessed

value so attributable from that of the previous year's assessed value.

(ii) The following shall determine the computation of the tax

exemption:

Year of exemption Percentage of exemption

1 through 8 100% of exemption base

9 80% of exemption base

10 60% of exemption base

11 40% of exemption base

12 20% of exemption base

(b) No such exemption shall be granted unless:

(i) such conversion, creation, modernization, rehabilitation,

expansion or other improvement was commenced subsequent to the date on

which the municipality's local law took effect; and

(ii) the cost of such conversion exceeds the sum of ten thousand

dollars or such greater amount as may be specified by local law.

(c) For purposes of this section the term "conversion, creation,

modernization, rehabilitation, expansion or other improvement" shall not

include ordinary maintenance and repairs.

(d) No such exemption shall be granted concurrent with or subsequent

to any other real property tax exemption granted to the same

improvements to real property, except, where during the period of such

previous exemption, payments in lieu of taxes or other payments were

made to the municipality in an amount that would have been equal to or

greater than the amount of real property taxes that would have been paid

on such improvements had such property been granted an exemption

pursuant to this section. In such case, an exemption shall be granted

for a number of years equal to the twelve year exemption granted

pursuant to this section less the number of years the property would

have been previously exempt from real property taxes.

5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner

of real property on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such

application shall be filed with the assessor of the municipality or

county having the power to assess property for taxation on or before the

appropriate taxable status date of such municipality or county.

6. If the assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an

exemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the

application and such real property shall thereafter be exempt from

taxation and special ad valorem levies as provided in this section

commencing with the assessment roll prepared after the taxable status

date referred to in subdivision five of this section. The assessed

value of any exemption granted pursuant to this section shall be entered

by the assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with

the amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.

* NB Repealed September 23, 2027