Bill Text: NY S05254 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the residential-commercial urban exemption program; requires the owner to submit an annual certification to the assessor attesting that the property complies with the requirements of this section.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-12-23 - approval memo.59 [S05254 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05254-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5254--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 18, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. BRESLIN, MAY -- 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

        AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to  the  residen-
          tial-commercial urban exemption program

          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
     2  chapter  632  of  the  laws of 2004, subdivision 5 as further amended by
     3  subdivision (b) of section 1 of part W of chapter  56  of  the  laws  of
     4  2010, is amended to read as follows:
     5    §  485-a.  Residential-commercial  urban  exemption  program. 1. Defi-
     6  nitions.  As used in this section, the following terms  shall  have  the
     7  following meanings:
     8    (a)  "Municipality"  means any town, city or village except for a city
     9  having more than one million inhabitants.
    10    (b) "Applicant" means any person obligated to pay real property  taxes
    11  on  the  property  for which an exemption from real property taxes under
    12  this section is sought.
    13    (c) "Commercial construction work" means the modernization,  rehabili-
    14  tation, expansion or other improvement of the portion of mixed-use prop-
    15  erty to be used for commercial purposes.
    16    (d) "Commercial purpose or use" means the buying, selling or otherwise
    17  providing  of  goods or services directly to the public, including hotel
    18  services, [or other lawful business or commercial  activities  permitted
    19  in  mixed-use  property] retail stores, office space, restaurants, bars,
    20  gyms, theaters, and cafes.
    21    (e) "Mixed-use property" means property on  which  will  exist,  after
    22  completion of residential construction work or a combination of residen-
    23  tial  construction  work and commercial construction work, a building or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06087-02-9
        S. 5254--A                          2

     1  structure used for both residential and commercial purposes   of  which,
     2  at  least fifty percent of the building or structure's square footage is
     3  devoted to residential purposes or use and at least fifteen  percent  of
     4  the  building  or  structure's  square  footage is devoted to commercial
     5  purposes or use. Only square footage existing in  a  story  above  grade
     6  shall be used in the determination of the building's percentage of resi-
     7  dential purposes or use and commercial purposes or use.
     8    (f)  "Person"  means  an  individual,  corporation,  limited liability
     9  company, partnership, association, agency,  trust,  estate,  foreign  or
    10  domestic government or subdivision thereof, or other entity.
    11    (g) "Residential construction work" means the creation, modernization,
    12  rehabilitation,  expansion or other improvement of dwelling units, other
    13  than dwelling units in a hotel, in the portion of mixed-use property  to
    14  be used for residential purposes.
    15    (h)  "Floor  area" means the horizontal areas of the several floors or
    16  any portion thereof of a mixed-use property measured from  the  exterior
    17  faces  of  exterior walls or from the center line of party walls, exclu-
    18  sive of any area existing below-grade.
    19    (i) "Story above grade" means any  story  having  its  finished  floor
    20  surface entirely above grade.
    21    (j)  "Grade" shall mean the finished ground level adjoining the build-
    22  ing at all exterior walls.
    23    2. Any municipality may, by local law, provide for  the  exemption  of
    24  real  property  from  taxation  as  provided  in  this section. Upon the
    25  adoption of such a local law, the county in which such  municipality  is
    26  located may, by local law, and any school district, all or part of which
    27  is located in such municipality, may, by resolution, exempt such proper-
    28  ty  from  its taxation in the same manner and to the same extent as such
    29  municipality has done.
    30    3. Upon the adoption of such a local law, non-residential real proper-
    31  ty, upon conversion to mixed-use property, shall be exempt from taxation
    32  and special ad valorem levies as provided for  in  subdivision  four  of
    33  this  section. Land which was vacant prior to the residential or commer-
    34  cial construction work for which a tax exemption is sought, shall not be
    35  eligible to receive benefits pursuant to this section.
    36    4. (a) (i) For a period of twelve years from the approval of an appli-
    37  cation, the increase in assessed value of such property attributable  to
    38  such conversion shall be exempt as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this
    39  paragraph.  Such  exemption  shall  be  computed  with  respect  to  the
    40  "exemption base". The exemption base shall be determined for  each  year
    41  in  which  there  is  an increase in assessed value so attributable from
    42  that of the previous year's assessed value.
    43    (ii) The following table shall illustrate the computation of  the  tax
    44  exemption:

    45        Year of exemption                      Percentage of exemption

    46            1 through 8                        100% of exemption base
    47            9                                  80% of exemption base
    48            10                                 60% of exemption base
    49            11                                 40% of exemption base
    50            12                                 20% of exemption base

    51    (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless
    52    (i)  such conversion was commenced subsequent to the date on which the
    53  municipality's local law took effect; [and]
        S. 5254--A                          3

     1    (ii) the cost of such conversion  exceeds  the  sum  of  ten  thousand
     2  dollars or such greater amount as may be specified by local law[.];
     3    (iii) at least seventy-five percent of the floor area of the mixed-use
     4  property consists of the pre-existing building or structure;
     5    (iv)  the  portion  of  the  building  used for commercial purposes is
     6  currently, as demonstrated by documentation submitted by the  applicant,
     7  used as such or is in good faith contemplated.
     8    (c) For purposes of this section the term conversion shall not include
     9  ordinary maintenance and repairs.
    10    (d)  No  such exemption shall be granted concurrent with or subsequent
    11  to any other real property tax exemption granted to  the  same  improve-
    12  ments to real property, except, where during the period of such previous
    13  exemption,  payments in lieu of taxes or other payments were made to the
    14  local government in an amount that would have been equal to  or  greater
    15  than the amount of real property taxes that would have been paid on such
    16  improvements  had  such  property  been granted an exemption pursuant to
    17  this section. In such case, an exemption shall be granted for  a  number
    18  of  years  equal  to  the twelve year exemption granted pursuant to this
    19  section less the number of years the property would have been previously
    20  exempt from real property taxes.
    21    5. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the  owner
    22  of  such  real  property  on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such
    23  application shall be filed with the  assessor  of  the  municipality  or
    24  county having the power to assess property for taxation on or before the
    25  appropriate taxable status date of such municipality or county.
    26    6.  If  the assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an
    27  exemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the applica-
    28  tion and such real property shall [thereafter] be exempt  from  taxation
    29  and  special  ad  valorem levies as in this section provided [commencing
    30  with the assessment roll prepared after the taxable status date referred
    31  to in subdivision five of this  section].  The  assessed  value  of  any
    32  exemption  granted  pursuant  to  this  section  shall be entered by the
    33  assessor on the assessment roll with  the  taxable  property,  with  the
    34  amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.
    35    7.  (a)  During  the period of exemption pursuant to this section, the
    36  owner shall submit an annual certification  to  the  assessor  attesting
    37  that  the  property complies with the provisions or requirements of this
    38  section and any additional provisions or requirements as may be provided
    39  by local law. Failure to submit such certification shall result in revo-
    40  cation of benefits. Such certification shall include at  a  minimum  the
    41  following:
    42    (i)  the  types  of  residential  use and the total above-grade square
    43  footage of such use;
    44    (ii) the types of commercial use  and  the  total  above-grade  square
    45  footage of such use;
    46    (iii) attestation that the portion of the building used for commercial
    47  purposes is currently, as demonstrated by documentation submitted by the
    48  applicant, used as such or is in good faith contemplated; and
    49    (iv) all such other information required by the municipality.
    50    (b)  If  the  assessor is satisfied that the applicant continues to be
    51  entitled to the exemption pursuant to this section, the  assessor  shall
    52  approve the certification and the real property shall remain exempt from
    53  taxation  and  special ad valorem levies for another year as provided in
    54  this section.
    55    8. (a) The benefits of this section shall be revoked upon a finding by
    56  the assessor that:
        S. 5254--A                          4

     1    (i) the application for benefits hereunder or the annual certification
     2  required hereunder contains a false statement or false information as to
     3  a material matter or omits a material matter; or
     4    (ii)  the  eligible  real property fails to comply with one or more of
     5  the provisions or requirements of this  section  or  any  provisions  or
     6  requirements provided by local law.
     7    (b) Such revocation shall require the repayment of any benefits previ-
     8  ously granted pursuant to this section.
     9    9.  If  the assessor determines that there was a material misstatement
    10  in an application filed by or on behalf of the owners for  an  exemption
    11  pursuant  to  this section and that such misstatement provided the basis
    12  for the granting of such exemption, the municipality  shall  proceed  to
    13  impose a penalty on the applicant of one thousand dollars in addition to
    14  recovering the amount of any prior exemption granted.
    15    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    16  have become a law and shall apply to properties for  which  the  initial
    17  application for exemption are received on and after such date.