[Adopted 9-11-2012; amended 1-3-2019]
Both the Town of Griswold ("Town") and its Economic Development
Commission recognize that a global marketplace exists, and in an effort
to attract, retain, expand and diversify the commercial tax base,
promote job growth, high-quality economic development and investment
within the Town, the Town hereby adopts this Business Incentive Tax
Abatements Ordinance ("article").
Pursuant to the authority set forth in Connecticut General Statutes
("C.G.S.") §§ 12-65b and 12-65h, as amended, this article
authorizes the Town, following the affirmative vote of its legislative
body, to enter into written agreements with actual or proposed owners
or lessees of real property or air space within the Town to fix tax
assessments of real property, personal property and air space for
prescribed periods of time and in the manner set forth in, and subject
to, this article.
A.
Pursuant to C.G.S. § 12-65b, as amended, this article authorizes the Town, following the affirmative vote of its legislative body, to enter into a written agreement, for a period of not more than 10 years, with any party owning or proposing to acquire an interest in real property in the Town, or with any party owning or proposing to acquire an interest in air space in the Town, or with any party who is the lessee of, or who proposes to be the lessee of, air space in such Town in such a manner that the air space leased or proposed to be leased shall be assessed to the lessee pursuant to C.G.S. § 12-64, as amended, fixing the assessment of the real property or air space which is the subject of the written agreement, and all improvements thereon or therein and to be constructed thereon or therein (including but not limited to rehabilitation of existing structures for retail business use), subject to the prescribed periods of time set forth in § 207-16 of this article; provided, notwithstanding any contrary provision of C.G.S. § 12-65b, as amended, only the following types of properties or improvements shall be eligible for consideration under this article:
(1)
Office use;
(2)
Retail use;
(3)
Manufacturing use;
(4)
Warehouse, storage or distribution use;
(5)
Recreation facilities;
(6)
Information or technology; and/or
(7)
Mixed-use development, as defined in C.G.S. § 8-13m, as
amended; and/or
(8)
Use by or on behalf of a health system as defined in C.G.S. § 19a-508c,
as amended.
B.
Pursuant to C.G.S. § 12-65h, as amended, this article authorizes the Town, following the affirmative vote of its legislative body, to enter into a written agreement with any party owning or proposing to acquire an interest in real property in the Town, or with any party owning or proposing to acquire an interest in air space in the Town or with any party who is the lessee of, or who proposes to be the lessee of, air space in the Town in such a manner that the air space leased or proposed to be leased shall be assessed to the lessee pursuant to C.G.S. § 12-64, upon which is located or proposed to be located a manufacturing facility, as defined in C.G.S. § 12-81(72), as amended, or a wholesale and retail business as defined in C.G.S. § 12-81(54), as amended, fixing the assessment of the personal property located in the facility that is the subject of the agreement, subject to the prescribed periods of time set forth in § 207-17 of this article.
The Town will consider, in addition to such other factors or
requirements as deemed appropriate by the Town in its sole discretion,
the following factors or requirements in analyzing whether to enter
into any fixed assessment agreement authorized by this article:
A.
The applicant must be a for-profit business that is authorized to
do business in the State of Connecticut. A for-profit business may
include but shall not be limited to, a publically traded business.
B.
The applicant must not be in violation of any applicable law, order,
requirement, permit, approval or agreement with the Town and/or any
federal, state or local government and/or commission or agency thereof.
C.
No real estate or personal property tax or other tax, fee or municipal
charge due to the Town or any of its departments, officials, commissions,
boards, or agencies shall be unpaid at the time an application is
submitted and/or while it is being processed. Any resulting fixed
tax assessment agreement shall contain language allowing for termination
of such agreement if the applicant fails to pay any such tax, fee
or charge during the term of the agreement.
D.
If the applicant is a tenant operating under a proposed lease of
real property or air space within the Town, the lease must be in writing
and the term of the lease must be for no less than the term of the
proposed fixed assessment. A copy of the written lease shall be submitted
as part of the application. Any resulting fixed tax assessment agreement
shall require the terms of such agreement to be reflected in an amendment
to said written lease, and the Town reserves the right to terminate
a fixed assessment agreement simultaneously with the termination of
the lease.
E.
If an applicant is relocating a business within the Town, the application
shall include a history of applicant's tax assessments and payments
to the municipality(ies) and/or other political subdivision(s) in
which the business has been operating for the five years immediately
preceding the date of the application.
F.
The applicant's proposed project must be a permitted use at
the proposed location under the Griswold or Borough Zoning Regulations
and must receive all necessary approvals, licenses and permits from
the Griswold Planning and Zoning Commission and other Town, State
of Connecticut and federal agencies, boards, commissions and officials
having jurisdiction with respect to the project and/or property.
G.
The applicant and its parent and subsidiary(ies) must be in environmental
compliance with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection and/or its successor.
H.
The proposed project must have a clear economic benefit to the Town.
The application shall include a description of benefits to be realized
by the Town if the application is approved.
I.
A complete application on a form approved by the Town's Board
of Selectmen, with all required information, must be submitted.
A.
The decision to grant or reject any application under this article
shall be within the sole and exclusive discretion of the Town. The
Board of Selectmen shall not be obligated to recommend any particular
application to the Town Meeting, and the Town Meeting shall not be
obligated to approve any application. Notwithstanding anything in
this article to the contrary, no application may be granted which
does not comply with this article and C.G.S. §§ 12-65b
or 12-65h, as amended.
B.
The Town's Assessor shall, in the Assessor's sole discretion,
determine the assessment and increase in assessment of the real property
or air space and/or the personal property and any and all improvements
constructed or to be constructed on or in the real property or air
space which is the subject of the agreement. The term "improvements
to be constructed" shall include any rehabilitation of existing structures
for retail business use.
C.
The fixed assessment period shall commence the first fiscal year
for which a tax list is prepared on the October 1 immediately following
the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the appropriate building
official for construction of the buildings or manufacturing facilities
or other structures and all improvements in or on the real property
or air space which is the subject of the agreement unless otherwise
set forth in the written agreement fixing such tax assessment.
D.
Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, and provided
in all other respects the applicant qualifies under and any resulting
agreement is approved pursuant to the provisions of C.G.S. §§ 12-65b
or 12-65h, as amended, and this article, the Town may, in its sole
discretion, offer to enter into an agreement with such applicant for
abatement of taxes of a lesser percentage and/or of fewer years than
the maximum authorized by this article and/or said statute(s).
E.
On a case-by-case basis, the Town Meeting, in its exclusive discretion
and to further the purposes of this article, may grant an applicant,
in addition to the incentives provided by this article and C.G.S.
§§ 12-65b and/or 12-65h, as amended, a full or partial
waiver of:
F.
This article is not retroactive and shall be effective 15 days after
publication in a newspaper having circulation in the Town.
G.
Unless otherwise specified in a fixed assessment agreement; construction
shall commence within six months and shall be completed within two
years of execution of any fixed assessment agreement. Failure to comply
with this schedule may result in termination of the agreement by the
Board of Selectmen; provided, however, that the Board of Selectmen
may grant a reasonable extension(s) of such time periods, but only
upon favorable recommendation by the Economic Development Commission
and the showing of good cause beyond the applicant's control.
H.
If the applicant, during the term of any fixed assessment agreement
between such applicant and the Town: a) relocates its business outside
the Town; b) becomes delinquent in taxes, charges or fees owed to
the Town; c) declares bankruptcy; d) substantially reduces its operations
on the subject property, with substantially reduced "operations" meaning
for purposes of this article, among other things, a reduction of square
feet occupied within the facility by 20% or more, a reduction in workforce
by 20% or more, a failure to construct agreed-upon additional phases
of construction, and/or sale or lease of some or all of the property
and/or as such term may be otherwise defined in the agreement; and/or
e) in any other way fails to comply with the agreement, this article
and/or C.G.S. §§ 12-65b and 12-65h, then the Board
of Selectmen shall have the right to terminate the agreement and any
tax incentive or other benefit enjoyed by the applicant under the
agreement and the applicant shall be required to pay back all taxes
it would have been assessed had the application not been granted and
the agreement not entered into. Each agreement shall contain a provision
to this effect.
I.
No agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be subject
to assignment, transfer or sale without written approval of the Board
of Selectmen.
J.
No agreement authorized by this article shall be executed by the
Board of Selectmen until it is approved by the Town Attorney as to
form and legality.
K.
Any agreement entered into pursuant to this article shall be recorded
in the Town's land records.
For the purposes of this article:
|
Real Property Tax Abatement Schedule Approved by the Town
of Griswold
| |
|---|---|
|
Project Value
(Measured by Cost of Improvement)
|
Maximum Period and Percentage of
Assessment Fixing Agreement
|
|
$3 Million and Above
|
10 Years After Improvement
|
|
Year 1
|
90% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Year 2
|
80% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Year 3
|
70% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Year 4
|
60% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Year 5
|
50% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
Year 6
|
40% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
Year 7
|
30% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
Year 8
|
20% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
Year 9
|
10% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
Year 10
|
0% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvement
|
|
$500,000 to $2,999,999
|
2 Years After Improvement
|
|
Year 1
|
60% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Year 2
|
40% abatement of assessed value of cost of improvements
|
|
Smaller Projects with Project Value Less Than $500,000
| |
|
(Measured by Increased Assessment)
| |
|
Minimum $25,000 Cost of Improvement
|
3 Years After Improvement
|
|
Year 1
|
50% abatement of the increased assessment
|
|
Year 2
|
40% abatement of the increased assessment
|
|
Year 3
|
30% abatement of the increased assessment
|
For the purposes of this incentive policy:
As defined in C.G.S. § 12-81(72), as amended, and
intended to qualify for tax relief pursuant to § 12-65h,
as amended, shall have a depreciable useful life of five or seven
years for federal income tax purposed.
As defined in C.G.S. § 12-81(72), as amended.
Any property that is not real property and that is movable
or not attached to the land.
As set forth below shall refer to the increase in assessed
value of such personal property in the facility or wholesale and retail
business, as set forth in C.G.S. § 12-64h, as such increase
is determined by the Town's Tax Assessor.
|
Personal Property Tax Abatement Schedule Approved by the
Town of Griswold
| |
|---|---|
|
Project Value
|
Maximum Period and Percentage of
Assessment Fixing Agreement
|
|
$3 Million and Above
|
7 Years After Installation of Personal Property
|
|
Year 1
|
90% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 2
|
80% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 3
|
70% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 4
|
60% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 5
|
50% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 6
|
40% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 7
|
30% abatement of assessed value
|
|
$500,000 to $2,999,999
|
2 Years After Installation of Personal Property
|
|
Year 1
|
60% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Year 2
|
40% abatement of assessed value
|
|
Smaller Projects with Project Value less than $500,000
| |
|
Minimum $25,000 Value of Personal Property
|
3 Years After Installation of Personal Property
|
|
Year 1
|
50% abatement of the increased assessment
|
|
Year 2
|
40% abatement of the increased assessment
|
|
Year 3
|
30% abatement of the increased assessment
|
A.
Applications shall be submitted to the Town Planner on a form approved
by the Board of Selectmen. After determining that an application is
complete, the Planner shall forward it to the Assessor and Economic
Development Commission for its review. The application and the recommendation
of the Economic Development Commission shall be forwarded to the Board
of Selectmen and the Board of Finance. The Board of Finance shall
review the materials and the recommendation of the Economic Development
Commission and forward its comments to the Board of Selectmen.
B.
After review of an application as provided in Subsection A above, an application reviewed favorably by the Board of Selectmen shall be referred to the Town Attorney for purposes of approving the form and legality of the proposed fixed assessment agreement, and such application and the proposed agreement shall be submitted to a regular or special Town Meeting for a vote as to whether to authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a written agreement with the applicant subject to any revisions the Town Meeting may require.
This article, by specifically referencing the authority set
forth in C.G.S. §§ 12-65b and 12-65h, as amended, is
not intended to limit the Town's ability, in its sole discretion,
to enter into, grant or allow for fixed tax assessment agreements,
tax abatements or other tax incentives which may be available under
other provisions of the C.G.S. and/or applicable law.
