[Adopted 4-7-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
A.
The Township Council of the Township of Lower finds that the various
statutes authorized by Article VIII, Section I, Paragraph 6, of the
New Jersey Constitution, the Five-Year Exemption and Abatement Law,
N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq., permitting municipalities to grant for
periods of five years exemptions or abatements, or both, from taxation
in areas in need of rehabilitation have proven to be effective in
promoting the construction and rehabilitation of commercial and industrial
structures.
B.
The Township Council hereby determines that the Cape May County Airport
Industrial Park, as delineated on the Zoning Map of the Township of
Lower Township, prepared by Remington, Vernick & Walberg Engineers,
dated January 2004, last revised January 2007, is in need of rehabilitation
as defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq. and requires an undertaking
by means of extensive repair, reconstruction or renovation of existing
structures, with or without the introduction of new construction or
the enlargement of existing structures to eliminate substandard conditions
and arrest the deterioration of the Airport Industrial Park.
The following words and terms, when used in this article, shall
have the following meanings:
That portion of the assessed value of a property as it existed
prior to construction or improvement of a building or structure thereon,
which is exempted from taxation pursuant to this article.
A duration of time comprising 365 days, or 366 days when
the included month of February has 29 days, that commences on the
date that an exemption or abatement for a project becomes effective
pursuant to § 16 of P.L. 1991, c. 441 (N.J.S.A. 40A:21-16).
A portion or all of a municipality which has been determined
to be an area in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment pursuant
to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, P.L. 1992, c. 79 (N.J.S.A.
40A:12A-1 et seq.).
A structure or part thereof used for the manufacturing, processing
or assembling of material or manufactured products, or for research,
office, industrial, commercial, retail, recreational, or warehousing
purposes, or for any combination thereof, which the governing body
determines will tend to maintain or provide gainful employment within
the municipality, assist in the economic development of the municipality,
maintain or increase the tax base of the municipality and maintain
or diversify and expand commerce within the municipality.
Substantially ready for the intended use for which a building
or structure is constructed, improved or converted as evidenced by
issuance of a certificate of occupancy or as deemed complete by the
tax assessor or construction official.
A property created or recorded as a condominium pursuant
to the Condominium Act, P.L. 1969, c. 257 (N.J.S.A. 46:8B-1 et seq.).
That portion of the Assessor's full and true value of any
improvement, conversion, alteration, or construction not regarded
as increasing the taxable value of a property pursuant to this article.
A modernization, rehabilitation, renovation, alteration or
repair which produces a physical change in an existing building or
structure that improves the safety, sanitation, decency or attractiveness
of the building or structure as a place for human habitation or work,
and which does not change its permitted use. In the case of commercial
or industrial structures, it shall not include ordinary painting,
repairs and replacement of maintenance items, or an enlargement of
the volume of an existing structure by more than 30%. In no case shall
it include the repair of fire or other damage to a property for which
payment of a claim was received by any person from an insurance company
at any time during the three-year period immediately preceding the
filing of an application pursuant to this article.
The provision of a new commercial or industrial structure,
or the enlargement of the volume of an existing commercial or industrial
structure by more than 30%, but shall not mean the conversion of an
existing building or structure to another use.
The construction, improvement or conversion of a structure
in an area in need of rehabilitation that would qualify for an exemption,
or an exemption and abatement, pursuant to P.L. 1991, c. 441 (N.J.S.A.
40A:21-1 et seq.).
An agreement between the project owner and the Township which
has been authorized by ordinance for payments in lieu of full property
tax.
The officer of the Township of Lower taxing district charged
with the duty of assessing real property for the purpose of general
taxation.
The Township of Lower, Cape May County, state of New Jersey.
The Township Council of the Township of Lower.
A.
All improvements to, and new construction of, commercial and industrial
structures are eligible for exemptions from taxation in areas in need
of rehabilitation.
B.
This article may be amended from time to time. An amendment to this
article shall not affect any exemption or tax agreement previously
granted and in force prior to the amendment.
C.
Tax exemptions shall take initial effect in the tax year in which
this article is adopted, and for tax years thereafter as set forth
in P.L. 1991, c. 441 (N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq.), and further subject
to the provisions of this article, but no application for exemptions
shall be filed for exemptions to take initial effect in the 11th tax
year or any tax year occurring thereafter, unless this article is
readopted by the Township pursuant to this section.
A.
No exemption shall be granted pursuant to this article except upon
written application on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division
of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury. All tax exemptions
shall be applied for and granted on a project basis. In addition to
the application prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation
in the Department of the Treasury, applicants shall also provide the
Tax Assessor with the following supplemental information:
(1)
A general description of a project for which exemption is sought;
(2)
A legal description of all real estate necessary for the project;
(3)
Plans, drawings and other documents as may be required by the Tax
Assessor, construction official, or Township Council to demonstrate
the improvement or structure and design of the project;
(4)
A description of the number, classes and type of employees to be
employed at the project site within two years of completion of the
project;
(5)
A statement of the reasons for seeking tax exemption on the project,
and a description of the benefits to be realized by the applicant
if a tax agreement is granted;
(6)
Estimates of the cost of completing such project;
(7)
A statement showing: 1) the real property taxes currently being assessed
at the project site; 2) estimated tax payments that would be made
annually by the applicant on the project during the period of the
agreement; and 3) estimated tax payments that would be made by the
applicant on the project during the first full year following the
termination of the tax agreement;
(8)
A description of any lease agreements between the applicant and proposed
users of the project, and a history and description of the users'
businesses; and
(9)
Such other pertinent information as the Township may require.
B.
Every application shall be filed with the tax assessor within 30
days, including Saturdays and Sundays, following the completion of
the improvement or construction.
C.
Every application for exemption filed within the time specified,
and which is deemed complete by the tax assessor, shall be approved
and allowed by the tax assessor to the degree that the application,
and the improvement or new construction for which the application
is made, qualifies as an improvement or new construction pursuant
to the provisions of this article and the tax agreement. The tax assessor
shall forward the application and tax agreement to the Township Council
for approval by ordinance.
D.
The granting of an exemption shall relate back to, and take effect
as of, the date of completion of the project, or portion or stage
of the project for which the exemption is granted, and shall continue
for five annual periods from that date.
E.
The grant of the exemption shall be recorded and made a permanent
part of the official tax records of the Township, which record shall
contain a notice of the termination date thereof.
F.
All applications shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee in the
amount $500.
The applicant shall enter into a written tax agreement with
the Township for payment to the Township, on a tax phase-in basis
in lieu of full property tax payments, an amount equal to a percentage
of taxes otherwise due according to the following schedule. The tax
agreement shall be subject to approval by ordinance.
A.
In the first full year after completion, no payment in lieu of taxes
otherwise due;
B.
In the second full year after completion, an amount not less than
20% of taxes otherwise due;
C.
In the third full year after completion, an amount not less than
40% of taxes otherwise due;
D.
In the fourth full year after completion, an amount not less than
60% of taxes otherwise due;
E.
In the fifth full year after completion, an amount not less than
80% of taxes otherwise due.
A.
All tax agreements entered into by the Township shall be in effect
for no more than the five full years next following the date of completion
of the project.
B.
All projects subject to tax agreement as provided herein shall be
subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations
on pollution control, worker safety, discrimination in employment,
housing provision, zoning, planning and building code requirements.
C.
That percentage which the payment in lieu of taxes for a property
bears to the property tax which would have been paid had an exemption
not been granted for the property under the agreement shall be applied
to the valuation of the property to determine the reduced valuation
of the property to be included in the valuation of the Township for
determining equalization for county tax apportionment and school aid
during the term of the tax agreements covering the properties, and
at the termination of an agreement for a property the reduced valuation
procedure required under this section shall no longer apply.
D.
Within 30 days after the execution of a tax agreement, the tax assessor
shall forward a copy of the agreement to the Director of the Division
of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
A.
If during any tax year prior to the termination of the tax agreement,
the property owner ceases to operate or disposes of the property,
or fails to meet the conditions for qualifying, then the tax which
would have otherwise been payable for each tax year shall become due
and payable from the property owner as if no exemption had been granted.
The Township shall notify the property owner and Tax Collector forthwith
and the Tax Collector shall within 15 days thereof notify the owner
of the property of the amount of taxes due. If it is determined that
the new owner of the property will continue to use the property pursuant
to the conditions which qualified the property, no tax shall be due,
the exemption shall continue, and the tax agreement shall remain in
effect.
B.
At the termination of a tax agreement, a project shall be subject
to all applicable real property taxes as provided by state law and
regulation and local ordinance; but nothing herein shall prohibit
a project, at the termination of an agreement, from qualifying for
and receiving the full benefits of any other tax preferences provided
by law.
In determining the value of real property, the Township shall
regard up to the tax assessor's full and true value of the improvements
as not increasing the value of the property for a period of five years,
notwithstanding that the value of the property to which the improvements
are made is increased thereby. During the exemption period, the assessment
on the property shall not be less than the assessment thereon existing
immediately prior to the improvements, unless there is damage to the
structure through action of the elements sufficient to warrant a reduction.
An additional improvement or new construction, completed on
a property granted a previous exemption pursuant to this article during
the period in which such previous exemption is in effect, shall be
qualified for an exemption just as if such property had not received
a previous exemption. In such case, the additional improvement or
new construction shall be considered as separate for the purposes
of calculating exemptions pursuant to this article.
The tax assessor shall report, on or before October 1 of each
year, to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services
in the Department of Community Affairs and to the Director of the
Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, the total
amount of real property taxes exempted and the total amount abated
within the municipality in the current tax year for all improvements
of commercial or industrial structures.
No exemption shall be granted pursuant to this article with
respect to any property for which property taxes are delinquent or
remain unpaid, or for which penalties for nonpayment of taxes are
due.
