[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Denville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 13-03 (Ch. 27 of the 1978 Revised General Ordinances)]
It is the purpose of this article to implement the provisions
of P.L. 2003, c. 114, which authorizes the governing body of a municipality
to adopt an ordinance imposing a tax at a uniform percentage rate
not to exceed 1% on charges of rent for every occupancy on or after
July 1, 2003, but before July 1, 2004, and not to exceed 3% on charges
of rent for every occupancy on or after July 1, 2004, of a room or
rooms in a hotel subject to taxation pursuant to Subsection (d) of
Section 3 of P.L. 1966, c. 30 (N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3) which shall be in
addition to any other tax or fee imposed pursuant to statute or local
ordinance or resolution by any governmental entity upon the occupancy
of a hotel room.
There is hereby established a hotel and motel room occupancy
tax in the Township of Denville which shall be fixed at a uniform
percentage rate of 1% on charges of rent for every occupancy of a
hotel or motel room in the Township of Denville on or after July 1,
2003, but before July 1, 2004, and 3% on charges of rent for every
occupancy of a hotel or motel room in the Township of Denville on
or after July 1, 2004, of a room or rooms in a hotel subject to taxation
pursuant to Subsection (d) of Section 3 of P.L. 1966, c. 30 (N.J.S.A.
54:32B-3, Sales Tax).
The hotel and motel room occupancy tax shall be in addition
to any other tax or fee imposed pursuant to statute or local ordinance
or resolution by any governmental entity upon the occupancy of a hotel
room.
[Amended by Ord. No. 7-07]
In accordance with the requirements of P.L. 2003, c. 114:
A.
All taxes imposed by this article shall be paid by the purchaser.
B.
A vendor shall not assume or absorb any tax imposed by this article.
C.
A vendor shall not in any manner advertise or hold out to any person
or to the public in general, in any manner, directly or indirectly,
that the tax will be assumed or absorbed by the vendor, that the tax
will not be separately charged and stated to the customer, or that
the tax will be refunded to the customer.
D.
Each assumption or absorption by a vendor of the tax shall be deemed
a separate offense and each representation or advertisement by a vendor
for each day that the representation or advertisement continues shall
be deemed a separate offense.
The tax imposed by this article shall be collected on behalf
of the Township of Denville by the person collecting the rent from
the hotel or motel customer. Each person required to collect the tax
herein imposed shall be personally liable for the tax imposed, collected
or required to be collected hereunder. Any such person shall have
the same right in respect to collecting the tax from a customer as
if the tax were a part of the rent and payable at the same time; provided
that the Chief Financial Officer of the Township shall be joined as
a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the tax.
[Adopted 3-4-2014 by Ord.
No. 5-14 (Ch. 2, Sec. 2-35, of the 1978 Revised
General Ordinances)]
The purpose of this article is to establish a procedure for
the Township's receipt, review and consideration of applications
for tax abatement/exemptions under the authority granted under Article
VIII, Section I, Paragraph 6 of the New Jersey Constitution and pursuant
to the Five-Year Exemption and Abatement Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et
seq.) to offer financial assistance for development projects located
in an area in need of rehabilitation, as such areas are defined under
the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq.).
The Township hereby authorizes and establishes a policy whereby
it shall accept, review and consider an application, submitted in
accordance herewith, for tax abatement/exemptions pursuant to applicable
law for areas designated as areas in need of rehabilitation by the
Municipal Council. However, this article does not commit or require
the Township to approve any application submitted in accordance herewith.
In considering each application, the Township shall consider, in part,
the benefits of the development project for the Township and the impact
of any tax abatement/exemption requested on the budget of the Township.
Unless otherwise specifically provided in this article the definition
of all words and terms used in this article shall be those provided
in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 entitled "The Five-Year Exemption and Abatement
Law" (hereinafter referred to as "the Exemption Law").
All multiple dwellings constructed in an area in need of rehabilitation
which qualify pursuant to the Exemption Law, shall be eligible for
abatement/exemption from taxation for a period of five full years
next following the date of completion of the project as provided in
this article.
A.
Prior to the commencement of construction, applicants for tax abatement/exemption
for the construction of multiple dwellings shall submit an application
and the fee and escrow payments established by this article setting
forth:
(1)
A general description of the project for which abatement/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 Township
to demonstrate the structure and design of the proposed project;
(4)
A statement of the reasons for seeking tax abatement/exemption on
the project and a description of the benefits to be realized by the
applicant if a tax abatement/exemption is granted. Included in this
statement shall be the details of any state, county or local financial
contributions including loans or grants of any kind;
(5)
Estimates of the costs of completing the project;
(6)
A statement showing:
(a)
The real property taxes currently being assessed at the project
site;
(b)
Estimated annual service charges that would be made annually
by the applicant on the project during the term of the proposed tax
abatement/exemption; and
(c)
Estimated tax payments that would be made by the applicant on
the project during the first full year following termination of the
tax abatement/exemption agreement;
(7)
A description of the number and type of dwelling units to be provided,
a description of the common elements or general common elements, and
a statement of the proposed initial rental or sale prices of the dwelling
units according to type and of any rental lease or resale restrictions
to apply to the dwellings' units respecting low or moderate-income
housing;
(8)
A form of financial agreement containing, at a minimum, the terms
and conditions set forth below;
(9)
A pro-forma and/or other fiscal analysis demonstrating the need for
the tax abatement and/or exemption;
(10)
A description of any contribution to the project requested of
or proposed by the Township including, but not limited to, contributions
from the Township Affordable Housing Trust Fund or in kind contributions
in the nature of construction of public improvements such as roads
or infrastructure; and
(11)
Such other pertinent information as may be required by the Township.
B.
Applicants shall submit applications for an abatement/exemption to
the Township Administrator. Following receipt of a completed application
as set forth above, the Township shall review same to determine whether
an abatement/exemption for new construction shall be granted following
an individual review and evaluation of each application submitted
to the Township. The Township Administrator shall notify the Township
Council upon receiving an application as soon as practicable after
filing of an application with the Township. All applications shall
be forwarded by the Township Administrator to the appropriate staff
for review, including, but not limited to: 1) the Chief Financial
Officer; 2) the Township Attorney; 3) the Tax Assessor; and 4) the
Township Planner. Within 60 days of filing of the application, the
Township Administrator shall forward a copy of the completed application
and review memoranda to the Township Council.
A.
The authorization to enter into a financial agreement must be granted
by the Municipal Council by ordinance for the particular project.
Any financial agreement shall contain those terms required by the
Exemption Law, including, but not limited to:
(1)
The applicant shall pay to the municipality, in lieu of full property
tax payments, an amount annually to be computed by one, but in no
case a combination of the "Cost Basis Formula," "Gross Revenue Basis
Formula," or "Tax Phase-In Basis Formula," all as defined in the Exemption
Law and incorporated by reference herein as if set forth fully.
(2)
All tax abatement/exemptions applied for and granted pursuant to
the Exemption Law and this article shall be in effect for a period
of no more than five full years next following the date of completion
of the project.
B.
No abatement/exemption shall be granted, or financial agreement entered
into pursuant to the Exemption Law or 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 currently then
due and owing.
C.
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.
D.
That percentage which the payment in lieu of taxes for a property
bears to the property tax which would have been paid had an abatement/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 municipality
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 subsection shall no longer
apply.
E.
As a further condition to granting an abatement/exemption, a property
owner shall be required to waive the filing of any tax appeal or withdraw
any pending tax appeal for the subject property for the life of the
abatement/exemption.
F.
The financial agreement shall be recorded by the applicant and made
a permanent part of the official tax records of the Township, which
records shall contain a notice of termination date thereof.
G.
Within 30 days following execution of a financial agreement, pursuant
to the Exemption Law and this article, the Township shall forward
a copy of the agreement to the Director of Local Government Services
in the Department of Community Affairs.
A.
No abatement/exemption shall be granted or allowed except upon written application on forms prescribed by the Department of the Treasury [N.J. Form E/A-1 (Rev. 11/96) or as may be amended] and filed with the Assessor within 30 calendar days following the completion of the construction of the improvements. It shall be conclusively presumed that construction of the improvements shall be deemed complete 18 months from the date of the issuance of the building permit or upon the issuance of 50% of the certificates of occupancy for the units in the project, whichever occurs first. The Construction Official shall determine the completion date in accordance with the above which decision shall be final, and not subject to appeal. The application required by this section is in addition to and not in place of the application required pursuant to § 512-10A of this article. The Tax Assessor shall approve the application for abatement/exemption if the application is consistent with the terms of this article and all terms of the Tax Agreement entered into between the applicant and the Township which was approved by ordinance of the Municipal Council.
B.
If any provisions for tax abatement/exemptions are not set forth
herein, the applicant and Township shall rely upon the provisions
set forth in the Exemption Law.
In the event that a property owner subject to a tax agreement
shall become delinquent on local property taxes, municipal charges,
ceases to operate, disposes of the property or fails to meet the conditions
for qualifying for the abatement/exemption during the abatement/exemption
period, the local property taxes due for all the prior years subject
to abatement/exemption and for the current year shall be payable as
if no abatement/exemption had been granted. The Tax Collector shall
notify the property owner within 15 days of the date of disqualification
of the amount of taxes dues. In the event that the subject property
has been transferred to a new owner and it is determined that the
new owner will continue to use the property pursuant to the qualifying
condition, no tax shall be due, the abatement/exemption shall continue
and the agreement shall remain in effect.
The fee for each application submitted pursuant to § 512-10A of this article shall be $1,250.
Upon termination of a financial agreement referenced hereunder,
a project shall be subject to all applicable real property taxes as
provided by State law and regulation, as well as local ordinances.
However, nothing herein shall prohibit a project, upon termination
of a financial agreement, from qualifying for and receiving the full
benefits of any other tax preferences provided by law.
No application for tax abatement/exemption shall be filed for
an abatement/exemption to take initial effect in the eleventh tax
year after adoption of this article or any tax year occurring thereafter,
unless this article is readopted by the Mayor and Council in accordance
with the Exemption Law.
