[Adopted 12-27-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-13; amended in its entirety 5-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-4]
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:21-7, all improvements as defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3n to commercial or industrial structures of 1,500 square feet or more, being used as provided in § 266-5B below, shall be exempt from local real property taxes, on the improved portion only, for a period of five years, if, after proper, timely application has been made, the governing body determines that the improvement meets the intent and criteria established by this article without compromising the equity of the tax structure.
B. 
Applicants must apply for tax exemptions on improvements within 30 days of completion of construction of the improvement.
C. 
All applications for improvements shall be filed with the Tax Assessor, who shall deem the application complete prior to forwarding it to the governing body for approval.
D. 
No applications will be approved for fit-outs to structures which were not previously fully completed and occupied.
E. 
No applications will be approved for changing a structure from one construction code use group to another.
A. 
Construction of new commercial and industrial structures shall be eligible for tax exemption and/or abatement commencing with completion of the project. Any such exemption and/or abatement shall be subject to the owner and Borough entering into a tax agreement as provided by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10.
B. 
The applicant shall furnish to the municipality all the information required by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-9. In addition, every applicant shall file the application form prescribed by the Director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation in the Department of Treasury, with the Tax Assessor, as a condition of approval, within 30 days, including Saturdays and Sundays, following the completion of the improvement. Every application for exemption and/or abatement so filed shall be approved and allowed by the Tax Assessor to the degree that the application is consistent with the provisions of this article or the tax agreement, provided that the improvement for which the application is made qualifies as such, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq. and the tax agreement. The granting of an exemption and/or abatement and tax agreement, if appropriate, shall be recorded and made a permanent part of the official tax records of the taxing district, which record shall contain a notice of termination date thereof.
C. 
No tax exemption and/or abatement shall be granted unless approved by a resolution of the Borough Council on an individual basis after review, evaluation, and approval of each application for compliance with the terms of this article and the underlying statute, rules and regulations.
D. 
The tax agreement shall provide for the applicant to pay to the Borough in lieu of full property tax payments an amount annually to be computed by one, but in no case a combination, of the three formulas set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10, viz., the "cost," "gross revenue," or "tax phase-in" basis.
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:21-9, to be considered for tax abatement, a project must contain a minimum of 5,000 square feet of floor space per use. Applicants shall provide the governing body with an application setting forth:
(1) 
A general description of the property for which abatement is sought;
(2) 
A legal description of all real estate necessary for the project;
(3) 
Plans and drawings and other documents as may be required by the governing body to demonstrate the structure and design of project;
(4) 
A description of the number, classes and types of employees to be employed at the project site within two years of the completion of the project;
(5) 
A statement of the reasons for seeking tax abatement on the project, and a description of the benefits to be realized by the applicant if tax abatement is granted;
(6) 
Estimates of the cost of completing such project;
(7) 
A statement showing the real property taxes currently being assessed at the project site; estimated tax payments that would be made annually by the applicant on the project during the period of tax abatement; and estimated tax payments that would be made by the applicant on the project during the first full year following the termination of the tax abatement agreement;
(8) 
A description of any lease agreements between the applicant and proposed users of the project and a history and description of the user's business;
(9) 
Proof of payment of taxes through the current quarter; and
(10) 
Such other pertinent information as the governing body may require.
B. 
Tax abatement applications will be considered for approval for uses such as:
(1) 
Electronics and small parts assembly and/or manufacture.
(2) 
Scientific or industrial research engineering laboratory, testing or experimental laboratory or similar establishments for research or product development.
(3) 
Warehouse facilities.
(4) 
Administrative activities and offices.
(5) 
Light manufacturing of beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, printing and publishing, confections, food projects (exclusive of meat and fish packing, sauerkraut, vinegar, yeast and the rendering of refining of fats and oils), ceramics, clothing, plastics, electrical goods, furniture and wood products, hardware, tools, dies, patterns, professional and scientific instruments, handcraft products, electronics and small parts assembly and/or manufacture.
(6) 
Wholesale business establishment.
(7) 
Indoor storage building or warehouse.
(8) 
Contractors' equipment storage yard or building or rental of equipment commonly used by contractors.
(9) 
Warehousing and wholesale establishments, storage yards, lumberyards for retail and wholesale and similar establishments.
(10) 
Transportation and trucking terminals, terminal facilities for passengers and/or freight for trucks, railroads and taxi and bus lines, including maintenance and service facilities.
(11) 
Warehouses, frozen-food lockers and indoor storage.
(12) 
Milk or soft-drink distribution station or storage house.
(13) 
The manufacture, compounding, processing, packaging or treatment of the following previously prepared materials: cork, feathers, cellophane, ceramics, felt, fur, glass, hair, horn, paper, pharmaceuticals, plastics, shells, iron and steel, aluminum, leather, plaster, metals, precious and/or semiprecious stones, wood, yarns, containers or novelties from paper or cardboard, natural or synthetic rubber, tobacco, textiles, or textile products and perfumes.
(14) 
The manufacture of musical instruments, toys, novelties and electrical or electronic devices; home, commercial and industrial appliances and instruments, including the manufacture of accessory parts or assemblies; dental and medical equipment; watches and clocks; optical goods, drafting equipment and canvas products.
(15) 
Experimental, research or testing laboratories.
(16) 
Carpet or rug cleaning; laundry, dry-cleaning and dyeing plant.
(17) 
Wholesaling and distributing activities.
(18) 
Light metal processing as follows: cleaning, finishing, grinding, heat treating, planting, polishing, rustproofing and sharpening, metal stamping and extrusion of small products; similar metal working processes.
(19) 
Job printing and newspaper or book publishing.
(20) 
Baking and food and dairy processing.
(21) 
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses.
(22) 
Corporate and professional offices.
(23) 
Recreational facilities, including, but not limited to, theaters and bowling alleys.
(24) 
Artists' and photographers' studios.
(25) 
Motels, hotels and related facilities such as restaurants, meeting rooms and auditorium spaces and swimming pools.
(26) 
Newspaper publishing and job printing.
(27) 
General service and repair shops, including carpenter, cabinet making, furniture repair, plumbing or similar shop.
(28) 
Office of a builder, carpenter, caterer, cleaner, contractor, decorator, electrician, furrier, mason, printer, plumber, roofer, upholsterer and similar nonnuisance business, excluding open storage of materials and excluding open storage of motor vehicles.
(29) 
Veterinary hospital, provided that all animals are kept in a permanent enclosed structure and are not within 150 feet of any existing residential use or zone.
(30) 
Laboratory, dental and medical.
(31) 
Catering establishment.
(32) 
Business and instructional school, including trade school.
(33) 
Nursing homes, rest home or home for the aged.
(34) 
At the discretion of the governing body, mixed-use projects combining a use listed above with a retail use or uses. The retail use must comprise 40% or less of the total project and will receive no abatement until completion of the nonretail uses.
(35) 
Retail uses in excess of 50,000 square feet at the discretion of the governing body.
A. 
All applications shall be filed with the office of the Tax Assessor. When the Tax Assessor deems the application complete, it shall be forwarded to the Advisory Board of Economic Development, which, in turn, shall forward its recommendations to the governing body within 60 days of receipt of the application.
B. 
All applications for abatement shall be filed prior to, or contemporaneously with, application to the Planning Board for preliminary site plan or subdivision approval.
C. 
For multiuser projects, such as rental or condominium ownership, the entire concept should be approved at the beginning and not on a per-unit basis.
D. 
The agreement for the abatement may permit multiuser projects to be developed in phases. The five-year time period commences with the occupancy of the first tenant or condominium owner in each phase.
[Amended 8-9-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-7]
Upon approval of an ordinance authorizing an agreement for tax abatement for a particular project or projects, the governing body may enter into written agreements with the applicants for abatement of local property taxes. The agreement shall provide for the applicant to pay the municipality in lieu of full property taxes an amount equal to a percentage of taxes otherwise due according to any one, but in no case a combination, of the following formulas authorized by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10:
A. 
Cost basis. The agreement may provide for the applicant to pay to the municipality in lieu of full property tax payments an amount equal to 2% of the cost of the project or improvement. For the purposes of the agreements, "the cost of the project" means only the cost or fair market value of direct labor and all materials used in the construction, expansion or rehabilitation of all buildings, structures, and facilities at the project site, including the costs, if any, of land acquisition and land preparation, provision of access roads, utilities, drainage facilities and parking facilities, together with architectural, engineering, legal surveying, testing and contractors' fees associated with the project, which the applicant shall cause to be certified and verified to the governing body by an independent and qualified architect following the completion of the project.
B. 
Gross revenue basis. The agreement may provide for the applicant to pay to the municipality in lieu of full property tax payments an amount annually equal to 15% of the annual gross revenues from the project. For the purposes of the agreement, "annual gross revenues" means the total amount gross rental and other income payable to the owner of the project from the project. If, in any leasing, any real estate taxes or assessments on property included in the project, any premiums for fire or other insurance on or concerning property included in the project, or any operating or maintenance expenses ordinarily paid by the landlord are to be paid by the tenant, then those payments shall be computed and deemed to be part of the rent and shall be included in the annual gross revenue. The tax agreement shall establish the method of computing the revenues and may establish a method of arbitration by which either the landlord or tenant may dispute the amount of payments so included in the annual gross revenue.
C. 
Tax phase-in basis for new commercial and industrial sections. The agreement may provide for the applicant to pay to the municipality in lieu of full property tax payments an amount equal to a percentage of taxes otherwise due, for construction of new commercial and industrial sections as set forth in § 266-4 above, according to the following schedule:
(1) 
In the first full tax year after completion, no payment in lieu of taxes otherwise due.
(2) 
In the second tax year, an amount not less than 20% of taxes otherwise due.
(3) 
In the third tax year, an amount not less than 40% of taxes otherwise due.
(4) 
In the fourth year, an amount not less than 60% of taxes otherwise due.
(5) 
In the fifth tax year, an amount not less than 80% of taxes otherwise due.
D. 
Tax phase-in basis for improvements to commercial and industrial sections. The agreement may provide for the applicant to pay to the municipality in lieu of full property tax payments an amount equal to a percentage of taxes otherwise due, for improvements to commercial and industrial sections as set forth in § 266-3 above, for no payment in lieu of taxes otherwise due in the first full tax year after completion through the fifth tax year after completion. However, during the exemption period, as required by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-7, 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.
No exemption or abatement shall be granted or tax agreement entered into pursuant to this article for any property for which property taxes and/or other municipal charges are delinquent or remain unpaid, or for which penalties for nonpayment of taxes are due. As a condition to granting exemption or abatement, a property owner shall be required to waive the filing of any tax appeal for the subject property for the life of the exemption/abatement.
At the termination of an agreement for tax abatement or exemption authorized pursuant to this article, the project shall be subject to all applicable real property taxes, as provided by state laws and regulations, and local ordinances, provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit the project or improvement at the termination of the agreement for tax exemption or abatement from qualifying for and receiving the full benefits of any other tax preference provided by law.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:21-21, the Borough shall provide timely reports as required therein to the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of the Treasury.