[Adopted 11-27-2012 by Ord. No. 12-O-10]
The purpose of the City of College Park's revitalization tax
credit program is to provide financial incentives to encourage economic
development and redevelopment by creating revitalization districts
in the City.
The Council may establish one or more revitalization tax credit
districts. A revitalization tax credit district may be established
within an existing development district overlay zone, transit district
overlay zone, commercial district, industrial district, or commercial
corridor.
The following districts are established:
A.
District One: to include the areas encompassed by the US 1 Corridor
Development District Overlay Zone and the College Park-Riverdale Transit
District Overlay Zone.
[Amended 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
B.
District Two: to include the areas encompassed by the Hollywood Commercial
Development District Overlay Zone, the Berwyn Commercial and Industrial
Districts, the Branchville Industrial District and the Greenbelt/University
Commercial Corridor.
[Amended 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
A Level One or Level Two property tax credit may be granted
by resolution against the City's property tax imposed on real property
located within a revitalization district that is constructed or substantially
redeveloped in conformance with the eligibility criteria established
in this article and reassessed as a result of the construction or
redevelopment at a higher value than that assessed prior to the construction
or redevelopment.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-O-04]
To be eligible for the tax credit, a property must meet the
following eligibility requirements:
A.
Improvements must include new construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation
of residential, commercial, hospitality, or mixed-use properties,
excluding single-family detached housing, multifamily housing intended
to house undergraduate students, and direct, exterior-room-access
hotels and motels.
B.
The applicant must be in good standing with the City. In order to
be in good standing, applicants may not have any outstanding code
or zoning violations or be delinquent on any payments, including,
but not limited to, trash bills, permit fees, fines and City tax payments.
C.
Projects are ineligible for this program if they are located within
a tax increment financing district at the time of application, or
in a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise ("RISE") zone designated
under §5-1401 of the Economic Development Article, Annotated
Code of Maryland and are located on a property receiving or applying
for a tax credit under § 9-103.1 of the Tax-Property Article,
Annotated Code of Maryland. In addition, the owners and assigns of
any property receiving a City tax credit under this article must agree
to forego any future application or receipt of a RISE zone tax credit.
D.
Eligibility is contingent upon City Council approval of the project's
detailed site plan, if applicable, or building permits. In the event
the City Council approves the detailed site plan with conditions or
any agreement between the applicant and the City, all recommended
conditions or terms of agreement must be complied with before any
tax credit will take effect.
E.
An application for a City tax credit shall be submitted no later
than the date of acceptance for the initial detailed site plan for
the project by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
(M-NCPPC), if applicable, or the submission of a building permit application
to Prince George's County. Projects that are under construction, completed,
or have an approved detailed site plan or building permit prior to
the adoption of this program are not eligible for the tax credit.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-O-04; 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
When evaluating whether a project will receive either a Level
One tax credit or a Level Two tax credit under this article, the City
Council will use the following criteria.
A.
Level one tax credit: For projects located within the boundaries
of Tax Credit District One, at least four of the criteria must be
met, and for projects located within the boundaries of Tax Credit
District Two, at least two of the criteria must be met:
(1)
The majority of the land area of the property upon which the project
is located is within a one-half-mile radius of an existing or under-construction
rail station for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,
Maryland Area Regional Commuter, Maryland Transit Administration,
or similar agency.
(2)
The project involves the assemblage of lots or parcels owned by different
parties.
(3)
The project involves the significant investment of funds in the buyout
of leases, such as long-term leases, to facilitate redevelopment.
(4)
The project will complete, or commit funds for, substantial infrastructure
improvements such as a new or relocated traffic signal, a public street,
a public park, a public parking garage, undergrounding of utilities,
or support for a bikeshare system.
(5)
The project exceeds the required Prince George's County minimum green
building guidelines as established by the United States Green Building
Council's LEED certification for the project's appropriate rating
system and in any event meets the minimum standards for a LEED Silver
certification. A LEED scorecard must be submitted with the detailed
site plan application and evidence of certification must be submitted
at the time of final application for the tax credit.
(6)
The majority of the land area of the property on which the project
is located is within one of the walkable development nodes designated
in the approved Central US 1 Corridor Sector Plan.
(7)
The project involves the demolition of an existing nonhistoric structure,
which has been vacant at least one year, or the demolition of a hotel
or motel with direct exterior room access.
(8)
The project is a brownfield development, which means real property
where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or
potential presence of environmental contamination, and requires an
environmental cleanup prior to redevelopment.
(9)
The project has secured at least one locally owned, nonfranchise
business totaling at least 1,000 square feet of space as evidenced
by executed lease agreements of at least five years' duration at the
time of final application for the tax credit.
(10)
The project provides at least 1,000 square feet of space for
a business incubator, community center, art gallery, or similar public-benefit
use.
(11)
The project provides a contribution of an amount described below
to a City fund established for the purpose of promoting and funding
the inclusion of art in public places:
(a)
For 2018, the amount contributed to the fund shall be $400,000;
and
(b)
Beginning in 2019, the amount contributed to the fund shall be the amount described in § 175-10A(11)(a), updated to the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Building Construction Index twenty-city average. The date used for calculating such an update shall be the date upon which the tax credit is approved by Mayor and Council.
B.
Level Two tax credit: To be eligible for a Level Two tax credit,
a project located within the boundaries of Tax Credit District One
or Tax Credit District Two must:
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-O-04; 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
A.
Level One tax credit. An eligible property may receive a five-year
tax credit on City real property taxes based on the increased assessment
attributed to the taxable improvements upon project completion as
determined by the Supervisor of Assessments. The tax credit shall
be in an amount equal to 75% of the increased assessment of City tax
imposed in the first year; 60% in the second year; 45% in the third
year; 30% in the fourth year; and 15% in the fifth year.
B.
Level Two tax credit. An eligible property may receive an up-to-60%
tax credit on City real property taxes based on the increased assessment
attributed to the taxable improvements upon project completion as
determined by the Supervisor of Assessments, for up to 15 years.
C.
If a tax credit approved under this article is not financially feasible
based on City budget constraints, the Council may reduce or eliminate
the amount and/or duration, and/or alter the sequence, of the tax
credit. The tax credit is transferable to subsequent property owners
within the term of the original agreement.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-O-04; 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
The application process for a Level One or Level Two tax credit
is as follows:
A.
Submit preliminary application. An application for a City tax credit
shall be submitted to the City no later than the date of acceptance
for a detailed site plan by the Maryland-National Capital Park and
Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), if applicable, or the submission of
a building permit application to Prince George's County. The application
shall specify which evaluation criteria are being addressed by the
applicant, the estimated value of the completed improvements, and
any additional information requested by the City. All plans associated
with the detailed site plan or building permit shall be submitted
with the application.
[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-O-09]
B.
City staff review. Upon receipt and acceptance of a completed application,
a copy of the application will be referred to the Finance Department.
City staff will provide an eligibility report to the City Council
with respect to the application for a tax credit subsequent to the
detailed site plan review by the City Council. For projects that do
not require a detailed site plan, staff will review building permit
plans and schedule the application for review by the City Council
at a City Council work session.
[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-O-09]
C.
City Council resolution. A City Council resolution must be approved
to authorize the award of a tax credit. The approval will be contingent
on all required terms of the revitalization tax credit program being
met at the time of final application. If the Prince George's County
Planning Board, the District Council, or any other government agency
with authority changes the City-approved conditions for the detailed
site plan after the resolution has been adopted, staff will review
the changes and provide a supplemental report concerning the tax credit
authorization that the City Council will rely upon with respect to
determining whether it should reconsider the authorization.
D.
Final application approval. Prior to final approval of the application
for a City tax credit, documentation must be submitted to the City's
Director of Finance, including a legal description of the property,
proof of a properly issued use and occupancy permit applicable to
eligible improvements, evidence of compliance with any City agreement
or required certifications, copies of all leases to locally owned,
nonfranchise businesses used as a basis for eligibility, certification
of LEED status, and such other information or documentation as the
Director may require. Upon final acceptance the City will issue a
certificate to the property owner that confirms the parcel's tax credit
status. A copy of the certificate will be sent to the Prince George's
County Supervisor of Assessments who will determine the value of improvement.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-O-04]
A.
If it finds that the purposes of this article will be equally well served by doing so, the Council may waive the requirement in § 175-12 that an application must be filed no later than the date of acceptance for a detailed site plan, if applicable, or a building permit application, and consider whether to grant a tax credit under the following circumstances for projects for which no appeal was filed by the City:
B.
In the event that a tax credit is granted in error to a multifamily housing project intended to house undergraduate students, and the project otherwise satisfies the requirements and criteria of §§ 175-9 and 175-10, the Mayor and Council may waive the exclusion of undergraduate multifamily housing in § 175-9A for that project only, and confirm or modify the tax credit.
[Added 3-9-2021 by Ord. No. 21-O-03[1]]
C.
In granting a tax credit under this section, the Council may reduce the amount or duration of the credit set out in § 175-11, including any tax credit issued in error.
[Amended 3-9-2021 by Ord. No. 21-O-03]
D.
In making application for a waiver, the applicant shall provide for
consideration the information requested by the City staff.
[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 20-O-09]
