[Adopted 6-19-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-B]
The above recitals shall be incorporated herein by reference.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said recitals can be viewed in the original
ordinance, available at the Township Offices.
As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings set forth below:
The assessment placed on real property by the County Assessment
Office upon which all real estate tax shall be calculated.
Adams County.
Any industrial, commercial or other business property owned
by an individual, association or corporation, and located in a deteriorating
area, as determined by the Township and as provided for herein, or
any such property which has been the subject of an order by a government
agency requiring the unit to be vacated, condemned or demolished by
reason of noncompliance with laws, ordinances or regulations.
Repair, construction or reconstruction, including alterations
and additions, having the effect of rehabilitating a deteriorated
property so that it becomes habitable or attains higher standards
of safety, health, economic use or amenity; or is brought into compliance
with laws, ordinances or regulations governing such standards. Ordinary
upkeep and maintenance shall not be deemed an improvement.
The Township, the county, the school district, or any other
governmental entity having the authority to levy real property taxes
within the Township.
The use, as permitted by the applicable zoning provisions,
of a building or structure for commercial, industrial, or manufacturing
purposes, or any other activity that is done to further either the
development, manufacturing, or distribution of goods and services,
including, but not limited to, administration of business activities,
research and development, warehousing, shipping, transport, remanufacturing,
stockpiling of raw materials, storage, and repair and maintenance
of commercial machinery and equipment. This term shall not include
schools, nursing homes, or other residential-style facilities or recreational
areas.
The unit of measurement of an enclosed space which is designed
for occupancy of either the residential or nonresidential use and
available for use by an occupant. This term shall not include parking
areas, outdoor common areas, interior common areas such as lobbies,
hallways, shared restrooms that are available for nonresidential and
residential uses. Nor shall it include space in the building which
is devoted to its operations and maintenance, including gear rooms,
storage rooms, and equipment rooms. Occupiable building square footage
is generally measured from "paint to paint" inside the permanent walls
and to the middle of partitions separating one user's space from
that of other users on the same floor.
Conewago Valley School District.
Any Township, county, or school district taxes, and interest
and penalties thereon, which are delinquent as defined in the Real
Estate Tax Sale Law (72 P.S. § 5860.1 et seq.), i.e., taxes,
interest and penalties thereon which remain unpaid in full by December
31 of any calendar year in which the tax is levied against the property
for which an exemption is claimed, or after an exemption is granted,
during the term of the exemption.
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, company, or any other organization of any kind paying property taxes on properties located in the eligible area identified in § 140-61 of this article.
Conewago Township.
The Township's Board of Supervisors shall determine and
affix the boundaries of deteriorated areas as it identifies such real
property through recommendations received at public hearings. All
approved resolutions establishing deteriorated areas shall enable
taxpayers to seek relief under this article.
The amount to be exempt from taxes shall be limited to that
portion of the additional assessment valuation attributable to the
actual cost of new construction or improvements to the deteriorated
property, in accordance with the exemption schedule established by
this article.
A.
The exemption from real property taxes as limited by § 140-62 of this article shall be in the flat amount of 10% unless otherwise decided by the Board with such reasoning included in the corresponding resolution establishing deteriorated areas.
B.
The exemption from real property taxes shall terminate following
the tenth year, and the eligible tax exemption shall not exceed a
total of 10 years.
C.
The exemption from real property taxes granted under this article
shall be upon the property exempted and shall not terminate upon the
sale or exchange of the property.
D.
The exemption shall not be granted, and if granted, the exemption
shall be revoked, if at the time of application for exemption or during
the exemption period, there exists any tax delinquency with respect
to the property for which the exemption was granted.
E.
In the event of reassessment by the county, the tax exemption shall
be proportionally applied to any new assessment so long as the tax
abatement period for the property in question has not expired. This
application is to ensure that each deteriorated property that is granted
a tax exemption receives the same percentage of tax benefits before
and after any county-wide reassessment.
If an eligible property is granted a tax exemption by meeting
the total occupiable building square footage requirement pursuant
to this article and subsequently changes the status of the use of
the property to an occupiable building square footage use that no
longer satisfies such requirement, the eligible property shall be
subject to rollback taxes at 6% interest per year of the exempt assessed
valuation. The rollback tax is the difference in tax based upon the
exempt assessed valuation under this article versus the assessed valuation
if the property had not been granted a tax exemption, plus 6% simple
interest on that difference per year. In addition, the property subject
to the rollback shall no longer be eligible for a tax exemption.
A.
At the time that a building permit is secured for the new construction
or improvement for which an exemption is requested, the taxpayer shall
apply to the County Assessment Office for the tax exemption provided
in this article and the corresponding ordinances. The request for
the exemption must be in writing on a form provided by the Assessment
Office setting forth, at a minimum, the following information:
(1)
The name and address of the property owner;
(2)
The county tax parcel identification number of the property;
(3)
The initial assessed valuation of the property;
(4)
The current year real estate taxes on the property;
(5)
The date the building permit was issued for said new construction
or improvement;
(6)
The type of new construction or improvement;
(7)
A summary of the plan of the new construction or improvement;
(8)
The anticipated date of completion;
(9)
The cost of the new construction or improvement; and
(10)
Any or all such additional information that the county may require.
B.
Rules and regulations. The Assessment Office may adopt rules and
regulations, as it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to
establishing application requirements, compliance criteria, and other
rules and regulations that are consistent with the purpose and intent
of this article.
C.
Along with the taxpayer's request for exemption, the taxpayer
must also sign an agreement, in a form, established by the Assessment
Office, acknowledging and agreeing that the applicant understands
and agrees that at all times during the exemption period the applicant
must abide by the terms of this article and the property shall conform
to the requirements of the article in order to maintain the exemption.
D.
Upon completion of the new construction or improvement, the taxpayer
shall notify the Assessment Office in writing so that the Assessment
Office may assess the new construction or improvement separately for
the purpose of calculating the amounts of assessed valuation eligible
for tax exemption in accordance with the limits established by this
article. Such notice must occur no later than 30 days following the
issuance of all necessary occupancy permit(s) for the property. Failure
to submit notice of completion within 30 days may result in the denial
of the exemption for the initial tax year after completion of the
improvement(s). The notice of completion shall include, at a minimum,
the following information:
(1)
Name and address of the property owner;
(2)
The county tax parcel identification number of the property for which
the exemption is sought;
(3)
The date that the new construction or improvement was completed;
(4)
Any modification to the plan of construction or improvement as previously
submitted; and
(5)
The final, adjusted actual costs of new construction or improvement.
E.
The Assessment Office will then establish the assessed valuation
eligible for exemption and the start date for the new assessment exemption
and will notify the applicant, the county, and the school district.
Appeals from the reassessment and the determination of the amounts
of assessed valuation eligible for exemption may be filed with the
County Board of Assessment Appeals.
Unless otherwise repealed by the Township Board, this article
shall expire and terminate after a period of 10 years. Nothing contained
herein shall act to prohibit the Township from enacting a similar
ordinance, or extending this article. Any property tax exemption granted
under the provisions of this article shall continue according to the
exemption schedule found in this article even if this article expires,
terminates, is amended, or repealed by the Township Board.
The exemption from real estate taxes provided for herein shall
be forfeited by the applicant or any subsequent owner of the property
for the failure to pay any nonexempt real estate taxes by the last
day of the time period to pay such taxes in the penalty period. Upon
receipt of a notice of nonpayment of nonexempt real estate taxes,
the exemption shall be discontinued.
All provisions of previous ordinances of Conewago Township,
or parts thereof, which are contrary or inconsistent to this article
are expressly repealed.
In all other respects, the provisions of other Conewago Township
ordinances shall remain as previously enacted and ordained.
The provisions of this article are declared to be severable,
and if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or part thereof is,
for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity
of any remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or part
of this article.
This article shall take effect immediately.
