[Adopted 11-8-2023 by Ord. No. 15-2023]
As used in this article, certain terms are defined as follows:
BUSINESS PROPERTY
Shall mean all real property including any improvements, above or below the surface of the land, thereon utilized to generate income or recurring revenue for the owners including but not limited to billboard advertising, parking facilities, surface lots, storage facilities, dry docks, utility improvements, wireless towers, institutional group homes, assisted living facilities, and market-rate multifamily residential buildings consisting of five or more units.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Shall mean real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a profit, either from capital gains or rental income, commercial property includes office buildings, medical centers, hotels, malls, retail stores, multifamily housing buildings, farm land, warehouses, and garages, a building containing more than four units qualifies as commercial property for borrowing and tax purposes.
DETERIORATED AREAS
A. 
Means an area within the corporate limits of the City which the City, pursuant to the public hearing, has determined the physically impaired on the basis of one or more standards included but not limited to the following:
(1) 
The industrial, commercial and other business properties, by reason of age, obsolescence, inadequate or outmoded design or physical deterioration have become economic and/or social liabilities.
(2) 
The industrial, commercial and other business properties are substandard or unsanitary for healthful and safe operations.
(3) 
The industrial, commercial and other business properties areas are overcrowded, poorly spaced, or are so lacking in light, space and air as to be conducive to unwholesome operations and benefit to the community.
(4) 
The industrial, commercial and other business properties are faultily arranged, cover the land to an excessive extent or show a detrimental use of land, or exhibit any combination of the above which is detrimental to health, safety or welfare.
(5) 
A substantial amount of unimproved, overgrown and unsightly vacant land exists which has remained so for a period of five years or more indicating a growing or total lack of utilization of land for residential purposes.
(6) 
A disproportionate number of tax exempt or delinquent properties exists in the area.
B. 
An area can be established as deteriorated even though it is not a slum; and any deteriorating area may include buildings which are not in and of themselves blighted or dilapidated. The following areas within the City of Chester determined by City Council to be eligible for tax exemption: all parcels within the following Chester City 2020 Census tracts: 4044, 4045, 4046, 4047, 4048, 4049, 4050, 4051, 4052, 4053, 4054, and 4107, which are determined eligible for tax exemption under IDRPA.
C. 
DETERIORATED NEIGHBORHOODSAny area containing unsafe, unsanitary or overcrowded buildings, vacant, overgrown and unsightly lots of ground; a disproportionate number of tax delinquent properties; excessive land coverage; defective design or arrangement of buildings, street or lot layouts; economically and socially undesirable land uses; blighted, as determined by the Blighted Property Review Committee and as certified by the City Council.
DETERIORATED PROPERTY
Shall mean any industrial, commercial or other business property located in an eligible deteriorated area, as defined hereinafter, or any such property which has been the subject of an order of a governmental agency requiring the property to be vacated, condemned or demolished by reason of noncompliance with laws, ordinances or regulations.
IMPROVEMENT or IMPROVEMENTS
Shall mean the repair, construction or re-construction, including alterations or additions, having the effect of rehabilitating a structure so that it becomes habitable or attains higher standards of housing safety, health or amenity, or is brought into compliance with laws, ordinances or regulations governing housing standards. Reconstruction means the rebuilding of a structure on the same site in substantially the same manner. Reconstruction is a form of rehabilitation. Reconstruction of an existing building or structure is required due to economic obsolescence, and the reconstruction is necessary for the owner of the building or construction to occupy the property, which determination shall receive prior approval from the BCO. Ordinary upkeep or maintenance shall not be deemed an improvement or reconstruction.
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
Shall mean light and heavy manufacturing buildings are used to assemble, convert, or fabricate raw or partly wrought materials into products, goods, and services. Warehouse and Distribution centers, cold storage buildings, flex (or flexible) space to include showrooms, data centers and R&D and biotech laboratories.
MIXED-USE DWELLING
Means any industrial, commercial, residential or other business property owned by an individual, association or corporation which currently houses one or more of the following uses: residential, commercial, cultural, light industrial or other miscellaneous use;
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Means the building or erection of a structure, as defined above, upon vacant lands or land specifically prepared to receive such structures. Construction shall not be construed to include improvements, repairs, maintenance or any rehabilitation of existing units.
A. 
There is hereby exempted from all real property taxation the assessed valuation of:
(1) 
Improvements to deteriorated properties.
(2) 
Improvements to any industrial, commercial and other business properties, without regard to whether such properties qualify as deteriorated properties, provided such improvements are constructed within a deteriorated neighborhood.
(3) 
New Construction built in any deteriorating area.
B. 
The exemption authorized by this section shall be in the amounts in accordance with the provisions and limitations hereinafter provided.
C. 
The amount to be exempted from real estate taxes is limited to that portion of the additional tax assessment attributable to the actual cost of the new construction or the rehabilitation of vacant or abandoned properties in accordance with the exemption schedule established by this article. A tax exemption granted under this article will first apply in the tax year of the applicable local taxing authority immediately following the tax year in which the eligible new construction or improvements are completed. Nothing herein limits or prohibits the levy of interim real property taxes upon new construction or improvements prior to completion thereof. A tax exemption granted hereunder will not terminate upon the sale or exchange of the exempted property. If an eligible property is granted a tax exemption pursuant to this article, the new construction or improvements shall not, during the exemption period, be considered as comparable in assessing other properties.
D. 
The cost of improvements to be exempted, and the schedule of taxes exempted, existing at the time of the initial request for tax exemption shall be applicable to that exemption request, and subsequent amendment to this article, if any, shall not apply to a request initiated prior to the adoption of such amendment.
E. 
The exemption shall be effective only as long as the structure is built and maintained in conformity with all applicable laws and regulations of and in the City. If the property is determined blighted in accordance with the City's blighted process, shall no longer be granted tax exemption.
A. 
The schedule of real estate taxes to be exempted shall be in accordance with the following percentage of improvements to be exempted each year:
Length
Portion
First Year
100%
Second Year
90%
Third Year
80%
Fourth Year
70%
Fifth Year
60%
Sixth Year
50%
Seventh Year
40%
Eighth Year
30%
Ninth Year
20%
Tenth Year
10%
After the tenth year, the exemption shall terminate.
B. 
The exemption from taxes granted under this article shall be upon the property and shall not terminate upon the sale or exchange of the property.
C. 
If an eligible property is granted tax exemption pursuant to this article the improvement shall not, during the exemption period, be considered factor in assessing other properties.
A. 
Application.
(1) 
Any person desiring tax exemption pursuant to this article shall apply to the office of the City Treasurer within 15 days of the time a building permit issued for construction of the improvement; or new construction, as the case may be. The application must be in writing, on forms specified by the City, setting forth the following information:
(a) 
The date the building permit was issued for such improvements;
(b) 
The location of the property to be improved;
(c) 
The nature of the property to be improved;
(d) 
The type of improvement;
(e) 
The summary of the plan of the improvement;
(f) 
The cost of the improvement;
(g) 
Whether the property has been condemned by any governmental body for noncompliance with laws or ordinances;
(h) 
That the property has been inspected and verified by the Department of Public Safety;
(i) 
Such additional information as the City may require;
(j) 
The number of temporary and permanent full-time jobs being created by this improvement. Applicant should indicate if any efforts for local hiring;
(k) 
Documentation of initial assessment of the property and the after-repair value/reassessment of the improvement;
(l) 
Submit a procurement plan demonstrating good faith effort to increase purchasing with Chester City based companies;
(m) 
Such additional information as the City may require. Including but not limited to how the project meets housing development goals of Chester such as:
[1] 
Increasing housing diversity;
[2] 
Supporting strong neighborhoods through increased density and affordable housing.
(2) 
There shall be on the form application for building permit the following notice:
"NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS - By Ordinance # _________ of 2022, you may be entitled to exemption from tax on your contemplated Improvement or new construction by reassessment, an application for exemption may be secured from the Office of the City Treasurer within 15 days from the time the building permit is issued."
B. 
A copy of the exemption request shall be forwarded to Chester City Council in its capacity as the City's Board of Revision of Taxes. Within 60 days the Board shall determine whether the exemption shall be granted and shall, upon completion of the improvements or new construction, and notification from the Department of Public Safety that the improvements comply with all of the applicable building codes, request that the Delaware County Board of Assessment and Appeals assess separately the improvement and calculate the amounts of the assessment eligible for tax exemption in accordance with the limits established by this article and notify the taxpayer and the local taxing authorities of the re-assessment and the amount of the assessment eligible for exemption. In the case of new construction, the Delaware County Board of Assessment and Appeals shall assess separately the improvement and the land upon which the new construction stands, and shall otherwise perform its duties as above provided for construction of the improvements. The exemption provided for hereunder shall commence in the tax year immediately following the year in which the building permit is issued.
C. 
The cost of improvements and new construction to be exempted and the schedule of taxes exempted existing at the time of the initial request for tax exemption shall be applicable to that request, and subsequent amendment(s) to this article, if any, shall not apply to requests initiated prior to their adoption.
D. 
Appeals from the re-assessment and the amount eligible for the exemption may be taken by the City or the taxpayer as provided by law.
Reports containing information relative to the amount of each exemption and the property owner received each exemption shall be presented by the CFO to Council on an annual basis each calendar year in which this article is in effect.
A. 
The City Controller shall perform a yearly audit of the administering agencies, departments, authorities, and entities within the Controller's jurisdiction to do so, pursuant to the powers outlined in the Home Rule Charter.
B. 
The scope of this audit should include an accounting of all the projected and cataloged value of all assessment reductions, tax credits, and tax abatements issued through this article, as well as projections of incoming revenue upon expiration of any assessment reductions, tax credits, and tax abatements issued through these programs in the most recent calendar year prior to the commencement of the audit.
C. 
This audit shall document the total production, conversion, and removal of residential, commercial, and industrial units that result from projects or properties granted tax abatements described herein, including those associated with program compliance for the purposes of determining eligibility for exemptions, as delineated on a per-project basis.
D. 
This audit shall be submitted to City Council and filed with the City Clerk.
A. 
This article shall become effective upon adoption by another local taxing authority of a resolution by its municipal governing body exempting from real property taxation, improvements to properties in accordance with the terms of this article.
B. 
This article shall repeal any and all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith.
The provisions of this article shall expire on December 31, 2028, unless extended by ordinance duly adopted. Any applicant for tax abatement must have a building permit to be eligible for tax abatement treatment hereunder, with that permit having been issued on, or before, the 31st day of December 2028.
No amendment to this article shall be effective unless consented to by resolution or ordinance of each taxing authority consenting to be bound by the terms of this article.