Title
Consider public testimony regarding, and an ordinance granting a partial exemption from ad valorem taxes for certain qualified historically significant properties. (First Reading)*
Body
The partial tax exemption program for historically significant properties was created in 1982. The program encourages owners of historic properties to use money saved on taxes to provide regular maintenance and/or repair to their historic structures. With this program, property owners receive a 75% exemption of municipal property taxes.
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is responsible for inspecting properties that participate in the program and recommending whether a property should receive the exemption. On May 21, the HPC recommended that all 49 property owners who submitted applications receive the tax exemption this year. The HPC determined that the recommended applications meet the criteria for preservation and maintenance in Section 10-57 (g) of the Code of Ordinances.
This year, the HPC did not allow "conditional" inspections whereby if specified maintenance was completed between the May HPC meeting and the Council's consideration of the ordinance, the applicant could still receive the tax exemption. Instead, owners were notified in January and again in March that the HPC would be unlikely to offer conditional ratings this year and to contact staff prior to the May HPC meeting to resolve any outstanding issues.