19901218 1990-31ORDINANCE NO. 1990-31
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA BY
ADDING THERETO A NEW ARTICLE XIII,
CONSISTING OF SECTIONS 8-78 THROUGH 8-
90, REGARDING PARTIAL REAL ESTATE TAX
EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN SUBSTANTIALLY
REHABILITATED COMMERCIAL AND MIXED USE
STRUCTURES.
BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of
Fairfax, Virginia, that Article XIII, Chapter 8 of the Code
of the City of Fairfax is hereby added to read in its
entirety as follows:
ARTICLE XIII.
PARTIAL REAL ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION
FOR SUBSTANTIALLY REHABILITATED
COMMERCIAL AND MIXED USE STRUCTURES
Section 8-78. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to
them by this section:
Assessor: Real Estate Assessor for the City of Fairfax.
Base Value: The assessed value of the structure as of
January 1 of the year in which the rehabilitation begins.
Commercial Use: The selling or providing of goods or
services to individuals, firms or corporations. Such use
includes mixed use structures (used for both residential and
commercial purposes) predominantly used for commercial
purposes.
Exemption: The real estate taxes resulting from the
increase in the assessed value of a commercial structure
attributable to the substantial rehabilitation thereof.
no case shall an exemption be permitted if the assessed
value falls below the base value in any given year.
In
Exemption District: The Old Town Fairfax Historic Overlay
District and the Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay
District as defined in Sections 26-202 and 26-211 of this
Code.
Owner: Ail persons or entities holding title to the real
estate, structure or structures thereon for which an
exemption is requested.
Substantially Rehabilitated Commercial Structure: An
existing structure, no less than twenty-five (25) years of
age, which has been substantially improved so as to increase
the assessed value thereof by not less than thirty (30)
percent and which structure is used for commercial use.
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1990-31
Section 8-79.
Partial Tax Exemption for Substantially
Rehabilitated Commercial and Mixed Usn
Structures - Policy and Intent.
It is the purpose of this article to implement the
provisions of Article 3, Chapter 32 of Title 58.1 of the
Code of Virginia to permit the City to allow a partial tax
exemption for substantially rehabilitated commercial
structures. The exemption will provide an economic
incentive for improvement of such real estate and will
prevent the deterioration and vacation thereof which is
harmful to the health and welfare of the City. This article
provides a procedure for owners within certain designated
areas in the City of Fairfax to obtain partial real estate
tax exemptions for substantially rehabilitated commercial
structures.
Section 8-80. Eligibility.
Any owner of real estate upon which there exists a
structure of no less than twenty five (25) years of age,
proposed to be substantially rehabilitated for commercial
use, and located, in whole or in part, within the boundaries
of the exemption district shall be eligible to apply for an
exemption.
Section 8-81. Application Procedure and Processing Fe~.
(a) Applications for exemptions shall be filed with
the City Manager or his designee on forms provided for such
purpose. A separate application shall be submitted for each
structure for which an exemption is requested.
(b) The appropriate building permits shall be acquired
prior to the filing of the application and the beginning of
the rehabilitation.
(c) The City Manager or his designee may require the
applicant to submit all documentation deemed necessary to
establish eligibility for an exemption. All such requested
documentation shall be furnished to the assessor before an
application will be considered complete and will be
processed.
(d) A processing fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall
be paid to the City with each application.
(e) The exemption shall not automatically attach to
commercial use structures. Exemptions shall be granted only
after the requirements of this article have been satisfied.
Section 8-82. Inspections, Notification to Assessor.
(a) Upon receipt of a completed application for an
exemption and immediately prior to commencement of the
proposed rehabilitation, the assessor or his designee shall
physically inspect the structure.
(b) After the initial inspection, the assessor or his
designee shall annually inspect the structure to determine
the progress of the rehabilitation.
(c) An owner shall promptly notify the assessor in
writing when the rehabilitation of the structure is
complete.
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1990-31
(d) During the period between the receipt of a
completed application and completion of the rehabilitation,
the structure shall be subject to taxation upon the full
assessed value thereof.
(e) No structure shall be eligible for an exemption if
the assessor or his designee have been denied access to any
portion thereof, either before, during or after the
rehabilitation for which an exemption is requested, which
access is for the purposes of assessing the structure and
determining whether the requirements of this article have
been met.
Section 8-83. Commencement of Exemption, Land Books.
(a) The exemption shall commence upon completion of
the rehabilitation, inspection thereof by the assessor or
his designee, verification by the assessor or his designee
that the rehabilitation described in the application has
been fully completed, and a determination by the City
Manager or his designee that the requirements of this
article have been met.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to
permit the assessor to list upon the land books any reduced
assessed value due to the exemption created by this article.
Section 8-84. Amount, Duration, Schedules, Retail Criteria.
(a) The amount of the exemption shall be determined in
accordance with the definition thereof in Section 8-78 and
schedules in this section.
(b) The increase in assessed value attributable to the
rehabilitation shall be applicable only to any subsequent
assessment or reassessment after completion of the
rehabilitation. An increase in an assessment occurring
after the first year of the exemption shall not result in an
increase in the exemption.
(c) The exemption shall run with the real estate for a
period of ten (10) years according to the following
schedules:
Year
Amount of Exemption
For Structures
Meeting Retail
Criteria in (d)
Amount of Exemption
For Structures Not
Meeting Retail
Criteria in (d)
First through Fifth 100 % 50%
Sixth 83% 42%
Seventh 67% 34%
Eighth 50 % 25%
Ninth 33% 17%
Tenth 17% 9%
(d) The retail criteria are:
(1) At least seventy five (75) percent of the
gross square footage of the street level floor or floors of
the structure are used for retail purposes.
(2) As used in this section, the term "retail"
means the sale of merchandise, food, beverages or lodging
for use or consumption by the immediate purchaser.
1990-31
Section 8-85. Commercial Use of Structure Required.
The exemption shall be available to an owner so
long as the substantially rehabilitated structure is used
for commercial use.
Section 8-86.
Vacant Land, Demolition and Replacement of
Existing Structures.
(a) No improvements made upon vacant land shall
be eligible for an exemption under this article.
(b) As used in the article, the terms
"rehabilitation,, or "rehabilitated,, do not include
situations in which a structure has been completely
demolished or the gross floor area of a structure has been
reduced by greater than seventy five (75) percent.
Section 8-87. Assessment Methods.
In determining the base value and any increase in the
assessed value of a substantially rehabilitated structure,
the assessor shall employ customary and generally accepted
methods of real estate assessment.
Section 8-88. Rules and Requlations.
The City Manager or his designee may prescribe rules
and regulations, consistent with this article, deemed
necessary for the effective administration hereof. A copy
of any such rules and regulations shall be available upon
request in the office of the City Manager or his designee.
Section 8-89. Other Laws and Ordinances.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to relieve
an owner or any other person or entity from complying with
all other applicable laws and ordinances related to the
development, use, rehabilitation or taxation of real estate.
Section 8-90. Applicability to Rehabilitation Commencing
Before Enactment of Ordinance.
An owner may apply for an exemption if a building
permit for the proposed rehabilitation was issued on or
after January 1, 1989 and the work authorized by such permit
was completed, as determined by the Building official, on or
after January 1, 1990.
This ordinance shall become effective as provided by
law.
INTRODUCED : ~_.~ ,I, /¢ ~ o
PUBLIC HEARING: ~~~ /f, /~ go
ADOPTED
ATTEST:
~ C~y Clerk