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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 10172 .. t A ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS (19$6), AS AMENDED, BY PROVIDING FOR A PARTIAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES; PRO- VIDING FOR AN APPLICATION, CERTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION PROCESS; PROVIDING FOR A MONITORING SYSTEM AND TRANSFER- ABILITY OF THIS EXEMPTION; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE ;~ SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; r PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN PAMPHLET FORM; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Section 11.24 of the Texas Property Tax Code provides that the governing body of taxing units may exempt from taxation all or part of the assessed value of certain histori~a.lly significant sites in order to encourage the preservation of such sites; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that tax relief is needed to encourage the preservation of certain historically significant sites and structures located within the City of Fort Worth; and WHEREAS, the City Council also finds that such tax relief will provide an economic incentive to develop projects in historic build- ings worthy of preservation; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new Chapter 47, entitled "Partial Tax Exemption Far Certain Historically Significant Sites", which Chapter shall read as follows: ~,. CHAPTER 47. PARTIAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES. Section 47-1. Partial Tax Exemption Program. Any property which is designated as an historically significant site pursuant to the terms of this Chapter and which is substantially renovated andfor restored as pro- vided herein shall have an assessed value for ad valorem tax purposes equal to the assessed value of the property for the tax year immediately prior to the renovation, for a period of ten (10) years following completion of the renovation. Only the historic structure and the land reasonably necessary for access to and use of the struc- ture shall be subject to the tax valuation freeze. The valuation freeze period shall begin on the first day of the tax year following completion of the renovation pro- ject. Section 47-2. Eligibility. To be eligible for the tax valuation freeze provided above, the property must: 1. be zoned "HC" Historic and Cultural Subdistrict in accordance with the requirements of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and be designated as a historically significant site in need of tax relief to encourage its preservation pursuant to an ordinance adopted by the City Council; 2. be in need of renovation and/or restoration which equals or exceeds thirty percent (30%) of the assessed value of the structure prior to renovation; 3. not have been granted a previous tax exemption under this ordinance. The value of the renovation and/or restoration shall be determined according to the value of the permits issued by the City's Building Official through the Development Department. Only that renovation and/or restoration work for which a building permit, electrical permit, plumbing permit, or other project permit has been issued may be considered in determining whether the renovation and/or restoration exceeds the minimum cost required above. Section 47-3. Application Process. Application for certification as an historically sig- nificant site for purposes of the tax exemption shall be -2- J". =~~ filed with the Secretary of the Historic and Cultural Advisory Board, which shall be done through the Department of Development of the City of Fort Worth. Each application shall be signed and sworn to by the owner of the property and shall: 1. state the legal description and the address of the property proposed for certification; 2. provide proof of title in the applicant to the prop- erty proposed for certification; 3. include an affidavit by the owner describing the his- toric significance of the structure in need of tax relief and its compliance with the requirements of Section 47-2 herein; 4. provide proof that taxes or other assessments are not delinquent on the property; 5. include a complete set of final plans for the renova- tion and/or restoration; 6. include a statement of costs for the renovation and/ o.r restoration; 7. include a projection of the estimated construction time and predicted completion date; 8. include a detailed statement of the proposed use of the property; 9. authorize members of the Historic and Cultural Advisory Board and the City officials to visit and inspect the property proposed for certification in order to certify that the property in question is historically significant and in substantial need of tax relief to encourage its preservation; lU. provide any additional information to the 'c~oard which is necessary in determining eligibility or which the owner deems relevant or useful; 11. contain a written agreement to maintain the desig- nated site in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, the Building Code of the City of Fort Worth and the Design Review Guidelines for that structure for the duration of the assessed valuation freeze. -3- Each application shall contain sufficient documenta- tion supporting the information submitted therein. Section 47-4. Certification Process. Upon receipt of the sworn application, the board shall make an investigation of the property and shall certify the facts to the Director of Planning of the City of Fort Worth within thirty (30) days along with the board's documentation and recommendation for approval or disapproval of the application for exemption. Upon receipt of the application for tax exemption as well as the recommendation of the board, the City's Director of Planning shall immediately forward the appli- cation to the City Council and, within thirty (30) days, the Council shall approve or disapprove eligibility of the property for tax relief pursuant to this article.. Approval or disapproval shall be provided in writing to the appli- cant. In determining eligibility, the City Council shall first determine that all the requirements of this article have been met and that only the historic structure and the land reasonably necessary for access and use thereof is to be provided favorable tax relief as provided in Section 47-2 herein. After verification, as provided in Section 47-5 herein, the City Council shall by ordinance designate the property as historically significant and entitled to the tax relief provided herein. No historical site shall be certified for tax relief purposes until the applicant files a commitment to repay to the City all taxes previously exempted if the owner is required to repay the taxes for noncompliance with this chapter as provided below. The commitment shall be filed in the Tarrant County Deed Records and shall run with the land and bind the owner and his heirs and assigns. Any unpaid repayment shall constitute a lien against the prop- erty. Section 47-5. Verification Process. Upon completion of the restoration and rehabilita- tion, the certified applicant shall submit a sworn state- ment of completion acknowledging that the "historically significant site" has been substantially renovated and/or restored as certified by the board. The commission, upon receipt of the sworn statement of completion, but no later than thirty (30) days thereafter, shall make an investiga- tion of the property and shall verify that the property has been completed as required for certification. If verification of completion shall be deemed unfavorable, the certified applicant shall be required to complete the renovation and/or restoration in order to secure the tax -4- S •~ `. r exemption provided herein. If the verification of comple- tion is favorable, the commission shall notify the chief appraiser of the Tarrant Appraisal District and the Tax Assessor-Collector of the City of Fort Worth in writing of compliance. Thereafter, the Tax Assessor-Collector of the City of Fort Worth shall provide the property with the tax exemption provided in Section 47-1 herein. Section 47-6. Alteration or Destruction. If the City Manager o.r his designee has reason to believe that a historically significant site has been altered or totally or partially destroyed by the willful act or negligence of the owner or his representative, the City Manager or his designee shall immediately cause the matter to be scheduled for the earliest possible con- sideration by the City Council, which shall be no later than thirty days after the alleged violation has been noted. If, after giving notice and hearing to the owner, the City Council determines that the historically signifi- cant site has been totally or partially destroyed or altered by the willful act or negligence of the owner or his representative, the owner shall immediately .repay to the City all of the tax revenues that were not paid be- cause of the exemption plus interest calculated at an annual .rate of seven (7) percent. Where a historically significant site is totally or partially destroyed or altered by other than the willful act or negligence of the owner or his representative, the owner shall, within thirty (30) days, request a demolition permit when repair is not feasible, or request a building permit to reconstruct the historically significant site in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, the construction codes of the City of Fort Worth and the design review guidelines for that structure. The determination as to whether renovation is feasible shall be made by the Historic and Cultural review procedure required to be followed in obtaining a building or demolition permit. In cases where a demolition permit is issued by the city because renovation is not feasible, repayment of the tax revenues is not required.. Section 47-7. Monitoring System. The status of designated historic sites which are taking advantage of this program will be monitored by City inspectors in conjunction with the staff of the Historic and Cultural Advisory Board on an annual basis to insure continued compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's -5- . , ~` .. Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabili- tating Historic Buildings and the design .review guidelines for that structure. Property owners will be notified of any violations noted by the City inspectors or Historic and Cultural Advisory Board staff. If satisfactory correc- tive measures are not undertaken within the time specified in the latter of notification of violations, procedures specified in Section 47-7 of this Section will be initi- ated. Section 47-8. Transferability of Partial Tax Exemption. The benefits of this tax incentive program are trans- ferable and run with the property. A building may take advantage of the tax incentive program once. A copy of the certification must be filed in the county deed records. Proof of the filing shall be presented to the Secretary of the Historic and Cultural Advisory Board. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi- nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986) , as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 3. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitu- tional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the .remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of -6- .~ ~' ~ ., this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in, this ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 4. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance or any other ordinances affecting historically significant sites which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 5. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby authorized to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form for general distribution among the public, and the operative provisions of this ordinance as so published shall be admissible in evidence in all courts without further proof than the production thereof, as provided in Chapter XXV, Section 3, of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, Texas. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption and -7- :. .. ., ,, _ Sections 1, ? and 8 in the minutes of the City Council and by filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of the City. SECTION 7. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption and Sections 1, 7 and 8 of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 52.013, Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 8. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: ~~~ ~ City Attorney Date : f 7 ~-~ ADOPTED• EFFECTIVE: -8- ~MASfER FILL Y / n ._. AcrourrnNC-2 TRAN3PGI2TAT7GN~PUBLlG WORKSaiEI ~,~/'/y//~~~/(/(~ (,/~/y//~ (/,//J7// ~ n ~/p~ f~ /~.//{.~~]/ ~) V1 QTEF2 ADMINI:.TRATION 4 ~`-"" %/ `~ ~ `~^"~`""' ~®~D't~,~?t~ ~®~~ LL/lV~~~~IAI/`-r ({/® U W PLANNING+1. TA X• (' DATE REFERENCE NUMBER SUBJECT ~ PAGE 9-27-88 G-7742 PROPOSED TAX EXEMPT ORDINANCE 1 '°f-- RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending the code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, by providing for a partial tax exemption for certain historically significant sites. BACKGROUND The 1986 Fort Worth Historic Preservation Plan, adopted by the City Council, recommended a tax incentive program for locally designated historic properties for ten years. Lately many developers, property owners and civic groups have encouraged the implementation of this program stating that it will provide an incentive that may make their projects feasible State enabling legislation for historic preservation tax incentives was passed in 1977 to provide a tool for preservation of the states cultural amenities Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston have implemented tax abatement programs for historic preservation. These programs have generally been successful. In Austin, where the program has been most successful, there are 220 property owners participating, yet the taxes lost accounted for less than 0.1% of the total taxes collected. In Dallas's West End District, hotels and retail establishments have made up the difference in additional lodging, sales and liquor taxes produced. The recommended ordinance proposes a ten (10) year city valuation freeze for property owners, for residential or non-residential property, who expend an amount equal to at least 30~ of the pre-renovated assessed value for restoration or renovation. The pre-renovated value will remain the same over the ten (10) year period. In addition, the owner must apply for "HC" historic and cultural subdistrict zoning and get approval from council for the tax incentive. The Valuation Incentive Program is aimed toward stimulating the economic development of older areas of town through the encouragement of the renovation of the most historically, architecturally and visually important buildings in the community. Tax revenue from the buildings which take advantage of this program will not decrease over the incentive period. After the incentive period is over, the City will reap the benefits of a higher tax base Additional benefits. will be an increase in construction jobs, property values will increase, there will be an increase in retail taxes, and more tourist dollars will be generated because of the interest in the City's history APPROVED B m!6 CITY COU~NC SUBMITTED FOR IMt CITY MANAGER'S DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL. PROCESSED BY OFFICE BY David Ivor ^ APPROVED CGp ck~' ~p~ OLf Fi ~7 ORIGINATING [ OTHER (DESCRIBE) DEPARTMENT HEAD• BrUCe MCC1 endon IT S RETARY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION O CONTACT B McClendon 0000 Adopted Ordinance No. L City SeC[0ta>Gg of 4he