Source: https://ecode360.com/26906653
Timestamp: 2020-07-08 05:20:43
Document Index: 652268218

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§5', '§ 9', '§ 175', '§ 7', '§ 175', '§ 175', '§ 175']

City of College Park, MD Revitalization Tax Credit
Ch 175 Art IV Revitalization Tax Credit
§ 175-5 Purpose.
§ 175-6 Authority to establish revitalization tax credit districts.
§ 175-7 Revitalization tax districts established.
§ 175-8 Authority to grant tax credit for real property located in revitalization tax credit district.
§ 175-9 Eligibility requirements.
§ 175-10 Eligibility criteria.
§ 175-11 Tax Credit: amount and term.
§ 175-12 Application process.
§ 175-13 Waiver.
City of College Park, MD / The Code / Part II: General Legislation / Taxation
Article IV Revitalization Tax Credit
[Adopted 11-27-2012 by Ord. No. 12-O-10]
The purpose of the City of College Park's revitalization tax credit program is to provide financial incentives to encourage economic development and redevelopment by creating revitalization districts in the City.
The Council may establish one or more revitalization tax credit districts. A revitalization tax credit district may be established within an existing development district overlay zone, transit district overlay zone, commercial district, industrial district, or commercial corridor.
The following districts are established:
District One: to include the areas encompassed by the US 1 Corridor Development District Overlay Zone and the College Park-Riverdale Transit District Overlay Zone.
[Amended 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
District Two: to include the areas encompassed by the Hollywood Commercial Development District Overlay Zone, the Berwyn Commercial and Industrial Districts, the Branchville Industrial District and the Greenbelt/University Commercial Corridor.
A Level One or Level Two property tax credit may be granted by resolution against the City's property tax imposed on real property located within a revitalization district that is constructed or substantially redeveloped in conformance with the eligibility criteria established in this article and reassessed as a result of the construction or redevelopment at a higher value than that assessed prior to the construction or redevelopment.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 15-O-04]
To be eligible for the tax credit, a property must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Improvements must include new construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of residential, commercial, hospitality, or mixed-use properties, excluding single-family detached housing, multifamily housing intended to house undergraduate students, and direct, exterior-room-access hotels and motels.
The applicant must be in good standing with the City. In order to be in good standing, applicants may not have any outstanding code or zoning violations or be delinquent on any payments, including, but not limited to, trash bills, permit fees, fines and City tax payments.
Projects are ineligible for this program if they are located within a tax increment financing district at the time of application, or in a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise ("RISE") zone designated under §5-1401 of the Economic Development Article, Annotated Code of Maryland and are located on a property receiving or applying for a tax credit under § 9-103.1 of the Tax-Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. In addition, the owners and assigns of any property receiving a City tax credit under this article must agree to forego any future application or receipt of a RISE zone tax credit.
Eligibility is contingent upon City Council approval of the project's detailed site plan, if applicable, or building permits. In the event the City Council approves the detailed site plan with conditions or any agreement between the applicant and the City, all recommended conditions or terms of agreement must be complied with before any tax credit will take effect.
An application for a City tax credit shall be submitted no later than the date of acceptance for the initial detailed site plan for the project by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), if applicable, or the submission of a building permit application to Prince George's County. Projects that are under construction, completed, or have an approved detailed site plan or building permit prior to the adoption of this program are not eligible for the tax credit.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 15-O-04; 9-25-2018 by Ord. No. 18-O-01]
When evaluating whether a project will receive either a Level One tax credit or a Level Two tax credit under this article, the City Council will use the following criteria.
Level one tax credit: For projects located within the boundaries of Tax Credit District One, at least four of the criteria must be met, and for projects located within the boundaries of Tax Credit District Two, at least two of the criteria must be met:
The majority of the land area of the property upon which the project is located is within a one-half-mile radius of an existing or under-construction rail station for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Maryland Area Regional Commuter, Maryland Transit Administration, or similar agency.
The project involves the assemblage of lots or parcels owned by different parties.
The project involves the significant investment of funds in the buyout of leases, such as long-term leases, to facilitate redevelopment.
The project will complete, or commit funds for, substantial infrastructure improvements such as a new or relocated traffic signal, a public street, a public park, a public parking garage, undergrounding of utilities, or support for a bikeshare system.
The project exceeds the required Prince George's County minimum green building guidelines as established by the United States Green Building Council's LEED certification for the project's appropriate rating system and in any event meets the minimum standards for a LEED Silver certification. A LEED scorecard must be submitted with the detailed site plan application and evidence of certification must be submitted at the time of final application for the tax credit.
The majority of the land area of the property on which the project is located is within one of the walkable development nodes designated in the approved Central US 1 Corridor Sector Plan.
The project involves the demolition of an existing nonhistoric structure, which has been vacant at least one year, or the demolition of a hotel or motel with direct exterior room access.
The project is a brownfield development, which means real property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of environmental contamination, and requires an environmental cleanup prior to redevelopment.
The project has secured at least one locally owned, nonfranchise business totaling at least 1,000 square feet of space as evidenced by executed lease agreements of at least five years' duration at the time of final application for the tax credit.
The project provides at least 1,000 square feet of space for a business incubator, community center, art gallery, or similar public-benefit use.
The project provides a contribution of an amount described below to a City fund established for the purpose of promoting and funding the inclusion of art in public places:
For 2018, the amount contributed to the fund shall be $400,000; and
Beginning in 2019, the amount contributed to the fund shall be the amount described in § 175-10A(11)(a), updated to the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Building Construction Index twenty-city average. The date used for calculating such an update shall be the date upon which the tax credit is approved by Mayor and Council.
Level Two tax credit: To be eligible for a Level Two tax credit, a project located within the boundaries of Tax Credit District One or Tax Credit District Two must:
Meet the eligibility requirements for a Level One tax credit; and
Have been granted a pilot agreement with Prince George's County pursuant to § 7-516 of the Tax-Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended.
Level One tax credit. An eligible property may receive a five-year tax credit on City real property taxes based on the increased assessment attributed to the taxable improvements upon project completion as determined by the Supervisor of Assessments. The tax credit shall be in an amount equal to 75% of the increased assessment of City tax imposed in the first year; 60% in the second year; 45% in the third year; 30% in the fourth year; and 15% in the fifth year.
Level Two tax credit. An eligible property may receive an up-to-60% tax credit on City real property taxes based on the increased assessment attributed to the taxable improvements upon project completion as determined by the Supervisor of Assessments, for up to 15 years.
If a tax credit approved under this article is not financially feasible based on City budget constraints, the Council may reduce or eliminate the amount and/or duration, and/or alter the sequence, of the tax credit. The tax credit is transferable to subsequent property owners within the term of the original agreement.
The application process for a Level One or Level Two tax credit is as follows:
Submit preliminary application. An application for a City tax credit shall be submitted to the City's Planning, Community, and Economic Development Department no later than the date of acceptance for a detailed site plan by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), if applicable, or the submission of a building permit application to Prince George's County. The application shall specify which evaluation criteria are being addressed by the applicant, the estimated value of the completed improvements, and any additional information requested by the City. All plans associated with the detailed site plan or building permit shall be submitted with the application.
City staff review. Upon receipt and acceptance of a completed application, the City's Planning, Community, and Economic Development Department will refer a copy of the application to the Finance Department. City staff will provide an eligibility report to the City Council with respect to the application for a tax credit subsequent to the detailed site plan review by the City Council. For projects that do not require a detailed site plan, staff will review building permit plans and schedule the application for review by the City Council at a City Council work session.
City Council resolution. A City Council resolution must be approved to authorize the award of a tax credit. The approval will be contingent on all required terms of the revitalization tax credit program being met at the time of final application. If the Prince George's County Planning Board, the District Council, or any other government agency with authority changes the City-approved conditions for the detailed site plan after the resolution has been adopted, staff will review the changes and provide a supplemental report concerning the tax credit authorization that the City Council will rely upon with respect to determining whether it should reconsider the authorization.
Final application approval. Prior to final approval of the application for a City tax credit, documentation must be submitted to the City's Director of Finance, including a legal description of the property, proof of a properly issued use and occupancy permit applicable to eligible improvements, evidence of compliance with any City agreement or required certifications, copies of all leases to locally owned, nonfranchise businesses used as a basis for eligibility, certification of LEED status, and such other information or documentation as the Director may require. Upon final acceptance the City will issue a certificate to the property owner that confirms the parcel's tax credit status. A copy of the certificate will be sent to the Prince George's County Supervisor of Assessments who will determine the value of improvement.
If it finds that the purposes of this article will be equally well served by doing so, the Council may waive the requirement in § 175-12 that an application must be filed no later than the date of acceptance for a detailed site plan, if applicable, or a building permit application, and consider whether to grant a tax credit under the following circumstances for projects for which no appeal was filed by the City:
When the application is filed prior to the approval of the detailed site plan or issuance of the building permit; or
If a detailed site plan has been approved, but construction has not occurred, for the purpose of encouraging the construction; or
For an application that is timely filed, when the minimum requirements of § 175-10 for a Level One tax credit are not met. Level Two tax credit eligibility criteria may not be waived.
In granting a tax credit under this section, the Council may reduce the amount or duration of the credit set out in § 175-11.
In making application for a waiver, the applicant shall provide for consideration the information requested by the City's Planning, Community, and Economic Development staff.