2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 5 - Assessment Procedure › Title 4-A - Assessment and Taxation of Watershed Conservation Easements and Watershed Agricultural Easements Acquired by or on Behalf of the City of New York For › 586 - Assessment of Watershed Conservation Easements and Watershed Agricultural Easements.

§  586.  Assessment  of watershed conservation easements and watershed
agricultural easements. 1. Upon acquisition of a watershed  conservation
easement or a watershed agricultural easement, there shall be determined
an allocation factor applicable to each parcel subject to such easement.
The  allocation  factor shall be the portion of the value of each parcel
which  the  easement  represents,  expressed  as  a   percentage.   This
percentage  shall  be  a  fraction,  the  numerator of which is the fair
market value of  the  easement  as  finally  determined  by  the  city's
independent  appraisal  and  the denominator of which is the fair market
value of the land subject to the easement, exclusive of improvements and
unencumbered by the  easement,  as  finally  determined  in  the  city's
independent  appraisal.  The  city  shall  forthwith  certify  each such
allocation factor to the appropriate assessing unit and to the owner  of
the land subject to the easement. The city shall supply to the assessing
unit  and the commissioner the following information used in conjunction
with the acquisition of the easement:
(a) the fair market value of the easement as finally determined in the
city's independent appraisal;
(b) the fair  market  value  of  the  land  subject  to  the  easement
exclusive  of  improvements  and unencumbered by the easement as finally
determined in the city's independent appraisal;
(c) the fair market value of each improvement, on the land subject  to
the easement, as finally determined by the city's independent appraisal;
(d) the name and address of the owner;
(e)   the  location  of  the  parcel  including  the  tax  map  parcel
designation;
(f) the date the easement was acquired; and
(g) such other information as the assessor  may  subsequently  require
for assessment purposes.
2.  The  assessment  of a watershed conservation easement or watershed
agricultural easement shall be determined by multiplying the  allocation
factor  for that easement as computed in subdivision one of this section
by the assessment determined by the assessor for  the  land  subject  to
such  easement  exclusive of the improvements thereon. After subtracting
the assessment for each watershed  conservation  easement  or  watershed
agricultural  easement from the parcel's total assessment, the remaining
assessment shall be entered on the assessment roll  as  taxable  to  the
owner of the property. Each watershed conservation easement or watershed
agricultural  easement, whether it encumbers the entire parcel or only a
portion thereof, shall be entered as a separate parcel  on  the  taxable
portion  of the assessment roll and shall be assessed in the name of the
city of New York.
3. Not later than twenty days prior to the date provided  by  law  for
the completion of the tentative assessment roll in any assessing unit in
which   watershed   conservation  easements  or  watershed  agricultural
easements are subject to taxation, but in no event any earlier than  the
taxable status date for such roll, the assessor shall notify the city of
the  amount  of  the assessments of such easements and the amount of the
assessments of the lands subject to such easements. In  the  case  of  a
village  which  has enacted a local law as provided in subdivision three
of section fourteen hundred two of this  chapter,  the  town  or  county
assessor,  who  prepared  a  copy  of the applicable part of the town or
county assessment roll for village tax purposes, shall also  notify  the
city  of  the amount of the assessments of such easements and the amount
of the assessments of the lands subject to such easements located within
the village.
4. The city and the owner of the  burdened  parcel  shall  each  be  a
person  aggrieved by the assessment of the parcel or parcels burdened by

watershed conservation easements or watershed agricultural easements for
the purpose of seeking administrative and/or  judicial  review  of  such
assessments. Whenever the city or property owner seeks administrative or
judicial  review of the assessment of the land subject to such easement,
the party seeking review shall  provide  a  copy  of  the  complaint  or
petition  to  the  other party with an interest in the parcel subject to
the easement within twenty days of the filing  of  a  complaint  or  the
service of a petition. The noncomplaining party (owner or city) shall be
deemed  a  party  to  the proceeding with full rights to participate and
bound by the determination of such proceeding.
5.  (a)  Where  a  watershed  conservation  easement  or  agricultural
conservation easement is acquired:
(i)  On  a  parcel  of  property  which is otherwise fully exempt from
taxation, the assessor shall determine the taxable assessed value of the
easement by multiplying the allocation  factor  by  the  total  assessed
value of the land; or
(ii)  On a parcel of property which is partially exempt from taxation,
the assessor shall determine the taxable assessed value of the  easement
by  multiplying the allocation factor by the total assessed value of the
land; or
(iii) On a parcel of property which is partially exempt from taxation,
the taxable assessed value of the burdened parcel shall be calculated by
pro-rating  the  partial  exemption  in  the  same  proportion  as   the
allocation factor. The owner of the burdened parcel shall be entitled to
the pro-rated portion of the exemption.
(b)  The  provisions  of this subdivision shall not apply to watershed
agricultural easements as described in subdivision one of  section  five
hundred  eighty-five  of  this  title  or  to  parcels  burdened by such
easements.
6.  Whenever  a   watershed   conservation   easement   or   watershed
agricultural  easement encumbers a parcel containing improvements, those
improvements shall be separately assessed  in  the  name  of  the  owner
thereof.