[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Municipality of Kingston 2-1-1999
by Ord. No. 1999-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This program shall be known and identified as the "Kingston Home Buyers'
Incentive Program."
Unless it appears from the context that a different meaning is intended,
the following words shall have the following meanings in this chapter:
A person or persons listed as grantee in a deed of conveyance of
residential real estate with fair market consideration identified therein
and transfer tax paid thereon and, furthermore, also actually residing in
the acquired single-family home or within one unit of an acquired multifamily
unit.
A swimming facility owned by the Municipality of Kingston located
at Lathrop Street and Hamilton Avenue in Kingston, Pennsylvania.
A recreational facility owned by the Municipality of Kingston located
at Third Avenue, Kingston, Pennsylvania.
The Municipality of Kingston, a home rule government of Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania.
The Kingston Home Buyers' Incentive Program.
Real property consisting of a single-family home or a multifamily
dwelling.
The program shall have an effective commencement date of March 15, 1999.
The duration of this program is for three years from its effective date
unless terminated sooner by action of the municipality.
The amount of the funding to be provided by this program in each fiscal
year shall be as allocated and provided by the municipality by budgetary ordinance.
By March 15 of each year that this program is in effect, the Mayor shall advise
the members of Council of how much of this funding is to be allocated to the
following categories of this program: advertising and promotion; monetary
incentives; and recreation center and pool membership. This program shall
not be construed to vest any rights in prospective buyers in excess of those
allocations made by the municipality.
[Amended 12-4-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
The program will provide the following benefits to buyers of residential
housing within the Municipality of Kingston:
[Amended 12-4-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
The aforementioned home buyer benefits are provided subject to the following
terms and conditions:
A.Â
Recreation center membership.
(1)Â
Only an individual or individuals are eligible for this
benefit. Individuals not actually living in the property, business partnerships,
corporations and other such entities are not eligible.
(2)Â
Where more than one owner is set forth in the deed, only
the individual actually residing in the premises is eligible for the benefit.
If this person or these persons have children, a family membership shall be
provided.
(3)Â
The rules, regulations and conditions of a membership
in the Kingston Recreation Center bind the recipient or recipients of this
membership. This membership may be revoked upon the same conditions and terms
of other memberships in the Kingston Recreation Center.
B.Â
Municipal pool membership.
(1)Â
Only an individual or individuals are eligible for this
benefit. Individuals not actually living in the property, business partnerships,
corporations and other such entities are not eligible.
(2)Â
Where more than one owner is set forth in the deed, only
the individuals actually residing in the premises are eligible for the benefit.
If this person or these persons have children, a family membership shall be
provided.
(3)Â
The rules, regulations and conditions of a membership
in the Kingston Municipal Pool bind the recipient or recipients of this membership.
This membership may be revoked upon the same conditions and terms of other
memberships in the Kingston Municipal Pool.
(4)Â
This incentive program provides only one season's
membership. For those individuals with deeds recorded during the operating
season of the swimming pool, the recipients must elect whether they wish to
avail themselves of a membership for the current season or await the next
full operating season.
A.Â
Those individuals who wish to avail themselves of this
program must submit a request, in writing, to the Municipal Secretary or Administrator
within 30 days of recordation of their title deed. Requests for benefits shall
be considered in the order in which application is made. The municipality
shall not be responsible for payments of benefits under this program in excess
of the funding made by the municipality and the allocations of said funding
by the Administration. The Municipal Administrator and/or Secretary are hereby
authorized to promulgate forms and additional procedures to effectuate this
program.
B.Â
Precertification of eligibility for the
program may be accomplished by a prospective home purchaser upon submission
of a certification of need to the Municipal Administrator stating good and
compelling reasons for such precertification. The Administrator may, upon
good cause shown, precertify a home buyer for the program for a period of
no more than four months.
The administration of the Municipality of Kingston, in furtherance of
this program, may engage in publicity and other forms of promotion of the
Municipality of Kingston and is authorized to make expenditures to effectuate
these objectives.