Town of Seneca Falls, NY Historic Property Exemption

Pursuant to the authority granted by § 444-a of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, properties designated individually as historic landmarks or that are classified as historic, and therefore contribute to the character of the Seneca Falls Human Heritage Historic District, shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of any increase in value attributable to such alteration or rehabilitation completed in accordance with Chapter 173, Historic Preservation, of the Code of the Town of Seneca Falls. Such alteration or rehabilitation shall have been made for means of historic preservation and must meet guidelines and review standards as established in Chapter 173. Additionally, such improvements shall be exempt from special ad valorem levies but shall be liable for special assessments.

The historic property shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of any increase in value attributable to such alteration or rehabilitation pursuant to the following schedule:

Year	Exemption
1	100%
2	100%
3	100%
4	100%
5	100%
6	80%
7	60%
8	40%
9	20%
10	0%

No such exemption shall be granted for such alterations or rehabilitations unless:

(1)

Such property has been designated as a landmark or is a property classified as historic, and therefore contributes to the character of the Seneca Falls Human Heritage Historic District established in Chapter 173 of the Code of the Town of Seneca Falls as adopted pursuant to §§ 96-a and 119-dd of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York.

(2)

Alteration or rehabilitation must be for the purpose of historic preservation. For purposes of qualifying for a real property tax exemption pursuant to this article, alterations and rehabilitations shall be deemed to be for the purpose of historic preservation if:

(a)

Only exterior work is involved; or

(b)

At least 5% of the total cost of the project is directly attributable to exterior work and/or work that enhances the structural stability or structural integrity of the property; or

(c)

Interior work that is approved under 36 CFR, Part 67, Historic Preservation Certifications Pursuant to Sec. 48(g) and Sec. 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; or

(d)

Any work, be it exterior, interior or structural, is approved under 36 CFR Part 67, Historic Preservation Certifications Pursuant to Sec. 48(g) and Sec. 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; or

(e)

The project returns to use a building that has not been used for a permissible purpose under Chapter 300, Zoning, for a continuous period of at least two years.

(3)

Such alteration or rehabilitation of historic property meets guidelines and review standards established in Chapter 173 of the Code of the Town of Seneca Falls.

(4)

The Heritage Preservation Commission issues a certificate of appropriateness for such alterations or rehabilitation of historic property, or approval is rendered as noted in Subsection B(2)(d), prior to commencement of work.

(5)

Such alterations or rehabilitations are commenced subsequent to the enactment of this article.

Such exemption shall be granted only by application of the owner or owners of such historic real property on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance. The application shall be filed with the Assessor on or before the appropriate taxable status date of the Town.

Such exemption shall be granted where the Assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this section. The Assessor shall approve such application and such property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies as herein provided commencing with the assessment roll prepared on the basis of the taxable status date referred to in Subsection C. The assessed value of any exemption granted pursuant to this article shall be entered by the Assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.

Such exemption shall be applicable only to those alterations or rehabilitations which would otherwise result in an increase in the assessed valuation of the real property but which consist of an historic preservation to an existing building structure.