[Adopted 11-7-2013 by L.L. No. 19-2013]
Pursuant to § 470 of the Real Property Tax Law of
the State of New York, the Town Board of the Town of Babylon may grant
a real property tax exemption for improvements to real property meeting
LEED certification standards for green buildings as provided in this
article, the green building initiative's green globes rating system,
the American National Standards Institute, or substantially equivalent
standards for certification using a similar program for green buildings
as determined by the Town.
The purpose of this legislation is to exercise this local power
by granting real property tax exemptions to property owners who make
improvements to real property that meet or exceed LEED certification
standards or other equivalent certification standards as determined
by the Town.
Construction of improvements to real property initiated on or
after the first day of January, 2013, meeting LEED certification standards
for green buildings as provided in this section, the green building
initiative's green globes rating system, the American National Standards
Institute, or substantially equivalent standards for certification
using a similar program for green buildings shall be exempt from taxation
to the extent provided by this article.
A.
Real property
which is certified under a LEED certification standard for the categories
of certified silver, gold or platinum as meeting green building standards,
as determined by a LEED-accredited professional, when found acceptable
to the Assessor, shall be exempt as provided below for the respective
percentages, provided that a copy of the LEED certification for a
qualified category is filed with the Town Assessor's Office and is
approved by the Assessor as meeting the requirements of this article:
|
LEED Exemption
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Year
|
Certified/ Silver
|
Gold
|
Platinum
|
|
1
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
2
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
3
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
4
|
80%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
5
|
60%
|
80%
|
100%
|
|
6
|
40%
|
60%
|
100%
|
|
7
|
20%
|
40%
|
80%
|
|
8
|
0%
|
20%
|
60%
|
|
9
|
0%
|
0%
|
40%
|
|
10
|
0%
|
0%
|
20%
|
B.
Such exemption shall be to the extent of any increase in assessed
value resulting from the construction or reconstruction of a property
meeting LEED certification.
B.
For the purpose of this article, the term "construction of improvements"
shall not include ordinary maintenance and repairs.
C.
Application for such exemption must be made by the owner to the Assessor.
D.
If the Assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an
exemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the application,
and such real property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation as
provided in this article, commencing with the assessment roll prepared
after the taxable status date. The assessed value of any exemption
granted pursuant to this section 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.
The maximum exemption amount for the exemption provided by this
article shall be $250,000 of increased market value of the qualifying
construction improvements.
This article shall take effect immediately upon filing in the
office of the Secretary of State of New York.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or
other part of this article shall for any reason be adjudged by any
court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the
remainder of this article, and it shall be construed to have been
the legislative intent to enact this article without such unconstitutional
or invalid parts therein.
