[Adopted 3-2-2004 by Ord. No. 04-05]
The Township of Montclair, pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:21-1 et seq., makes known its intention to utilize the tax exemption
and abatement provision enacted by the New Jersey Legislature to authorize
five-year exemptions and abatements for dwellings in the Pine Street
redevelopment area.
Terms used as defined terms herein shall have
the meaning assigned to such terms at N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3 or as set
forth below:
A tax agreement entered into between a developer and the
Township under the Five-Year Exemption and Abatement Law, including
all amendments and supplements thereto.
The information required to be submitted by a developer seeking an exemption and/or abatement, and conforming to the requirements of § 309-14 hereof.
The Tax Assessor of the Township.
An audit prepared by a certified public accountant presenting
the revenues, operating expenses and fund balances relating to a project.
The chief financial officer of the Township.
The Township official responsible for approving construction
permits for any property.
The person or entity who is seeking or receiving an exemption
and/or abatement, including an assignee in any case where the Township
Council has approved the assignment thereof.
The Five-Year Exemption and Abatement Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1
et seq.), as amended and supplemented.
The person or persons, if any, designated by the Township
Council to conduct the development review required by this article.
The real property and the improvements thereon which are
the subject of an agreement and are located within an area in need
of rehabilitation or redevelopment.
The real property and the improvements subject to an agreement.
The Tax Collector of the Township.
The Township of Montclair, in the County of Essex, New Jersey.
The attorney-at-law appointed by the Township to serve as
the municipal attorney.
The Clerk of the Township.
The Township Council of the Township of Montclair.
The Manager of the Township.
Developers of property located in an area in
the Pine Street redevelopment area in the Township of Montclair may
avail themselves of the opportunity to receive a five-year tax exemption
and/or abatement as provided in this article as follows:
No exemption or abatement shall be granted nor
any agreement considered unless the developer shall first have filed
an original and seven copies of an application with the Township Assessor
with the application fee.
A.
Application fee. No application for an exemption and/or
abatement submitted pursuant to this article shall be accepted unless
it is accompanied by full payment of the required application fee.
The fee shall be in the amount of $500. These fees shall be received
as compensation for the legal review and related work of the Township's
departments, agencies, officials, agents and employees in reviewing
the application. All checks shall be made payable to the Township
of Montclair. This application fee shall be nonrefundable and may
be waived by a resolution of the Township Council.
B.
Contents of application. At a minimum, application
for an exemption and/or abatement shall provide the Township Council
with the following information:
(1)
A general description of a project for which exemption
and/or abatement is sought, a finding that the project accords with
the applicable redevelopment plan and Master Plan of the Township
and an estimated schedule of completion for the project;
(2)
A legal description of all real estate necessary for
the project;
(3)
Plans, drawings and other documents as may be required
by the governing body to demonstrate the structure and design of the
project;
(4)
A statement of the reasons for seeking an exemption
and/or abatement on the project, and a description of the benefits
to be realized by the developer if an exemption and/or abatement is
granted;
(5)
Estimates of the cost of completing the project;
(6)
A statement showing the real property taxes currently
being assessed at the project site; estimated tax payments that would
be made annually by the developer on the project during the period
of the agreement; and estimated tax payments that would be made by
the developer on the project during the first full year following
the termination of the agreement;
(7)
A description of the number and types of dwelling
units to be provided; a description of the common elements or general
common elements; and a statement of the proposed initial rentals of
the dwelling units according to type; and any rental lease or resale
restrictions that will apply to dwellings units in regard to low-
and moderate-income housing;
(8)
Such other pertinent information as the Township Manager
may require.
A.
All exemptions and abatements shall be approved by ordinance of the Township Council authorizing an agreement for tax exemption and/or tax abatement for a project for a period of five years. Notwithstanding § 309-14B above, the Township Council is authorized to waive any of the application requirements set forth herein, if the Township Manager determines that, due to the nature of the project, such information is not available or not necessary to fulfill the purposes of this article. The Township Council may grant such waivers under this section by resolution and such resolution shall be filed with the application.
B.
Distribution of application. Upon receipt of any application,
the Assessor shall forward one copy of the application to the Township
Manager, one copy to the Planning Director, one copy to the Chief
Financial Officer, one copy to the Tax Collector, one copy to the
Township Council and two copies to the Township Attorney. The original
of the application shall be retained by the Assessor and shall be
placed on permanent file within that office.
C.
Development review. Upon receipt of an application,
the Planning Director shall conduct a complete review of the proposed
project. Such review shall consider the property and suitability of
the description(s), plan(s) and estimate(s) submitted, the degree
to which the project complies with the Township's developmental goals
as expressed in the applicable rehabilitation plan, and the degree
of economic necessity for an exemption or abatement. Based on the
review, the Planning Director shall submit a recommendation as to
the approval or disapproval of the application to the Township Attorney.
Such recommendation shall include any changes to the project as may
be deemed necessary by the Planning Director, as well as a detailed
explanation as to any analysis conducted in arriving at the recommendation.
D.
Financial review.
(1)
Upon receipt of an application, the Chief Financial
Officer shall conduct a financial review of the application, including
a cost and benefit analysis of the proposed project. In addition,
the Chief Financial Officer shall obtain written verification of the
information set forth in the application. This shall be achieved by
requests for certifications, which shall include the following:
(a)
Certification of the Assessor as to the taxes
levied on the real property included within the project in both the
year in which the application was filed and the immediately preceeding
year.
(b)
Certification of the Tax Collector as to the
current status of payments due for property taxes and/or municipal
liens of any type arising from real property included within the project.
(c)
Certification as to the status of payments due
for water and/or sewer services provided to the real property.
(2)
Based upon the review, the Chief Financial Officer
shall submit a recommendation as to the approval or disapproval of
the application to the Township Attorney. Such recommendation shall
include a detailed explanation as to the analysis conducted in arriving
at the recommendation.
E.
Legal review.
(1)
Based upon receipt of an application, the Township
Attorney shall conduct a review as to the form and legality of the
application. In addition, the Township Attorney shall obtain written
certifications from Township officials as necessary to substantiate
the items contained within the application.
(2)
The Township Attorney shall also review those agreements
then in force and effect to determine the extent to which each party
to the application is a party to any other agreement.
(3)
The Township Attorney shall make a determination as
to the propriety of the application. Applications shall be deemed
proper in those cases where they are presented in the proper form,
satisfy the requirements of this article and all other applicable
statutes and ordinances, and for which no delinquency has been found
in any of the payments due to the Township as certified by those officials
indicated earlier in this section.
(4)
In those cases where an application is deemed proper,
the Township Attorney shall prepare an ordinance in the form necessary
to authorize the exemption or abatement and shall prepare the form
of the agreement to be submitted for consideration by the Township
Council. All such agreements shall be in the form filed with the Township
Clerk at the time of adoption of this article. The ordinance shall
be signed by the Township Attorney as to form and legality and submitted,
together with the form of the agreement, the original application,
the certifications, and the recommendation of the Chief Financial
Officer and the Planning Director, to the Township Manager for his/her
consideration.
(5)
In those cases where an application is deemed improper,
the Township Attorney shall prepare correspondence outlining those
aspects of the application found to be deficient and shall forward
that correspondence, together with the original application, the certifications,
and the recommendation of the Chief Financial Officer and the Planning
Director, to the Township Manager for his consideration.
F.
Township Manager review.
(1)
Upon receipt of an application and recommendations
from the Township Attorney, the Township Manager shall determine the
action to be taken in regard to that application. When the application
has been deemed proper by the Township Attorney, the Township Manager
shall determine whether to recommend the adoption of the authorizing
ordinance and its attachments to the Township Council or to recommend
the rejection of the application as not being in the best interests
of the Township. Where the application has been deemed improper by
the Township Attorney, the Township Manager shall determine whether
the deficiencies can be remedied and, if so, may direct the developer
and/or the appropriate municipal official as to the actions required.
If the deficiencies cannot be remedied or if the application is deemed
not in the best interests of the Township, the Township Manager may
recommend the rejection of the application without condition.
(2)
In those cases where the Township Manager affords
the developer the opportunity to remedy specific deficiencies, the
application may be reconsidered after correction by submission to
the Assessor of the corrected application, after which the process
outlined in this article shall be followed again. No fee shall be
charged for consideration of a resubmitted application.
(3)
In those cases where the Township Manager has recommended
rejection of an application without condition and where such action
has been ratified by the Township Council, the application may only
be reconsidered by reapplication to the Assessor, which application
shall be treated in its entirety as a new application, and for which
an application fee shall be charged.
(4)
The recommendation of the Township Manager to the
Township Council, whether for acceptance or rejection, shall occur
within 30 calendar days after the date of the receipt of a complete
application.
Each project which has been approved for an
exemption or abatement shall be evidenced by a tax agreement between
the Township of Montclair and the developer. The agreement shall be
in a form approved by the Township and shall contain the representations
that are required by this article, together with such other information
required by the Township Attorney, and shall be on file in the office
of the Assessor. The agreement shall provide for the developer to
make payments to the municipality in lieu of full property tax payments
of an annual amount to be computed pursuant to the formula set forth
in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10(c).
A.
Form of agreement. All agreements for an exemption
and/or abatement shall be in the form appropriate to the nature of
the proposed project. Such agreements shall at a minimum set forth
the identification of the affected property, the nature and magnitude
of the improvements to be constructed thereon, the consideration to
be paid to the Township and the conditions thereon, the duration of
the agreement and the grounds for its termination. The agreement shall
in all cases further provide that any change made in the ownership
of the project or which would materially change the terms of the agreement
shall under the agreement be void unless approved by the Township
Council by ordinance. Agreements shall require timely payment of all
municipal taxes, fees and charges arising out of the agreement or
in any way arising out of the affected property. The agreement shall
provide that the failure to comply with the payment requirements or
with any material condition of the agreement shall permit the Township
to unilaterally terminate the agreement and/or to exercise such other
remedies as may be provided by statute, this article or the agreement.
B.
Execution of agreement. Upon authorization by the
Township Council, it shall be the responsibility of the Township Clerk
to insure that the agreement is fully executed. No agreement shall
be considered to be in force and effect unless and until it has been
signed by the developer and the Mayor, after which it shall be dated
and certified by the Township Clerk by her/his signature and the affixing
of the Township seal.
C.
Distribution of executed agreements. Once an agreement
has been fully executed, the Township Clerk shall be responsible for
distributing executed copies thereof to the developer, the Assessor,
the Construction Code Official, the Township Manager and the Township
Attorney. The Township Clerk shall retain one executed copy which
shall be placed on permanent file within her/his office, where it
shall be available for examination by the public during regular business
hours. Additionally, the Township Clerk shall also file a copy with
the Director of the Division of Local Government Services within the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
After the completion of construction and the
issuance of a final certificate of occupancy, the project shall be
maintained and operated consistent with the terms of the agreement
until its termination. Throughout the term of the agreement it shall
be administered according to the procedures set forth as follows:
A.
Billing and payment in lieu of taxes.
(1)
Throughout the term of the agreement, the Tax Collector
shall bill the developer each quarter. Such bills shall reflect the
payments in lieu of taxes required under the agreement.
(2)
Regardless of the date of issuance, all such bills
shall be deemed to have been issued on the first day of each calendar
quarter and to be due and payable within 30 calendar days thereafter.
(3)
All payments due to the Township arising out of the
agreement which are not paid as of the date due shall be subject to
the same charges for penalties and interest as arrears then in effect
for nonpayment of property taxes.
(4)
The Tax Collector shall accept all payments made pursuant
to such billings and shall maintain books of account as to each agreement.
Except as otherwise required by law, the Tax Collector shall apply
payments received to amounts due in the following order: amounts due
for penalties and interest for payments in lieu of taxes; then, amounts
due for the principal of payments in lieu of taxes. The developer
shall be responsible to make timely payments directly to the Tax Collector.
B.
Annual audits. Where required by law or where required
by the agreement, the developer shall submit an annual audit prepared
by a certified public accountant of the financial performance of the
project. Such audit shall be submitted each year within 90 days after
the end of the fiscal year of the project to the Assessor with a simultaneous
copy to the Township Clerk for archival purposes. The Assessor shall
review each audit upon submission and make a determination as to any
adjustment required in the payment in lieu of taxes.
C.
Noncompliance. During the term of the agreement, if
the developer fails to comply with the requirements for submission
of audits and/or timely payments of amounts due, the Tax Collector
shall be responsible for enforcing the terms of the agreement through
the following procedure. Such procedure shall not be the sole remedy
permitted to the Township, but rather shall be used in addition to
such other remedies as may be permitted under law and by the terms
of the agreement.
(1)
In the case where any payment due to the Township
pursuant to the agreement, whether arising from property taxes or
payments in lieu of taxes, is in arrears for a period of six months
or more, the Tax Collector shall notify the developer that, unless
the total amount due including penalties and interest and subsequent
charges are brought to a current status within a period of 30 days
from the date of the notification, the agreement shall be rescinded.
If the developer fails to comply with such notice, the Tax Collector
shall make recommendation to the Township Attorney.
(2)
In the event of any nonpayment as outlined above,
in addition to the remedies outlined therein, the developer in signing
the agreement agrees that the Township shall have the same rights
of liens and foreclosure against the project as though the nonpayment
was for property taxes. The Township may exercise such rights by following
the same steps as set forth in law for the collection of delinquent
property taxes.
(3)
In the case where any audit required to be submitted
pursuant to the agreement is delinquent for a period of three months
or more from the date due, the Assessor shall notify the developer
that unless the audit is submitted in proper form within 30 days from
the date or notification, the agreement shall be rescinded. If the
developer fails to comply with the requirements of the notice, the
Assessor shall recommend the Township Attorney prepare an ordinance
rescinding the agreement, and after its adoption shall thereafter
treat the project as fully taxable.
In addition to the payments required in lieu of property taxes pursuant to § 309-17 of this article, the developer or owner of property which has qualified for an exemption and/or abatement shall be liable for all real estate taxes assessed and levied against the land on which the exempt and/or abated improvements are located.
No exemption and/or abatement shall be granted
pursuant to this article with respect to any property for which real
estate taxes or other municipal charges are delinquent or remain unpaid,
or for which penalties and interest for nonpayment of taxes are due.
The payment in lieu of property taxes shall be made in quarterly installments according to the same schedule as real property taxes are due and payable. Failure to make these payments shall result in the termination of the exemption and/or abatement. In addition to the remedy set forth herein, the payment authorized by § 309-17 of this article shall be enforced in the same manner as is provided for in real property taxes.
The exemption and abatement of real property
taxes provided pursuant to this article shall apply to property taxes
levied for municipal purposes, school purposes, county/government
purposes, and for the purposes of funding any other property tax exemptions
or abatements.
All projects subject to tax agreements as provided
herein shall be subject to all applicable federal, state and local
laws and regulations on pollution control, worker safety, discrimination
in employment, housing provision, zoning, planning and building code
requirements.
The added assessment provisions of Section 3
of P.L. 1941, c. 397 (c. 54:4-63.3) and the omitted assessment provisions
of Section 9 P.L. 1947, c. 413 (c. 54:4-63.20) and Section 1 of P.L.
1968, c. 184 (c. 54:63-33) shall not be applicable to any improvements
that are exempt from taxation under this article.
Any property which is granted an exemption and/or
abatement pursuant to this article shall be subject to an inspection
by the Township on an annual basis to ensure that the property is
in compliance with all ordinances, regulations, and safety codes of
the Township. Any property which is determined to be in violation
of any ordinance, regulation, and/or safety code of the Township shall
be subject to any penalties and fines or any other remedial action
permitted by state law.
If any provision of this article is legally
invalid or is hereafter found to be legally invalid, the remainder
of the article shall remain in full force and effect.
Nothing contained in this article shall be so
construed as to limit or deprive the Township of any rights or privileges
which are now or in the future conferred on the Township by state
law or federal statute.
All prior ordinances or parts of prior ordinances
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
This article shall take effect upon final passage
and publication and in accordance with the laws of the state.
