HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-116B bur DONIIIOY.\o dlvioeA9BJiiaurir AE�ginlJo.
ORDINANCE NO0`1110
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 10
"FINANCE AND TAXATION" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
DENTON BY ADDING ARTICLE VII TO PROVIDE FOR ABATING OF THE INCREASE
IN THE ASSESSED VALUE OF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES FOR TAX
PURPOSES WHICH RESULT FROM APPROPRIATE REPAIRS AND RENOVATION TO
HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN THE DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL DISTRICT OF THE CITY
OF DENTON, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, Article 8, Section 1-F of the Texas Constitution and Section 11 24 of the
Texas Property Tax Code enable the City of Denton to exempt from taxation part or all of the
assessed value of certain historically significant sites in need of tax relief to encourage their
preservation, and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton finds such tax relief is needed to
encourage the preservation of historic structures and sites within the Downtown Commercial
District of the City of Denton, and
WHEREAS, the City Council also finds that such tax relief will provide economic
incentive to develop projects in historic buildings worthy of preservation, NOW, THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I That the "Finance and Taxation" Chapter of the Code of Ordinances of the
City of Denton, Texas, be and the same is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article VII
entitled "Tax Exemption for Historically Significant Sites," so that hereafter said article shall be
and read as follows
ARTICLE VII. TAX EXEMPTION FOR HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES
Sec 10-130 GRANTING OF PARTIAL EXEMPTION
Any property which is designated as a "historically significant site" pursuant to the terms
of this article and which is substantially rehabilitated as provided herein shall have abated
any increase in the assessed value for ad valorem tax purposes in excess of the assessed
value of the property for the tax year immediately prior to the renovation, for a period of
ten (10) years following the completion of the renovation Only the historic structure and
the land reasonably necessary for access to, and use of, the structure shall be subject to
the tax abatement The abatement period shall begin on the first day of the tax year
following completion of the rehabilitation project
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Sec 10-131 DESIGNATION OF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES
For the purpose of this article, all structures, residential and commercial, 50 years old or
older which are within the boundaries of the Downtown Commercial District as indicated
on Attachment "A", which is attached hereto and made a part hereof for all purposes, are
designated as historically significant sites in need of tax relief to encourage their
preservation
Sec 10-132 ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for a property tax abatement, a property must meet the following
requirements
The property must meet the requirements for designation as a historically
significant site in need of tax relief as defined in Sec 10-131 of this article
The property must meet all requirements for application, certification and
verification as set forth below
Sec 10-133 APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications for a historically significant site tax exemption pursuant to this article are to
be filed with the Preservation Officer (or such other city official designated by the City
Manager) of the City of Denton, who shall be the agent for the City of Denton for the
purposes of administering this article Each application must be signed by the owner of
the property, be acknowledged before a notary public and shall
A State the legal description of the property proposed for Certification,
B Include an affidavit by the owner stating the structure is 50 years old or older and
is located within the Downtown Commercial District,
C Include detailed plans and/or descriptions of the proposed work demonstrating
rehabilitation is in accordance with the current Property Appearance Guidelines
adopted by ordinance of the City Council,
D Include cost estimates indicating the repair or rehabilitation of the exterior of the
building will equal or exceed 25% of the most recent assessed ad valorem tax
valuation of the structure or $20,000, whichever is less Roof repair or
replacement may comprise no more than 50% of the minimum threshold amount
necessary to qualify for tax abatement,
E Include a projection of the estimated construction time and predicted completion
date of the historic repair or rehabilitation,
F Authorize the members of the Historic Landmark Commission, the City Manager
or designee, and elected officials to visit and inspect the property proposed for
Certification to verify that it is in need of substantial repair or rehabilitation and to
verify repair or rehabilitation,
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G Sign an agreement to submit an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness
to determine compliance with Property Appearance Guidelines for any exterior
modifications to the property for the duration of the period during which the tax
abatement is in effect,
H Include a tax certificate showing all taxes due upon the property have been paid,
and
I Provide any additional information to the Historic Landmark Commission which
the owner or Committee deems relevant or useful, such as the history of the
structure, access to the structure by the public, or any proposed changes in use of
the structure
Each application shall contain sufficient documentation confirming or supporting the
information submitted therein
Sec 10-134 CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Upon receipt of the sworn application, the Preservation Officer shall forward the
application to the Historic Landmark Commission for review The Historic Landmark
Commission shall review the proposed rehabilitation for conformance with the current
version of the Property Appearance Guidelines The Historic Landmark Commission
shall recommend to the City Council whether the structure shall be eligible for the tax
exemption The Commission may recommend approval of the application as submitted,
approval with conditions, or denial The Historic Landmark Commission shall review the
application within forty-five (45) days of its submittal to the Preservation Officer The
written recommendation of the Historic Landmark Commission shall be delivered to the
City Manager no more than ten (10) days after the Commission's decision is rendered If
the decision of the Commission is for approval with conditions, and the applicant concurs
with such conditions, the above ten (10) days for delivery will not commence until the
application is amended to comply with the conditions approved by the Commission
Upon receipt of the recommendation of the Historic Landmark Commission, the City
Manager shall, within a reasonable time, place the matter upon the City Council Agenda
for determination of eligibility In determining eligibility, the City Council shall first
determine that all the requirements of this article have been met and that only the historic
structure and the land reasonably necessary for access to, and use thereof, is to be
provided favorable tax relief as provided in Section 10-130 of this article If eligibility is
determined, the Council shall authorize the City Manager to execute a tax exemption
certificate upon verification of completion of repairs or renovation If required by the
Denton County Appraisal District, the City Manager or designee shall provide annually a
list of structures eligible for tax exemption under this article
Sec 10-135 VERIFICATION PROCESS
Upon completion of the repair or rehabilitation, the Certified applicant shall submit to the
Preservation Officer a sworn statement of completion acknowledging that the structure
has been substantially repaired or rehabilitated in accordance with the plan approved by
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the City Council Applicant must also present documentation verifying that the cost of
repair or rehabilitation meets or exceeds the amounts established in Sec 10-133 of this
article The Preservation Officer or designee, upon receipt of the sworn statement of
completion, but no later than thirty (30) days thereafter, shall make an investigation of the
property and shall approve or disapprove the fact that the property has been completed as
required for Certification If the repair or renovation deviates in any way from the
construction plan approved by Council, the Historic Landmark Commission shall
determine whether or not the modifications are in accordance with the Property
Appearance Guidelines If verification of completion shall be deemed unfavorable, the
Certified Applicant shall be required to complete or correct the repair or rehabilitation in
order to obtain the tax exemption provided by this article or appeal the Commission's
decision to the City Council When the verification of completion receives a favorable
review by the Preservation Officer, or the Commission or the Council, whichever is
applicable, the Preservation Officer shall notify the City Manager in writing of
compliance Thereafter, the City Manager shall execute a tax exemption certificate and
forward same to the Denton County Appraisal District
Sec 10-136 PROPERTY APPEARANCE GUIDELINES
The Property Appearance Guidelines on file in the office of the Preservation Officer,
the Planning and Community Development Department and such other office as the City
Manager may designate, are hereby approved and incorporated herein and made a part
hereof for all purposes The Property Appearance Guidelines shall be periodically
reviewed by the Historical Landmark Commission and desired changes by the
Commission to such guidelines shall be recommended to the City Council Any changes
to the Property Appearance Guidelines shall not be effective until such changes are
approved by the City Council The City Council may direct the City Manager or the
Preservation Officer to propose certain changes to the Property Appearance Guidelines
but such changes shall not be adopted by City Council without a recommendation from
the Historic Landmark Commission
Sec 10-137 ALTERATION OR DESTRUCTION
(A) During the exemption period, if the Preservation Officer or a member of the
Historic Landmark Commission has reason to believe that an exempted structure has
been altered or totally or partially destroyed by the willful act or negligence of the owner
or his representative, the Preservation Officer shall immediately cause the matter to be
scheduled for the earliest possible consideration by the City Council If, after giving
notice and hearing to the owner, the City Council determines that the exempted structure
has been totally or partially destroyed or altered by the willful act or negligence of the
owner or his representative, the owner shall immediately repay to the City all of the tax
revenues that were not paid because of the exemption plus interest calculated at an annual
rate of seven percent (7%)
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($) Where an exempted structure is totally or partially destroyed or altered by other
than the willful act or negligence of the owner or his representative, the owner shall,
whenever feasible, request a building permit to reconstruct the historically significant site
in accordance with plans and specifications (plans) that comply with the Property
Appearance Guidelines and building and development codes of the City of Denton The
cost of Renovation is hereby deemed feasible when destruction or alteration is fifty
percent (50%) or less of the assessed ad valorem tax value of the building without
deduction for the abatement hereunder The plans for the structure must be approved by
the Preservation Officer or designee If there is any question that the plans do not comply
with the Property Appearance Guidelines the Historic Landmark Commission shall
determine if such plans are in compliance with such guidelines A decision by the
Commission, denying the issuance of the building permit for failure of the plans to
comply with the Property Appearance Guidelines, may be appealed by the owner to the
City Council If rebuilding activities are not completed within one (1) year of the damage
to the structure, the repayment of the tax revenues not paid because of the exemption
shall be required as set forth in subsection (a) above, unless City Council grants an
extension for such permits
(C) If the owner of a damaged historic structure exempted under this Article applies
for a demolition permit, the building official shall follow the regulations contained in
Sec 35-220 (Demolition or removal of historic landmarks) of the Zoning Chapter, as
amended, in processing such permit In cases where a demolition permit is issued by the
City because renovation is not feasible, repayment of tax revenue is not required
(D) If the owner of a historic structure which is damaged by a willful or negligent act
of the owner or his representative has such structure demolished or such structure is not
repaired within one (1) year of the damage, such owner will not be eligible for future
abatement unless a revised application for such structure is approved by the City Council
Sec 10-138 TRANSFERABILITY TO FUTURE OWNER(S)
If the tax exemption certificate executed by the City Manager per Sec 10-135 is timely
recorded by the Owner of the structure in the Deed Records of Denton County with the
approved application, the tax exemption authorized above shall constitute a covenant
running with the land for the ten (10) year period provided in this article Should the
owner of the structure ever cease to comply with the terms of the application and of this
article during such ten (10) year period, this abatement may be revoked for the years
remaining within such ten (10) year period, upon the finding of such mcomphance by the
City Council, after giving notice and hearing to the owner The City Manager or his
designee shall advise the Chief Appraiser of the Denton County Appraisal District of the
revocation of the abatement and shall file an appropriate document in the Deed Records
of Denton County revoking the tax exemption
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Sec 10-139 AUTHORITY OF CHIEF APPRAISER
The chief appraiser for the county appraisal district shall determine that portion of land
which is reasonably necessary for access to and use of historic structures for which
applications for exemptions are granted and shall assess for taxation all such excess land
in the same equal and uniform manner as all other taxable properties in the City It shall
be in the discretion of the chief appraiser as to whether or not owners of historically
significant structures under this article must file an application with such appraiser's
office annually to obtain the exemption granted above or if one application can be
executed by the owner of the historically significant structure to obtain the ten (10) year
historic exemption
Sec 10-140 USE IN CONDUCTION WITH OTHER TAX INCENTIVES
At the discretion of City Council, the tax abatement provided in this article may be used
in conjunction with tax abatements for Historic Landmark zoning as provided in Article
VI Chapter 10 of the Denton City Code The applicant must meet all requirements for
each tax abatement separately in order to be considered for both abatements
This tax abatement may be used in conjunction with other types of abatements that may
be developed in the future, unless otherwise prohibited by statute or by ordinance
Sec 10-141 DEFI TTIONS
Should the exact meaning of terms contained in this article be in dispute, the meaning of
such terms as utilized in the interpretation or definition of such terms in Article V
"Historic Landmark Preservation and Historic Districts" of Chapter 35 (Zoning) of the
City Code, as amended, or in this Chapter shall control
SECTION II That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or
word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by
any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas hereby declares it
would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity
SECTION III That save and except as amended hereby, all the provisions, sections,
subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances
shall remain in full force and effect
SECTION IV That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the
date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this
ordinance to be published twice in the Denton Record -Chronicle, a daily newspaper published in
the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage
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PASSED AND APPROVED this the t!lday of dlr/ G 1998
JACEWLLER, MAYOR
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
A
AP OVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
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