1987-1891649L
NO
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 22 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO
PROVIDE FOR A PARTIAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR DESIGNATED HISTORIC SITES
FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS, PROVIDING FOR THE RECAPTURE OF TAXES
IN SPECIFIED CASES, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I That Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinances be
amended by adding a new Article IV to read as follows
ARTICLE IV
TAX EXEMPTION OF DESIGNATED HISTORIC SITES
Sec 22-50 Purpose
This article is enacted for the purpose of encouraging the
preservation of lndlvldually designated historic sztes by pro-
riding for a reductxon o£ the C~ty's property tax to qualifying
properties
Sec 22-51 Definitions
"Designated historic site" shall mean any structure, and the
land necessary for access to and use of the structure, which is
(a) designated as a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark by the
Texas Historical Commzsslon, or
(b) ~ndlvldually designated as an "h~stor~c landmark" in
accordance with artxcle 28A of Appendix B-Zoning of the
Code of Ordinances For purposes of th~s article, a
"designated historic site" shall not ~nclude any structure
or land that xs a hzstorxc landmark solely because of its
inclusion in an h~storlc dlstrlct, as provided for in
article 28A
Sec 22-S2 Partial Tax Exemption of Designated Historic S~tes
(a) Any property which is a designated historic s~te on the
first day of January for any year beg~nnzng wxth 1989 and
extending to and xncludlng 1998, shall be exempt from real
property ad valorem taxes levied by the City of Denton to
the extent of fxfty (50%) percent of the assessed value
of the deszgnated historic site The exemption provided
for herein shall apply for a maxzmum of ten (10)
successxve years, beginning with first year the property
zs entitled to the exemption durxng the spec~fxed years
and continuing and including each and every year of the
nine (9) successive years thereafter during which the
property ~s a designated h~storlcal s~te on the f~rst day
of January of those n~ne (9) years
(b) Immediately after the first day of January of each year,
the Executive Director of Planning and Community Develop-
ment shall notlfy the chief appraiser of the Denton County
Appraisal Dlstrlct of all deslgnated h~storlcal sltes that
qualify for the tax exemption for that year To receive
the exemption provided herein, a person claiming the
exemption must apply for the exemption by f~l~ng an
application form with the chief appraiser of the Denton
County Appraisal D~strict as provided for by State law
Sec 22-53 Recapture of Taxes
(a) If any designated h~storlc s~te ~s, w~th~n twenty-f~ve
(25) years from any year in which the property received a
tax exemption under this article
1) removed as a designated h~storlc s~te by ordinance,
upon the request of the owner, or
2) removed as a designated h~storlc s~te by ordlnance,
after ~t has been determined to have been totally or
part~ally destroyed or altered by the wlllful or
negligent act of the owner or the owner's agent, ~n
v~olat~on of article 28A,
an additional tax ~s ~mposed, on the effective date of
the ordlnance providing for its removal as a designated
historic slte, equal to the difference between the City
taxes ~mposed for each year an exemption was made under
th~s article, and the taxes that would have been imposed
had the exemption not been made, plus interest on the
additional amount at an annual rate of seven (7%) per-
cent, calculated from the dates on which the additional
taxes would have become due ~f not exempted
(b) If, ~n provld~ng for the removal of a property as a
designated h~storlc s~te because of ~ts being partially
or totally destroyed or altered, as provided above, the
City Council, after receiving the determination of the
H~storlc Landmark Commission and Planning and Zoning
Commission, determines, after public hearing for which
the owner shall be g~ven notice, that the property was
totally or part~ally destroyed or altered by the willful
or negligent act of the owner or his representative, in
vlolatlon of the historic preservation ordinance, the
additional tax provlded for this section shall be imposed
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(c) A tax lien attaches to the property on the date it is re-
moved as a designated h~stor~c s~te, to secure payment of
the add~tlonal tax and ~nterest imposed by this section
The lien ex~sts ~n favor of the City of Denton for which
the additional tax ~s ~mposed
(d) The C~ty tax collector shall notlfy the chief appraiser of
the additional tax imposed and shall prepare and deliver
a statement to the owner for the additional taxes plus
Interest as soon as practicable after removal of the
property as a designated h~stor~c site The taxes and
~nterest are due and become delinquent and incur penalties
and ~nterest as provided by law for ad valorem taxes
~mposed by the C~ty if not pa~d before the f~rst day of
February of the year following the year in which the
additional tax is imposed
SECTION II That if any section, subsection, paragraph,
sentencer clause, phrase or word ~n this ordinance, or application
thereof to any person or c~rcumstance is held ~nval~d by any
court of competent ]urlsd~ct~on, such holding shall not affect
the validity of the remaining port~ons of th~s ordinance, and the
C~ty Council of the Clty of Denton, Texas, hereby declares
would have enacted such remaining port~ons despite any such
invalidity
SECTION III That this ordinance shall become effective
~mmed~ately upon ~ts passage and apprqval
PASSED AND APPROVED th~s the~4~day of ~]~, 1987
ATTEST
APPRDVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
DEBRA ADAMI DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY
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