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. . URDlNANCE NO~005-28 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 35 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA (1988) BY ESTABLISHING A PROCEDURE FOR THE GRANTING OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS TO QUALIFIED NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia: I. That Chapter 35 of the Code of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia (1988) be amended by the adoption of new section 35-134 and new Article XVII to read as follows: Sec. 35-134. Tax exemption of real and personal property by classification and designation. The real and personal property of certain entities and organizations may be determined exempt from taxation by classification and designation as provided by Article XVII of this chapter. ARTICLE XVII. EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION BY CLASSIFICATION. Sec. 35-250. Tax exemption by classification and designation. (a) Exemptions by classification. The exemptions by classification set out in Sections 58.1-3606 and 58.1-3609 through 58.1-3622 of the Code of Virginia are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. The city assessor is authorized to administratively approve exemptions by classification for qualified real and personal property. All requests for exemption by classification shall be initiated by application of the property owner. The application shall be on forms provided by the city assessor and shall contain all information and documents necessary to evaluate whether the property qualifies for the exemption. The city assessor may waive the requirement of a formal application for property owned directly by the United States, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or any political subdivision thereof. The city assessor shall evaluate the application in strict conformance with applicable statutory criteria and shall provide a final written determination to the applicant, the city treasurer, and the commissioner of the revenue (b) Exemptions by designation. In the interest of sound fiscal policy, no requests for exemption by designation shall be accepted or considered by city council; nor shall any such request be granted administratively. The city assessor is authorized to recognize only those tax exemptions by designation granted by the General Assembly up until January 1,2003, which designations shall apply to existing and newly acquired property used for qualifying purposes. (c) Strict construction. All requests for tax exemption shall be strictly construed, with any doubt resolved against the grant of exemption. (d) Effective date. Unless otherwise directed by city council, the grant oftax exemption . under this section shall be effective from the date that the non-profit owner began using the