Minutes 10/27/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 27. 2009 WHEREAS, this Council is cognizant of the conditions that are imposed by the provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, including those prohibiting discrimination because of race, age, color, religion, familial status, handicap, sex or national origin; and WHEREAS, in the judgment of this Council, it is in the interest of the City and its citizens that said Plan be approved. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia: 1. That it is hereby found and determined that the Project Area is in a state of deterioration or blight pursuant to Chapter 1 of the Title 36 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended (the "Act"). 2. That regarding the adoption of the Conservation Plan for the Truxtun Conservation Project, it is hereby found: (a) That the objectives of the Truxtun Conservation Project in the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, can be better achieved by the adoption of the Plan; and (b) That the Plan meets the requirements of a plan for conservation projects pursuant to the Act. 3. That the Conservation Plan for the Truxtun Conservation Project, having been duly reviewed and considered, is hereby approved and adopted, and the City Clerk is hereby directed to file a copy of said Plan with the minutes of this meeting." Ayes: Moody, Randall, Smith, Whitehurst, Holley Nays: None - City Manager's Report - 09 - 537 - Adoption of an ordinance to amend Chapter 35 of the Code of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia (2006) by amending Sections 35-187, 35-188, 35-217, and 35-218 thereof pertaining to tax exemptions for rehabilitated real property. Vision Principle: Thriving Neighborhoods and a Sense of Community. Background: . Pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia, localities may enact a partial exemption on rehabilitated and replaced older structures. The purpose of the law is to stimulate investment in improvement or replacing older properties without imposing any direct cost or loss of existing revenue for localities. Discussion: . The City of Portsmouth has had this type of tax exemption program for several years. . Per the existing city code language, to qualify for the abatement, a project must meet several criteria, including: (a) the structure renovated or replaced must be not less than 25 years old; (b) the assessed value of the renovated or replaced structure must increase by at least 40 percent for residential real estate and by at least 60 percent for commercial and industrial real estate; and, (c) the increase in improved square footage cannot be more than 15%. . The code is silent on what occurs if improved square footage exceeds 15% for residential, commercial, or industrial renovations or replacements. . Because the code is silent, with a strict interpretation of the code, projects which are improved by more than a 15% increase in square footage would not qualify for any tax abatement at all. As currently written, the existing code language could be considered a disincentive to rehabilitating or replacing property using this incentive program. Therefore, a clarification to the code is required to address this issue.