Presenter
Presented by Mr. Deasy
Title
Ordinance amending and Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Two, Fiscal; Article IX, Property Taxes; Chapter 265, Exemptions for Residential Improvements; Section 265.01, Definitions; paragraph (a), Board, and paragraph (v), Downtown District; and Section 265.06, Procedures for Obtaining Exemption, so as to clarify the identify of the agency responsible for administration of exemption applications and the location of properties included within the Downtown District, to provide for a filing period of one hundred-eighty (180) days, and also to add a prohibition pertaining to tax delinquency.
Body
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title Two, Fiscal; Article IX, Property Taxes; Chapter 265, Exemptions for Residential Improvements, Section 265.01, Definitions; paragraph (a), Board, and paragraph (v), Downtown District, are hereby amended to read as follows:
(a) BOARD. [The Board of Property Assessment, Appeals and Review of Allegheny County] The Office of Property Assessments of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania or its successor(s), if any, responsible for assessing property in the City.
(v) DOWNTOWN DISTRICT. The area begins at 11th Street and Penn Avenue, and continues northward along 11th Street to the Allegheny River. The boundary line then follows the southern shore of the Allegheny River westward to Commonwealth Place, where it turns south and follows Commonwealth Place to the Monongahela River. The boundary then follows the northern shore of the Monongahela River eastward to the Crosstown Boulevard, where it turns northward on the Crosstown Boulevard to the intersection with Fifth Avenue. The boundary travels west on Fifth Avenue to Ross Street, goes north on Ross Street to Bigelow Boulevard, follows Bigelow Boulevard north to the Crosstown Boulevard, then north to Liberty Avenue. The boundary then proceeds west on Liberty Avenue to 12th Street, goes north for one block on 12th Street, turns west on Penn Avenue and ends at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 11th Street. The Downtown District does not include any parcels located within [area designated as] a Tax Increment Financing District.
Section 2. The Pittsburgh Code, Title Two, Fiscal; Article IX, Property Taxes; Chapter 265, Exemptions for Residential Improvements; Section 265.06, Procedures for Obtaining Exemption, is hereby amended and supplemented to read as follows:
§ 265.06 PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING EXEMPTION.
[At the time] Within one hundred-eighty (180) days from the date when a person secures the initial building permit for making the improvements to deteriorated residential property or for the construction of a new residential unit or units in a deteriorated area, for which that person intends to request exemption from taxation, that person may apply to the Allegheny County Board of Property Assessment, Appeals and Review for exemption of the taxes that would otherwise be imposed on the basis of the assessed valuation of that property in the following manner:
(a) At the time the building permit is obtained, a form prescribed by the Board should be obtained from the Treasurer or Bureau of Building Inspection and submitted to the Board.
(b) The request for exemption must be in writing and certified on that form setting forth the following information:
(1) The date the building permit was issued for construction or rehabilitation.
(2) The type of improvements or the number and type of residential units for which exemption is requested.
(3) The summary of the plan of the improvements or the plan of the construction of the new residential units.
(4) The actual cost of the improvements or the actual cost of residential units.
(5) The additional information as the Treasurer may require.
(c) When the improvements or proper construction has been completed, the property owner must notify the Board and notify the Bureau of Building Inspection so that an inspection of the improvements or construction may be made. When the Bureau of Building Inspection has completed its inspection, the Board will assess the property in question for purposes of calculating the amount of the assessment eligible for tax exemption under this Chapter.
(d) The Assessor shall send the required form to the Treasurer certifying the amount of the increase in assessment attributable to the improvement or to the new construction, and the amount of the assessment eligible for exemption. The Treasurer shall then exonerate that portion of the increase and refund the amount of the taxes attributable to the exemption up to the eligible maximum amount.
(e) Appeals from the assessment may be taken by the taxpayer or by the City as provided by law.
(f) The Chief of the Bureau of Building Inspection is hereby authorized and directed to provide to all persons obtaining a building permit for improvements to or the construction of a residential dwelling unit(s) the following information which shall be prescribed by the Treasurer:
(1) An application form for the exemption
(2) Instructions to complete the application, written in a form easily understood by the general public.
(3) General information written in a form easily understood by the general public, that details the benefits to be derived from this exemption.
(g) No exemption shall be granted and any existing exemption shall be revoked if and for so long as there exists any tax delinquency with respect to the property or property owner.