(A) Established.
(1) There is hereby established a program for the granting of property assessment or reassessment moratoriums for qualifying units of real property located in the Downtown Historic District of the city as defined below:
(a) Downtown Historic District. The Downtown Historic District shall be considered the area on the map attached to Ordinance 2018-006 as Exhibit 1 and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
(2) Property outside the Downtown Historic District area may be considered if the property is 50 years old or older. In this situation, where the property is outside the "downtown" area and is 50 years old or over, each application must be approved by the Board of City Commissioners.
(3) To be eligible, a residential building in the Downtown Historic District area must have been in existence for 25 years and must be used to provide independent living facilities for one or more persons.
(4) For a commercial building to qualify in the Downtown Historic District area, it must be 25 years or older and must have as its primary purpose and use the operation of a commercial business enterprise.
(B) Guidelines for improvements. Improvements to property listed on the National Register of Historic Places must follow guidelines prescribed in the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation" and/or the guidelines established or approved by the Board of City Commissioners.
(C) Administration. The administering agency for the moratorium program allowed by this section shall be the Board of Commissioners.
(D) Duration of moratorium; effective date. All moratoriums shall be for a period of five years, and each shall become effective on the assessment date next following the issuance of the moratorium certificate.
(E) Application. Applications shall be made to the City Manager or his/her designee for a property assessment or reassessment moratorium certificate as follows:
(1) The application shall be on a form prescribed by the Department of Revenue and shall be filed in the manner prescribed by the City Manager or his/her designee.
(2) The application shall be filed with the City Manager or his/her designee at least 30 days before commencing the restoration.
(3) The application shall contain the following:
(a) A general description of the property;
(b) A general description of its proposed use;
(c) The general nature and extent of restoration, repair, rehabilitation or stabilization to be undertaken;
(d) A time schedule for undertaking and completing the project; and
(e) If the property is a commercial facility, the application shall also contain a descriptive list of the fixed building equipment which will be a part of the facility and a statement of the economic advantages expected from the moratorium, including expected construction employment.
(F) Inclusion of prior qualifying property. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, applications may be received and moratorium certificates may be issued for otherwise qualifying property on which renovation was initiated prior to the enactment of this section, but subsequent to January 1, 2015. Such applications shall otherwise comply with the provisions of this section.
(G) Record of applications. The Property Valuation Administrator and the City Clerk shall maintain a record of all applications for a property assessment or reassessment moratorium and shall assess or reassess the property within 30 days of receipt of the application. This assessment shall be the value for which taxes are not to be raised for five years. In the event of a property to which renovations began prior to the adoption of this section, the Property Valuation Administrator and City shall use the most recent assessment prior to January 1, 2015, and taxes are not to be raised for five years following approval.
(H) Time limit on improvements. An applicant for a property assessment or reassessment moratorium shall have two years in which to complete the improvements unless granted an extension by the City Manager or his/her designee, and approved by the Board of City Commissioners. In no case shall the application be extended beyond two additional years. This provision shall not preclude normal reassessment of the property.
(I) Purging inactive applications. An application made pursuant to division (E) above not acted upon by the applicant shall become void two years from the date of application and shall be purged from the files of the Property Valuation Administrator and the City Clerk.
(J) Assessment of expired, canceled or revoked property. On the assessment date next following the expiration, cancellation or revocation of an assessment or reassessment moratorium, property shall be assessed on the basis of its full fair cash value.
(K) Inspecting of completed projects; issuance of certificate. An applicant under this section shall notify the City Manager or his/her designee when the project is complete, and the City Manager or his/her designee shall then conduct an on-site inspection of the property for purposes of verifying improvements. Only after the project is complete and the improvements verified shall the moratorium certificate be issued by the City Manager or his/her designee.
(L) Transfer; assignment. An assessment or reassessment moratorium certificate may be transferred or assigned by the holder of the certificate to a new owner or lessee of the property with written approval of the Board of City Commissioners.
(M) Definitions. Definitions for interpreting this section shall be those outlined in KRS Chapter 99 relating to property assessment and reassessment moratoriums and/or ordinances of the Franklin City Code relating to historic districts.
(Ord. 2018-006, passed 4-9-2018)