(A) Fee required. There is a fee required for the review of rehabilitation work during the final certification process. Final certification of the property will not be given until the fee has been paid in full by the applicant. Fees shall be established in the town’s budget document.
(B) Plan required. Owners of property seeking approval of rehabilitation work must submit a completed rehabilitation of property application with supporting documentation to the Building Official or his or her designee prior to beginning work. Rehabilitation work conducted prior to approval of the application is done so at the risk of the property owner and may disqualify the property from eligibility for the special tax assessment.
(C) Preliminary certification. Upon receipt of the completed application, the Building Official or his or her designee shall submit the plan to the reviewing authority for a recommendation as to whether the project is consistent with the standards for rehabilitation. Upon receipt of the reviewing authority’s recommendation, the County Administrator or his or her designee shall notify the owner in writing. Upon receipt of this determination, the property owner may:
(1) If the application is approved, begin rehabilitation; or
(2) If the application is not approved, he or she may revise such application in accordance with comments provided by reviewing authority.
(D) Substantive changes. Once preliminary certification is granted to an application, substantive changes must be approved in writing by the County Administrator or his or her designee. Any substantive changes made to the property during rehabilitation that are not approved by the Town Administrator or his or her designee, upon review and recommendation of the reviewing authority, are conducted at the risk of the property owner and may disqualify the project from eligibility during the final certification process.
(E) Final certification.
(1) Upon completion of the project, the property must receive final certification in order to be eligible for the special assessment. The reviewing authority shall inspect completed projects to determine if the work is consistent with the approval recommended by the reviewing authority and granted by the town during preliminary certification. The review process for final certification shall be established by the reviewing authority and may include a physical inspection of the property. The reviewing authority shall notify the applicant in writing of its recommendation. If the applicant wishes to appeal the reviewing authority’s recommendation, the appeal must follow the reviewing authority’s appeals process. The County Administrator or his or her designee may grant final certification only if the following conditions have been met:
(a) The completed work meets the standards for rehabilitation as established in this article;
(b) Verification is made that the minimum expenditures have been incurred in accordance with the provisions of this article; and
(c) Any fee(s) shall be paid in full.
(2) Upon receiving final certification, the property will be assessed for the remainder of the special assessment period on the fair market value of the property at the time the preliminary certification was made, or the final certification was made whichever occurred earlier.
(F) Additional work. For the remainder of the special assessment period after final certification, the property owner shall notify the Town Administrator or his or her designee of any additional work, other than ordinary maintenance, prior to the work beginning. The reviewing authority shall review the work and make a recommendation to the County Administrator or his or her designee whether the overall project is consistent with the standards for rehabilitation. The Town Administrator or his or her designee shall notify the property owner in writing if the overall project is consistent with the standards for rehabilitation. If the additional work is found to be inconsistent by the reviewing authority, the County Administrator or his or her designee shall notify the owner in writing within 30 days of its decision to rescind approval. The property owner may withdraw his or her request and cancel or revise the proposed additional work to the satisfaction of the Town Administrator or his or her designee.
(G) Notification. Upon final certification of a rehabilitated historic property, the County Assessor, Auditor and Treasurer shall be notified by the Town Administrator or his or her designee that such property has been duly certified and is eligible for the special tax assessment.
(H) Application. Once the final certification has been granted, the owner of the property shall make application to the County Auditor for the special assessment provided for herein. The special assessment shall remain in effect for the length of the special assessment period, unless the property shall become decertified under the provisions of this section.
(I) Date effective. If an application for preliminary or final certification is filed on or before May 1 or the preliminary or final certification is approved on or before August 1, the special assessment authorized herein is effective for that year. Otherwise, it is effective beginning with the following year. The special assessment only begins in the current or future tax years as provided for in this section. The special assessment period shall not exceed 20 years in length, and in no instance may the special assessment be applied retroactively.
(J) Previously certified properties. A property certified to receive the special property tax assessment under the existing law continues to receive the special assessment in effect at the time certification was made.
(K) Decertification. Once the property has received final certification and assessed as rehabilitated historic property, it remains so certified and must be granted the special assessment until the property becomes disqualified by any one of the following:
(1) Written notice from the owner to the County Auditor requesting removal of the special assessment:
(2) Removal of the historic designation by the Town Council based upon non-compliance of the criteria established in this article; or
(3) Rescission of the approval of rehabilitation by the county, at the recommendation of the reviewing authority, because of alterations or renovation by the owner or the owner’s estate which cause the property to no longer possess the qualities and features which made it eligible for final certification. Notification of any change affecting eligibility must be given immediately to the County Assessor, Auditor and Treasurer.
(Ord. 2019-007, passed 8-19-2019)