It is the intent of the City Council that unrealized City revenue from loss of property taxes not collected due to executed Historical Property Contracts shall not exceed $2,000,000 annually. In furtherance of this policy, eligibility for Historical Property Contracts shall be limited, except within the Downtown Historic Core, the Hollywood Historic District or the Greater Downtown Los Angeles Area, to sites, buildings or structures with a pre-contract assessed valuation of $1,500,000 or less for single-family dwellings, and $3,000,000 or less for multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial buildings, unless the individual property is granted an exemption from those limits by the Cultural Heritage Commission.
The limitations on eligibility shall be based on the Priority Consideration Criteria as developed by the Historical Property Contracts Manager or the Cultural Heritage Commission and kept on file with the Office of Historic Resources in the Department of City Planning. The Priority Consideration Criteria are as follows:
(a) Necessity. The residential, commercial or industrial project will require financial incentives in addition to any mortgage financing, private capital or public loans, to help ensure the preservation of the property. This criterion shall establish that the structure is in danger of deterioration and in need of substantial rehabilitation that has significant associated costs.
(b) Uniqueness. The project is a unique example of a residential, commercial or industrial property. The unique characteristics of the Historic- Cultural Monument or HPOZ Contributing property are identified under this criterion.
(c) Investment. The residential, commercial or industrial project will result in additional private investment in the building other than for routine maintenance that may include seismic retrofitting, and substantial repair or rehabilitation work. This criterion will estimate the costs for the restoration and rehabilitation of the property that the owner is committed to undertaking.
(d) Affordability. Multi-family/Commercial mixed-use properties only: The residential or mixed- use project will result in the preservation or addition of safe and affordable dwelling units for low and moderate income households. Eligible properties under this criterion shall conform to current United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) criteria for affordable housing.
(e) Employment. Commercial and Industrial buildings only: The commercial or industrial project will primarily supply goods or services to residents of low and moderate income areas or provide employment of low and moderate income persons.
For the purpose of this section, “assessed valuation” does not include any portion of the value of a mixed-use project which is already exempt from payment of property taxes by a determination of the County Assessor pursuant to Sections 4(b) and 5 of Article XIII of the California Constitution and Sections 214, 254.5, and 259.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
The Cultural Heritage Commission may grant an exemption from the limitations imposed by this section when:
(a) granting the exemption will not cause the cumulative loss of property tax revenue to the City to exceed $2,000,000 annually; and
(b) the site, building or structure is a particularly significant Historic-Cultural Monument or Contributing Structure; and
(c) granting the exemption will assist in the preservation of a site, building or structure which would otherwise be in danger of demolition, substantial alteration or relocation.
The City Council may, by majority vote, approve Historical Property Contracts not otherwise meeting the eligibility requirements contained in this chapter if it is found that the property meets all requirements of California Government Code Sections 50281 and 50282 and is especially deserving of a contract due to the exceptional nature of the property or other special circumstances.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 171,413, Eff. 12-28-96.
Amended by: First and Third Paras., Ord. No. 172,857, Eff. 11-15-99; First Para., Ord. No. 179,713, Eff. 4-20-08; In Entirety, Ord. No. 182,068, Eff. 3-31-12; In Entirety, Ord. No. 182,332, Eff. 1-11-13.